Posted on 09/09/2006 2:39:24 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM - If three Duke University lacrosse players face a jury this spring, defense attorneys likely will take aim at Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the Durham police officer who supervised the investigation into the March 13 party at which an escort service dancer says she was raped.
The 43-year-old detective could be the prosecution's most important witness aside from the dancer herself.
In recent weeks, an attorney for one of the lacrosse players questioned the plausibility of Gottlieb's case notes, provided to the defense as evidence. Attorneys also have criticized Gottlieb for not following the Durham Police Department's guidelines in a photo lineup that he showed the accuser.
Members of the defense team are now closely examining the arrests Gottlieb made before the rape case. Records show that the sergeant arrested a disproportionate number of Duke students, all on misdemeanor violations such as carrying an open beer on a public sidewalk or violating the city's noise ordinance.
Such charges usually earn an offender a pink ticket such as those issued for speeding. But court records show Gottlieb often arrested Duke students on such charges, taking them to jail in handcuffs.
Reached by telephone, Gottlieb declined to be interviewed for this story. A department spokesman said this week the sergeant is on leave, though what kind was not disclosed.
Some residents of neighborhoods where Gottlieb worked and victims' advocates say that the sergeant is a dedicated and fair officer.
A native of Ohio, Gottlieb is married and the father of young twins. The couple is expecting another child soon. Over the past 18 years, Gottlieb has worked as a paramedic in Wake and Durham counties, as well as a Durham police officer.
A barrel-chested man, Gottlieb tends to walk with his shoulders back and chin up. Among his colleagues, he is known as outspoken and sometimes headstrong. In a 2005 court affidavit that noted his qualifications, Gottlieb listed several community colleges he has attended and professional certifications. The affidavit did not mention an academic degree beyond high school.
Students go to jail
Gottlieb got the lacrosse case weeks after serving 10 months as a patrol shift supervisor in police District 2, which includes about a quarter of the city. The district has neighborhoods as disparate as the crime-ridden Oxford Manor public housing complex and Trinity Park -- the blocks of historic homes across from a low stone wall rimming Duke's East Campus.
From May 2005 to February 2006, the period during which Gottlieb was a patrol supervisor in the district, court and police records examined by The News & Observer show that Gottlieb arrested 28 people. Twenty were Duke students, including a quarterback of the football team and the sister of a men's lacrosse player. At least 15 of the Duke students were taken to jail.
In comparison, the three other squad supervisors working in District 2 during the same 10 months -- Sgts. Dale Gunter, John Shelton and Paul Daye -- tallied a combined 64 arrests. Two were Duke students. Both were taken to jail.
Gottlieb often treated Duke students and nonstudents differently. For example, Gottlieb in 2004 wrote a young man a citation for illegally carrying a concealed .45-caliber handgun and possessing less than a half-ounce of marijuana, but records indicate he wasn't taken to jail. He was not a Duke student.
Get-tough tactics
Trinity Park residents have long complained to university and city officials about the boisterous parties thrown by the students who live there. That spurred Duke in February to buy a dozen rental properties in the neighborhood, including the house where the lacrosse team threw its spring break bash two weeks later.
The Durham police officers who responded to 911 calls about the parties were sometimes on the receiving end of defiance and disrespectful taunts. Trinity Park resident Ellen Dagenhart praised Gottlieb's get-tough tactics as a direct response to community concerns about disruptive, drunken behavior.
"There were a lot of homeowners and taxpayers who were calling the cops saying, 'Please come and make yourself seen,' " said Dagenhart, who has known Gottlieb for years. "Anyone who's seen kids passed out in a puddle of vomit is certainly happy to see the police show up. You can't blame Mark Gottlieb for that."
Durham City Manager Patrick Baker said that cracking down on Trinity Park partying was a priority for police last year.
The police department's official policy gives officers discretion in whether to transport someone to the lockup downtown. Factors other than just the "elements of the crime" can be considered, such as whether the suspect is belligerent.
"Our general order, it basically gives the officer room to use his or her own judgment," said Cpl. David Addison, a police spokesman.
But a standing order encourages officers to use alternatives to arrests for misdemeanors, including the use of written citations because of "jail overcrowding, crowded court dockets, staffing problems and the intrusiveness involved in a physical arrest."
Party house
On Oct. 8, Gottlieb and officers he supervised responded to a call about a rowdy student at a duplex at 203 Watts St. -- a Trinity Park address familiar to the police as a party house.
In an affidavit, Gottlieb wrote that officers arrived about 6:30 p.m. and told partygoers to be quiet. After the police left, party-goers urinated on neighbor Lee Coggins' home and threw a beer bottle in her direction that shattered on the sidewalk, Gottlieb wrote.
Police obtained a search warrant, and Gottlieb's squad entered the duplex at 3:19 a.m. They seized three beer kegs -- one empty -- and "beer bong tubing." On the wall was what Gottlieb described as a "stolen Duke flag." A Duke flag had been reported stolen from an administrative building on campus the previous spring.
Five students there were arrested by Gottlieb for violating the city's noise ordinance and alcohol-related misdemeanors. Another housemate, Mike Kenney, was arrested the next day.
Kenney, then 21, was charged with a noise ordinance violation and possession of an open container of alcohol on public property and taken to jail. Two days later, records show, Kenney was arrested a second time and taken to jail on charges of possession of stolen property. The flag had been in his room.
When the case went to trial in January, Gottlieb testified that in the wake of rowdy parties in Trinity Park, the department's policy was to take alcohol-related violations seriously. But the judge threw out the charges against Kenney, citing a lack of evidence.
Glen Bachman, Kenney's attorney, successfully argued that Gottlieb couldn't prove the college senior was home during the party or that the flag in his room was the same flag that had been stolen.
Coggins, the woman who called police about the party at the duplex, said Gottlieb's actions seemed responsive and professional. He doesn't have a vendetta against Duke students, she said.
"It's not like he's hanging out at their house waiting for them to do something," Coggins said.
Kathy Summerlee, Kenney's mother and a lawyer in Minnesota, called the arrest and prosecution of her son "frivolous."
Though the charges were thrown out, Kenney could have faced suspension if convicted. He graduated from Duke in May and now is looking for a job, she said.
"It was clear to all of us that the police were feeling a lot of pressure to make a difference in the behavior in that neighborhood," Summerlee said this week. "I think there was a lot of damage done in this process. It cost us money. It cost us a lot of worry. It rearranged Mike's life."
Still, some in Trinity Park cite Gottlieb as a dedicated officer. He prides himself on being a victim's advocate, often recounting stories from his years as a domestic violence investigator.
Dagenhart said she remembers seeing him at a vigil for domestic violence victims.
"This was not something he had to do as a part of his job," she said. "It's something he did as someone who cared. I know he cares about Durham. It's not just a job for him."
(News researchers David Raynor and Denise Jones contributed to this report.) Staff writer Michael Biesecker can be reached at 956-2421 or mbieseck@newsobserver.com. News researchers David Raynor and Denise Jones contributed to this report.
I e-mailed Neff about Crystal's use of the name "Dan" as one of her attackers in her written statement. It seems she ID'd 4 players on 4/4 and used 4 names on 4/6 in her written statement. Dan, Adam, Brett, and Matt are all apparently in her 4/6 statement.
All you need to know about Gottlieb.
Sickening.
But not surprising......
I hope this judge read the motions.
Leader of Durham NAACP to step down
by CAROLYN NORTON : The Herald-Sun, Sep 17, 2006 : 9:45 pm ET
DURHAM -- When the president of the Durham chapter of the NAACP's term in office runs out in December, he doesn't plan to run again.
The Rev. Charles D. Smith of Union Baptist Church said it was time for him to step down.
"I think two years is enough for me," Smith said. "I've had a good experience of it."
Smith counts among his accomplishments building local membership in the branch.
Most recently, Smith decried an effort by the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to boycott Target. Smith said that while the NAACP's national president, Bruce Gordon, recommended in July that blacks stay away from Target stores, activists locally "have no concern about Target." Smith spoke out after Amina Turner, executive director of the state chapter, presented the issue to the City Council.
Smith said the matter "hasn't come up" in meetings of the Durham chapter or its executive committee since Gordon's July 17 speech, and that no members had voiced displeasure with the retailer to him.
The Durham chapter may have as many as 600 members, according to an estimate by its membership committee.
The state chapter of the NAACP is also in Durham, having moved from Greensboro recently.
So far, only one person has stepped up publicly to say he wants to succeed Smith -- a candidate Smith said he supported. Fred Foster Jr. is the branch's political chair, and a member of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. He's chairman of the Durham Voter Coalition and treasurer of the Durham County Democratic Party. -cut-
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-770648.html
Letter: N&O, Sep 18, 2006 12:30 AM
Fight resegregation
Thanks for your support (editorial, Sept. 9) for NAACP President Rev. William J. Barber, and his call to the State of North Carolina to stop the tide of resegregation in our schools. Attorney General Roy Cooper should file a friend of the court brief in support of the right of local school boards to counter the tide of resegregation our children are experiencing in many cities.
You wrote that "It took hard work by the courts and local school districts in the 1960s and '70s to dismantle those barriers" of segregation. Courts and school boards were important factors in this nation's proudest decade, when we aligned the words of our Constitution and the moral teachings of our faiths to start the long process of breaking down racist structures in education and society. But let us also record that millions of African-American and many white parents and children risked their careers and sometimes their lives on this first step toward equality. These brave families were ably represented by brave NAACP lawyers, who worked through long nights to write and argue the cases which encouraged the courts and school boards to find their moral bearings.
Alan McSurely
Chair, Legal Redress Committee, State Conference of NAACP, Durham
http://www.newsobserver.com/580/story/487622.html
* Durham is most fortunate to have these folks
hard at work helping us find our moral bearings.
The NAACP called for a gag order (unusual for them in that they usually oppose gag orders). They pushed the line that this case had a racial component; and shared a rally with the NOI and NBBP (with Shabazz as the keynote speaker). Everyone there was addressed as "brother and sister".
Naively, before this case I had supposed that some of the people in the NAACP, especially those in the higher branches, still believed in what they presumably stood for; and would see through all of the hype and come out on the side of truth no matter what.
I stand corrected now.
(AFAIK, the state branch is still showing an 80-point list of accusations about the rape case--inflamatory, and keeping the lie alive.)
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2006/08/nifong-tarnishes-naacp.html
Interesting that Elgin Mellown wrote a letter supporting hte Durham PD in its crackdown on students. Mrs. Recall and I were students in Elgin Mellown's class at different times. We were surprised that he would write such a letter. We both enjoyed the experience and one of our first dates was a mixer he held at his house in Trinty Park when she was a student in his class! He was very soft spoken and a gentleman, and must be in his eighties by now. The fact that he would write such a letter tells me three things: First, the neighborhood had really had it with the partying; Second, even reasonable people in Trinity Park no longer cared how the police addressed the issue, even if it involved over the top tactics, such as cuffing, embarrassment, imprisonment, criminal records, etc. Third, Coach K is correct that the faculty at Duke has lost sight of hte fact that they are in the "kid business." The faculty at Duke have acted despicably; Mellown supporting the pot bangers at the expense of Duke students is disappointing, and believe me he would have been last on the list to support this nonsense.
Wholesale changes may be in order.
Link to new thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1703894/posts?page=1
I meant unidentified DNA. We already know about the boyfriend's DNA.
My point was that there was no unidentified DNA found on Mangum to compare to, unlike the Innocence Project cases.
Apples and oranges. None of the circumstances in those cases parallel this case in any way.
Actually, what Mangum is alleging is probably closer to "acquaintance" rape, inasmuch as "stranger" rape means a complete, never-before-seen attacker from an unknown population. The fact that she claimed to have names and a known population of potential attackers makes them "acquainted."
Well, there's none until Nifong pulls it out of his hat and claims the report wasn't finished.
Catching up....
http://www.duke.edu/web/police/about/newsletters/DUPD_June06_newsletter.pdf
Page 3
Brian DeLuca "Man Behind the Badge"
WRAL's Julia Sims is reporting that former Sgt. Mark Gottlieb died on Saturday, apparently of suicide.
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2014/07/gottlieb-news.html
Dekalb County? Whoa. Let me see what I can find
Cy County News (NC)
Mark David Gottlieb
a year ago | 0 0 comments | 115 115 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Retired law enforcement officer, fireman and paramedic Mark D. Gottlieb, 51, passed away on July 5, 2014 in Dekalb County, Ga. Mark served the public for over 30 years specializing in violent crimes and domestic violence. At Mark’s Memorial, Deputy Chief Larry Smith noted that Mark worked some hard cases but never tarnished his badge. Mark opened Black Diamond Lawn Care after his retirement until he and his family relocated to the mountains of western North Carolina for his wife’s job.
In addition to emergency services, Mark served as a volunteer for the children in the community. Mark was a soccer coach and t-ball coach for multiple seasons. He was a volunteer with Communities in Schools and spent time reading to the children in Clay County Schools, often in uniform.
A dedicated father, husband, and friend, his quick smile, open arms, and willingness to serve others will never be forgotten.
Mark is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Kilgus Gottlieb; and his children, Maryanne, Charlie, and Lauren Gottlieb of Warne. His parents, Bob and Estey Gottlieb of Toledo, Ohio; and sisters, Sue and Audrey.
Memorials can be sent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial or to an Education Fund for the Children established by friends of the family, at: http: www.gofundme.com.
Read more: Clay County Progress - Mark David Gottlieb
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