Posted on 07/22/2006 4:18:08 PM PDT by TommyDale
DURHAM, N.C. -- Officials say they are investigating an alleged assault involving Durham police officers outside a Raleigh bar.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
Mom Finesse Couch, serves as the President of the Durham County Bar Association.
There's also a Julian Couch of the Durham County Sheriff's Office, the agency that runs the jail. No clue if he's related.
Oh, howlin. scroll down on this page and check out the towel shot. the women on this board seem to be quite fond of the pic, lol!
http://funkb.us/dada/
Willy Gary and C. Destine Couch ... NCCU grads.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1669426/posts?q=1&&page=1
Jury finds Duke liable
Author:MITCHELL; The News & Observer, January 25, 1997
DURHAM - On Friday, five years after her 10-year-old son died at Duke University Medical Center, Finesse Couch finally felt vindicated.
A jury awarded her $2.5 million after finding that Duke and the Private Diagnostic Clinic in Durham were negligent in treating Carnell Simmons Couch, who died of a heart attack.
The verdict fell short of the $30 million Couch had requested. But with tears in her eyes, Couch said Friday that she was grateful to the jury for sending Duke a message.
"I feel that my son's life was not in vain," Couch said, with her husband, Therman, at her side. "I want Duke to know that a child's life has great value. It's invaluable. Those 12 people believed that Duke was negligent no matter how bogus their defense was. I hope this will save other children's lives. I hope they won't have to die before Duke pays attention to them."
James Maxwell, the attorney for Duke and Private Diagnostic Clinic, said that his clients have 10 days to decide their next move but that "it's safe to assume that we will appeal."
The highly technical trial lasted for three weeks, with lawyer Willie Gary contending that doctors who treated Carnell between December 1991 and February 1992 failed to recognize dangerous blood clots in his chest that ultimately killed him.
Instead, he said, doctors treated him for pneumonia while overlooking 22 symptoms - such as chest pains, shortness of breath and a lack of oxygen - that pointed to the real problem.
To bolster his claims, Gary pointed to notes taken by a medical student who recognized the seriousness of Carnell's condition and an autopsy report that indicated Carnell had the fatal clots long before his death.
But Maxwell countered that medical personnel were not negligent because the blood clots actually appeared hours before Carnell died, which would have made it impossible for doctors to treat them sooner. Maxwell also argued that because Carnell did show signs of pneumonia, doctors followed normal procedure in caring for him.
Copyright 1997 by The News & Observer Pub. Co.
Record Number: 1997024128
93 posted on 07/20/2006 7:51:51 PM EDT by xoxoxox
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 90 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
He was sworn in as ADA in December 2005. Who was DA then?
HAHAHA.
Man, we're loaded with good trashy stories this summer, aren't we?
I'm enthralled with the FERRY story!
I am inclined to think there was no negligence because of the amount of the verdict.
I also take no issue with the suit itself.
It is the issues all of these connections have raised coupled with all of the local media refusing to acknowledge it.
We document ADA is lead dancer for Chippendales [he's not only using it for an example] and the local media would ignore it.
Nifong was appointed DA on April 18, 2005.
http://www.ncdistrictattorney.org/mikenifong/your_district_attorney.htm
http://www.couchandtaibi.com/fcouch.htm
Link to Mama's home page.
There's a thought. I wonder how long it would take them to catch on.
(BOLD MINE)
Courttv.com Message Boards - arrests by Durham PD [m]
Posted by boardom
There has been much speculation on this board regarding the possibility that corruption by police or city officials in Durham has been a factor in the investigation and prosecution of the alleged crimes. One of the insinuations that has been made at times is the possible link between organized prostitution and the Durham PD. In part, I believe that these suspicions have arose due to the apparent flaws in the investigation and a search for an explanation for these bungles.
While researching other items, I came across a series of old news articles pertaining to an investigation of allegations that the Durham PD did have an in-house prostitution ring. The articles I mention span from October of 1991 thru early 1993. The investigation into this scandal led to no arrests for prostitution but it is alleged thru the course of these articles that perhaps there was a cover up. While I can present no conclusions as to whether many of the allegations that will follow are true or not, there are many interesting items to note along the way. Included in these articles, you will find mention of some of the tangential characters involved in our drama and familiar topics such as the allegations of corruption, interference by the city manager and questionable use of subpoenas.
The investigation into the DPD prostitution (alternate described as an escort service in some articles) allegations began when Linwood Wilson was hired in the spring of 1990 by the City of Durham to look into corruption by city employees. During the course of his probe, Mr. Wilson uncovered what he believed to be criminal activities on the part of several Durham police officers. Mr. Wilson claims that when he presented his findings to Cecil Brown, the assistant city manager, his employment contract was terminated. Upon his termination two events of note took place. First, Mr. Wilson forwarded his findings to both DA Ron Stephens and the SBI. Next, LW was hired by a private citizen (rumored later to be Pattsie Brown whose husband, Clarence Brown was a city councilman who accused his dear wife of attempting to kill him. Mrs. Brown was later cleared of these charges by DA Stephens on the basis of her passing a polygraph test.) to continue his probe. Curiously, I have yet find any other mention of our friend Linwood in regard to the results of his continued investigation nor any mention that the DA or SBI investigated whatever findings he presented to them.
In January of 1992, it was revealed that the Durham PD had completed an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Police Chief Trevor Hampton and into charges that a prostitution ring was being run within the department and that some top administrators were aware of the ring. The exposure of this secret internal investigation led to a great deal of public scrutiny as both the city council and the media look for answers to several bombshell questions including: Why were a top administrator (Wiley Davis Jr) and several female employees (unidentified) being investigated for running an escort service? Why was a probe on possible criminal wrongdoing within the department being conducted by the force's own investigators and not an outside agency? Why were the vice officers (Sgt. J.T. Mangum, Cpl. D.W. Waddell, Cpl. R.C. Evans and Investigator M.L. Hayes were demoted to traffic patrol) who were assigned to the investigation abruptly transferred from their positions? These questions alone were enough to make it smell like a cover up and the DA's office, the city manager (Orville Powell) the SBI, the US Attoney's office and later, the FBI were brought in to investigate the investigation.
To make a long story a little less long, through the course of each of these investigations no one was ever charged with any prostitution related offenses although Ron Stephens and others have said that it was perhaps too late by the time they got involved. Both Wiley Davis and Trevor were forced to resign. It was also revealed that in the course of the investigation, Durham PD had illegally obtained at least 39 citizens phone and other records by using illegal subpoenas provided by an ADA.
Wiley Davis Jr. was the primary aide and confidant to Chief Hampton. Both came to the DPD from the PD in Columbia, SC. Ironically, Davis Jr.'s position as the DPD career development manager (a position created specifically for him by Chief Hampton three days after Davis was demoted in Columbia for sexual harrasment) gave him responsibility for recruitment and placement of department staff. What makes it ironic is that he was forced out of his job because he had fudged his own resume. Other highlights of Mr. Davis' Wiley Coyote like career with the DPD include: distribution of a sexually explicit memo that was passed around the department, wrecking a city car and being charged with leaving the scene of that accident and failing to pay property taxes. Hampton later resigned as well amidst charges of sexual harassment and corruption.
Relevant text and links from some of the articles paraphrased above:
"During his (Linwood Wilson's) investigation, he said, he found police officers engaging in what he considered to be suspicious behavior...In public, Wilson has been vague about his allegations, saying only that he found evidence of criminal activity. He has declined to name the officers he suspects. ..But Cecil Brown, the assistant city manager who oversees the police department, said the detective's information was too vague to be of any use. Brown said he stopped the investigation because enough information had been gathered on the original subjects -- and because Wilson's probe had become too expensive."
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
"The Durham Police Department, long beset by a string of nasty internal problems, found itself Thursday battling a new batch of allegations that seemed to top them all: That a prostitution ring was being operated within the department -- and that some top administrators knew about it. That suggestion was one of several disclosed in a sensitive memorandum that summarized an investigation by the force's own vice unit into rampant rumors of crime and corruption within the ranks."
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
Continued:
"When asked about his resume, Davis said he thinks allegations against him are being fueled by a small group of people trying to ruin his credibility -- and Hampton's."
"Davis' job requires that he hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited, four-year university. On his official job application, he listed himself as a graduate of the University of Maryland. Officials in the registrar's office at the University of Maryland have said Davis does not hold a degree from the school."
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-sea...sername=rno0315
I'm hopeful that these links will lead to cached pages. If not these, and dozens of other articles can be found in the N&O archives by using index terms: Durham ,Prostitution, Police, Stephens (or Harden).
N&O Archives can be found here:
http://archives.newsbank.com/cgi-bi...3
OS4xODE
Want to hazard a guess as to why City Councilman Clarence Brown thought his wife was going to kill him? Maybe she found out about the prostitution ring? LOL!
I do believe my husband wouldn't be long for this world, LOL.
I wonder when the first upstanding citizen of Durham will demand that the local government check to see if C. Destine Couch was conducting some of his MySpace correspondence DURING DUTY HOURS. I'm sure that's against even Durham's ethical standards for its public employees. It would be the easiest thing in the world for one of Durham government's IT public integrity folks (I'm assuming even Durham would have an office which would have that as one of its duties - however underutilized it may have been up to now) to trace. Believe me, there would be plenty of plenty of permanent and detailed records left behind for the IT security audit folks to recover. All that beautiful detail is admissible as evidence in adverse legal or administrative proceedings.
And it really pains me to inform the Durham DA's office (with authority) that, if such data exists, you can't go out and delete it as a certain ADA tried to do with some other things. You've dropped little bread crumbs EVERY step of your little paths and they REALLY, REALLY are PERMANENT. Every one of those bodies can be found and dug up. Have a wonderful Sunday afternoon.
And deletion of data could be obstruction of justice, no? The coverup is worse than the crime, in other words...
possible checkmate...
A sampling of some N&O archived articles unable to access:
May 22, 1991 The News & Observer
Durham official stabbed
Clarence P. Brown critical but stable
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer BIO
DURHAM -- Police spent Tuesday searching for clues in the puzzling stabbing of Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown, who was attacked on his doorstep Monday night as he returned from a council meeting.. Mr. Brown was in critical but stable condition at Duke Medical Center late Tuesday. Police said they had no suspects in the attack, which happened on Mr. Brown's 42nd birthday. Investigators were exploring several possible motives --.including a personal dispute or
[View the full-text article, 1271 words]
June 1, 1991 The News & Observer
The Clarence Brown mystery
EDITORIAL
Durham City Council member Clarence Brown makes the mistake that other public officials embroiled in personal controversy have made a thousand times. He believes, apparently, that the circumstances surrounding his stabbing on May 20 will be forgotten if he builds a nice stone wall around the case.. Others who have tried a similar maneuver could tell him: It won't work. To ask police to drop the case, as Mr. Brown has done, and to follow that with obtuse non-explanations will only
[View the full-text article, 314 words]
October 25, 1991 The News & Observer
Browns settle divorce suit
Accusations fly to the bitter end
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer REFER
BIO
DURHAM -- Embattled Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown reached a divorce settlement Thursday with his wife, Prattsie, then lashed out at her with a barrage of allegations that drew bitter countercharges, including a claim that he is a cocaine addict.. The whirlwind of accusations began almost before the ink dried on the couple's settlement papers, when Mr. Brown called a news conference at the office of his attorney, Hayes Hofler. Mr. Hofler told reporters Mrs. Brown
[View the full-text article, 958 words]
July 1, 1992 The News & Observer
Brown must go -- now
EDITORIAL
Clarence Brown, the N.C. Central University professor cited by the State Auditor's Office for gross mismanagement of federal, private and other grant money, should be dismissed from the university's faculty immediately.. He currently is suspended with pay, but in light of the audit, Brown has enjoyed all of the benefit of the doubt to which he's entitled. There's no point in keeping him on the public payroll any longer. The suspension itself
[View the full-text article, 519 words]
October 26, 1991 The News & Observer
Durham council still seeking Brown's ouster
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer REFER
DURHAM -- Saying their patience has been pushed to the limit by Clarence P. Brown, several Durham City Council members vowed Friday to forge ahead with proceedings to remove their embattled colleague from office.. "It all goes ahead on schedule, with no delays whatsoever," Mayor Chester L. Jenkins said. "Councilman Brown has decided he wants to make a fight of this whole thing when he could have brought this to a close and saved everybody a lot of
[View the full-text article, 962 words]
August 9, 1991 The News & Observer
Brown repays city; says double-billing was 'human error'
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer
DURHAM -- City Council member Clarence P. Brown reimbursed the city $527.48 Thursday for double-billing his travel expenses, then told his fellow council members the error was the result of honest mistakes.. He also said he planned to repay $652.20 in travel.reimbursements to N.C. Central University, where he is a professor of public administration. "The error was one of human error, and I'm sure it will not happen again," Mr. Brown told council members
[View the full-text article, 611 words]
June 27, 1992 The News & Observer
Audit: $828,000 misused Brown channeled money to secret fund, report finds
CRAIG WHITLOCK Staff writer LEAD
CHRONOLOGY
DURHAM -- A state auditor's report released Friday shows that N.C. Central University professor Clarence P. Brown mismanaged $828,000 in research grants, channeled some of the money into a secret fund, fixed student grades and put political and business cronies on the school's payroll.. The audit, released after a 10-month investigation, is perhaps the most damaging disclosure to date about Brown, the high-profile former Durham City Council member whose career in
[View the full-text article, 1800 words]
August 16, 1991 The News & Observer
Pressure to quit council builds as NCCU suspends Brown
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer LEAD
DURHAM -- The political and private life of Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown further unraveled Thursday, as his wife ejected him from their home and a chorus of city leaders called for the resignation of their peer, swept up in a sex-and-drug scandal. N.C. Central University suspended Mr. Brown from his post overseeing a multimillion-dollar federal grants program after his wife, Ossie Prattsie Cunningham-Brown, accused him in a divorce suit of using cocaine and having an affair with
[View the full-text article, 1261 words]
May 31, 1991 The News & Observer
Brown's account of stabbing questioned
Jane Stancill and Ned Glascock
Staff writers LEAD
DURHAM -- Authorities said Thursday that Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown misrepresented the facts surrounding his near-fatal stabbing during a police investigation that he called off. Police would not say Mr. Brown had deliberately tried to steer detectives off course. But Durham District Attorney Ronald L. Stephens did say Mr. Brown had not been forthcoming about the May 20 attack.. "We did not feel like we had full, accurate information from Mr. Brown,"
[View the full-text article, 721 words]
August 20, 1991 The News & Observer
Durham council reprimands Brown
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer CHRONOLOGY
BIO
DURHAM -- Durham City Council members decided not to seek the resignation of Clarence P. Brown during a fiery meeting Monday night, instead reprimanding their colleague for incorrectly billing the city $527 for travel expenses.. Mr. Brown also was stripped of his position as co-chairman of the council's finance committee, removed as council liaison to the N.C. Museum of Life and Science and denied any new responsibilities on the council. He was ordered not to spend his allotment
[View the full-text article, 1134 words]
October 26, 1991 The News & Observer
Brown's wife releases tapes, records
Couple continues sparring in public
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer
DURHAM -- Clarence P. Brown's estranged wife, Prattsie, lashed out Friday at the Durham City Council member, releasing a mysterious tape recording and a stack of telephone records that raise new questions about his activities. Mrs. Brown called a news conference to reveal the information -- including a tape of threatening phone calls to her husband -- a day after Mr. Brown made scathing allegations against her during a news conference of his own.. The day after the couple reached
[View the full-text article, 771 words]
September 5, 1991 The News & Observer
Durham City Council is a bit testy
Some members blame Brown scandal for tension-filled meetings
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer
DURHAM -- The Durham City Council is still feeling the political fallout from the Clarence P. Brown scandal.. As three separate investigations continue into Mr. Brown's personal, political and financial activities, the signs of stress on the council are abundant. A.J. Howard Clement III, the veteran council member who led an unsuccessful call for Mr. Brown's resignation two weeks ago, said he felt ostracized by his colleagues for his actions.. Meanwhile, other
[View the full-text article, 697 words]
August 12, 1991 The News & Observer
Trustee speaks out on Brown
NCCU official urges tough stance
THOMAS HEALY
Staff writer
DURHAM -- Clarence P. Brown, an N.C. Central University.professor, should be removed from the university's faculty if allegations that he mishandled federal grants and was involved with a female student are proved true, an NCCU trustee said Sunday.. "If all the charges that are being brought are substantiated, in part or in full, then he needs to go," said trustee David Stith. "There's no question about it, you've got
[View the full-text article, 678 words]
August 23, 1991 The News & Observer
SBI asked to reopen Brown stabbing case
STEVE RILEY
Staff writer
DURHAM -- District Attorney Ronald L. Stephens decided Thursday to reopen the investigation into the stabbing of Clarence P. Brown, and called in the State Bureau of Investigation to probe the mysterious attack.. In a letter to the SBI, Mr. Stephens also said the bureau should pursue "any individual whose conduct was sufficient to obstruct justice" during the Durham Police Department's earlier investigation, which was cut short by Mr. Brown himself. The
[View the full-text article, 784 words]
October 23, 1991 The News & Observer
Brown considers stepping down
Issue complicates council election
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer REFER
DURHAM -- City council member Clarence P. Brown is now.considering resigning instead of putting his colleagues through the lengthy and politically painful process of removing him from office. The apparent change of heart comes as pressure grows for Mr. Brown to step down and remove a political albatross from council members seeking re-election in two weeks.. Mr. Brown, who has been caught in a scandal involving charges of financial impropriety, marital infidelity and cocaine use, could
[View the full-text article, 663 words]
August 21, 1991 The News & Observer
Brown had input in council's decision
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer
DURHAM -- Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown had some say in how he would be punished for double-billing the city for travel -- including the wording of his formal reprimand -- Mayor Chester L. Jenkins said Tuesday.. On Monday, the council voted 11-1 to reprimand Mr. Brown for incorrectly billing the city $527 in travel expenses that he had also billed to N.C. Central University, where he is a professor of public administration. Mr. Jenkins said he consulted with Mr. Brown over the
[View the full-text article, 797 words]
August 7, 1991 The News & Observer
Council seeks probe of Brown's travel bills
NED GLASCOCK
Staff writer
DURHAM -- Durham City Council members Tuesday called for a swift investigation into whether member Clarence P. Brown double-billed the city and state for about $1,000 in travel expenses.. Some members also said the issue could jeopardize Mr. Brown's political career. "If he is exonerated, I think he can weather the political storm," said council member John E. "Johnny Red" Williams.. "But if he is not exonerated,
[View the full-text article, 615 words]
August 21, 1991 The News & Observer
No vindication for Brown
EDITORIAL
For Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown to claim he has been vindicated by the council's mild reprimand is an outrage. It is an insult to the people who elected him, to his fellow council members and to his city. If arrogance carried a picture in the dictionary, the profile would be that of Clarence Brown.. Mr. Brown has been anything but vindicated. He has been embarrassed and humiliated by his own irresponsibility -- and not just that pertaining to his double-billing
[View the full-text article, 415 words]
May 30, 1991 The News & Observer
Councilman asks police to drop probe
Brown's stabbing to remain mystery
JANE STANCILL
Staff writer
DURHAM -- Police have abruptly dropped their investigation into the stabbing of Durham City Council member Clarence P. Brown -- at Mr. Brown's request.. Late Wednesday, Mr. Brown signed a waiver asking detectives to cease their probe into the near-fatal stabbing, which left him bleeding on his doorstep the night of May 20. The waiver, signed by Mr. Brown at his home just after he was released from Duke Medical Center, brought an end to a case that has been surrounded by mystery
[View the full-text article, 782 words]
February 16, 1993 The News & Observer
Former councilman keeping very low profile Durham's Brown finds refuge in D.C.
NED GLASCOCK Staff writer
DURHAM -- Nearly 21 months after a near-fatal stabbing turned his life into a soap opera scandal that cost him his City Council seat and his job at N.C. Central University, Clarence Brown is keeping a low profile while working with some old associates in Washington.. As the complicated investigation into his affairs drags on, Brown has quietly landed a job in the nation's capital as a consultant for an organization of educators and researchers who specialize in issues affecting
[View the full-text article, 996 words]
The truth is out there agent Howlin - they're still suppressing it!
Nifong was DA beginning 28 April 2005.
http://www.mikenifongda.com/news09.php
The IT people have it all on the servers. The big question is will they be ordered to destroy the evidence? It's going to be harder and harder to keep secrets, as more personnel see what is going on.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.