Posted on 07/28/2006 4:52:22 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM -- Raleigh police have charged two Durham Police Department officers in connection with an incident that occurred July 20 outside a Glenwood Avenue sports bar.
The officers, Gary Powell Lee, 38, of 3588 Copper Creek Lane, Franklinton, and Scott Christian Tanner, 33, of 2516 Hiking Trail, Raleigh, both face counts of simple assault. Conviction on the misdemeanor carries with it, for someone with no prior offenses on their record, the possibility of a maximum 30-day jail sentence and a $1,000 fine.
Lee and Tanner are accused of assaulting Rene Dennis Thomas, a cook who works at Blinco's Sports Restaurant and Bar, 6711 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh. The charges stem from a parking-lot altercation that occurred late on July 20 as five current and two former Durham Police Department officers were leaving a going-away party for a departing officer.
A criminal summons issued Thursday alleged that Lee, a member of the department's Special Operations Division, tried to strike Thomas and tackled him, causing the cook to fall to the ground. A second summons alleged that Tanner, a motorcycle officer who works in the department's Traffic Services Unit, kicked Thomas in the head.
Thomas has told television reporters that as many as six men participated in the assault, which began with an exchange of racial slurs. But Raleigh Police Department spokesman Jim Sughrue said detectives in that city don't intend to charge anyone else in connection with the incident, or add later to the charges they've already filed.
"It's been extensively investigated, and we're confident that the responsible individuals have been charged," Sughrue said.
But Lee and Tanner -- and three of their colleagues -- could still face sanctions from the Durham Police Department. An internal investigation is continuing and should conclude in two to three weeks, Police Chief Steve Chalmers said at a news conference Thursday.
The Durham probe is focusing on a wider range of issues that include the alleged use of racial slurs. "The alleged conduct is something that is certainly deplorable to us, and something we don't want to be consistent in the way we operate and conduct ourselves," Chalmers said. "The entire allegation is disturbing."
Lee and Tanner had previously been restricted to administrative duties, and remain so. The other three officers in the case -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, Officer Richard Clayton and Officer James Griffin -- had also been restricted but on Thursday were allowed to resume their normal duties.
The decision doesn't mean the three have been cleared, but does indicate that based on "the facts we've already uncovered ... there's no reason we can't put these officers back on full duty," Chalmers said.
Asked later if that meant the three had played only a minor role in the incident, Chalmers said, "At least we can say it wasn't a major role."
All of the officers have the right to a lawyer's help, and two, Gottlieb and Lee, have retained the Durham firm of Clayton Myrick McClanahan & Coulter to represent them as the internal investigation and criminal case unfold.
A lawyer there, Allen Mason, confirmed Thursday that senior partner Jerry Clayton had spoken to Gottlieb and that another of his colleagues, former Assistant District Attorney Freda Black, had spoken to Lee.
One of the two former Durham officers involved in the case, James Kennedy, has also retained Clayton's firm and has talked with Mason. Kennedy is a former motorcycle officer who left the department late last year. The other former Durham officer who was present remains unidentified.
Asked if the lawyers and their clients would speak up to offer their version of what happened, Mason said there's "not a chance in the world" of that happening outside formal channels.
"We're not Duke lacrosse lawyers," Mason said alluding to the year's most highly publicized Durham Police Department case, one that Gottlieb and Richard Clayton, who's no relation to lawyer Jerry Clayton, have both worked on. "We don't practice that way. We don't comment about pending cases, we don't do interviews, we don't make statements."
The Raleigh charges were notable for the fact that they didn't address what Thomas has said was the first act of the confrontation, a move by one of the men involved to poke him in the shoulder with a finger. The charge against Lee addressed an act Thomas alleged was committed immediately afterward by a second man, and the charge against Tanner addressed something that happened after Thomas fell to the ground.
The shoulder poke was likely a criminal act under North Carolina law, given court decisions that have held "the merest unauthorized touching of another [person] is an assault," said Barry Winston, a criminal-defense lawyer in Chapel Hill.
A judge "who strictly interprets the law would, I suspect, hold that North Carolina law requires him to convict someone who walks up to someone and in an antagonistic fashion pokes that person with his finger," although that's "not what the average person thinks of as assault," Winston said.
Raleigh detectives filed Thursday's charges after consulting prosecutors in Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby's office, a move Sughrue said is standard in officer-involved cases. The spokesman declined to say why there wasn't a charge addressing the alleged shoulder-poke.
"Based on the investigation of the case, and facts present, it was determined that these two charges were the appropriate charges to bring," Sughrue said.
Thomas was surprised Thursday to hear that the charges involved the officers they did. "Lee and Tanner? Huh. OK. Check that again and call me back," he said before cutting off a brief interview. "I don't think you have the right guys."
The cook did not elaborate, and did not return a call placed to his cell phone late Thursday afternoon.
The Raleigh department's decision to issue a criminal summons for each of the officers, rather than an arrest warrant, saved Lee and Tanner an appearance before a magistrate and possibly the need to post bail to avoid detention. Sughrue said the officers didn't receive any special treatment.
"That is very typically the way a simple assault case is handled," he said. "That's very consistent with the way we'd handle the same case if the suspects had not been law enforcement officers."
Also routine was the Raleigh department's decision to assign detectives from its own internal-affairs unit to work the case. No matter what agency they work for, when police are "suspect in a case in Raleigh, the case is investigated by internal affairs," Sughrue said.
Elected officials said they're watching how the criminal case plays out.
Mayor Bill Bell said the allegations, if true, are unfortunate. "If in fact it did happen, I'd hope they'd be prosecuted to the fullest extent," he said.
City Councilman Eugene Brown agreed. "It's always problematic when you have those hired and paid for enforcing the law breaking the law," he said. "I want to withhold judgment, but so far, this is just embarrassing."
Lee has worked for the department since 1999. Tanner joined the force in 1997, and was recently the beneficiary of a department-organized fundraiser intended to help him and another officer pay for cancer treatments. He suffers from Hodgkin's
Well, hell. I missed this story early on. I hope y'all don't cut my pay, lol...
Lacrosse case may get single judge
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-756704.html
Check the Diamond Girls message board-- cops know the hookers- they even have tapes
Finesse, Durham Bar President, is (2001) executive officer of the Committee--
Simeon's wife, Fern Gunn, works for the NC Bar!
K. Spaulding's wife is/was? a VP in Duke Med Center..
Bell
No pay cut!
If this case doesn't go away by Labor Day, then it will be dismissed during the Christmas break. The fix is in, folks. There's not going to be a trial and Nifong will remain DA. JMO. They don't dare try this case in the national spotlight. It's not gonna happen.
The stupid one may be Nifong, but you already knew that. :)
From the Governor appointee's presser:
"... I believe that Durham's District Attorney should be selected by the voters of Durham, not by the Governor. ..."
you got a link to Diamond Girls? i can't seem to find one...
From the H-S:
If the "exceptional" designation comes, those involved in the lacrosse matter would come up with the names of three possible judges and submit them to the Supreme Court chief justice, who would select one of them.
//
Good bye Stephens!
brb
Let me check with evil twim.
ya'll want to start a new thread on this story, or keep this one?
Is Bell still an NCCU trustee?
Someone still needs to check out the "non-profit" development company, UDI Community Development Corp. Bell is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
http://www.udicdc.org/
Your call, abb.
A new thread may get some comments from FR legal eagles, though there are some good links here that may get buried.
"Senior Resident Superior Court Judge"
Does anyone have a name?
Help me out here, I'm getting confused. But allow me a few random thoughts which maybe somebody can tie together...
Didn't Duke push the frats and teams off campus into the neighborhoods--where they would certainly get into trouble with the neighbors (instead of leaving them on a kind of "fraternity row" on campus)?
The current Duke administration doesn't like frats/athletics?
With sufficient complaints, maybe they could lthen move to abolish frats and/or curtail some athletics?
(Believe me, some of them are wacko enough to think that way.) Was this the pattern at some of the universities where some of the admin had served before coming to Duke?
Ergo, was there a deliberate encouragement of complaints against frats/athletic team houses? Or at least a welcoming of same?
Instead of campus police, regular Durham police were patrolling Buchanan street that night (because it was spring break?)
Didn't someone on the Durham city council (?) or in the city government live on Buchanan st. a few houses down from the lacrosse house?
Was there a development company interested in land on Buchanan St, for redevelopment? Was there a connection between the above person and the development company?
Of course, there may be nothing at all to any of the above. And some of my suppositions may be wrong (hey it's Saturday morning). But any guesses?
Kenny - 2/12 - Remove Comment
I was talking with a cop the other day and they said they are going to shut this club down, some one complained that people were giving bjs in the vip. And that this club is under investigation for this. They went on to say the girl who did it confessed and her confession is why they are closing the club, only she got in no trouble for admitting to it cause they need her in court to prove the citys case against the club. She even told this to an ale officer and they are also checking the zone ing again because this club is located in a neighborhood and you can't have a stip club so close to houses and churches . I heard this straight from a cop down at the hot dog (pascuals) on gary and holloway.
Closingthedoors - 2/14 - Remove Comment
But IBM and Nortel aren't governed by ALE, strip clubs are, and when this club was zoned it was very hard for Larry Jones to get a permit, ask him about it, and they said they would allow the club to stay as long as they didn't get multiple complaints. All one had to do was start a petiton and give it to ALE and boom.... they can close the club down if enough people complain or in this case they get a narc to perform an illegal act and admit to it. Don't be suprised if the person doesn't have a recorded tape of what they did for the court. From what I hear some of you dancers have seen the tape, and this person has a copy of what you all say yourselves that she was on tape giving a bj......
Whatthe? - 2/19 - Remove Comment
Well, I read awhile back that the dancers here were saying that DD gave BJS for money. So, you said it yourself Diamond Girls why act so surpsrised now when she admits to it.
At least SHE tells the truth, you wouldn't know how to tell the truth if it flew up your butts.
Now, what you thought you had on her, she now has on you.
Smart move on her part and I bet you girls didn't see this one coming did you?
No need to be mad at her for being honest about something you guys posted a while ago about her is there?
So did she really or was it something you trashy girls made up?
YOU PEOPLE! - 2/21 - Remove Comment
FYO... Larry(DG's) and Jim(Teasers) have already given their cop buddies video tapes of ya'll in the couch rooms and dressing rooms... and as soon as the ALE discovers this. whatever DD is trying to do to these two clubs will fade in the wind.. so you dancers never fear..DD i can only say one thing, WOW.(shakin my head)
fyi - 2/25 - Remove Comment
The cameras in the vip at diamond girl's are just there for safety so the door girl and bouncer can see what is going on. They do not even have a tape in them unless they (the mgt.) are trying to catch someone like they did with Devan Divine. Of course that was the plan to purposly find something on her then run her skank a$$ off. It worked didn't it. The tape is still around just in case.
Heyfyi - 2/27 - Remove Comment
Yes I know, I have seen the copy. Larry played it for a few of us when we thought Devan was doing something wrong. All it shows is her head between some ladies lap, the lady was wearing pantyhose and never took them off. So, what are we trying to prove? And talking about this makes it sound as if we allow this behavior here and if ALE does read this by your own admission girls do give head in the vip area. Thanks for making sure they know it now.... Dumbass
SearchForHer - 11/11 - Remove Comment
Diamonds Girls.....Hmmmmm! Not too many girls, those that are there, shouldn't be. Over weight, bady pooch around the stomach. Too many cameras in VIP, only a hand few get completely nude in VIP. Not worth the drama.
The Honorable Orlando F. Hudson, Jr. is the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge. Judge Hudson received his Doctor of Juris Prudence from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1989 he became a Superior Court Judge serving until 1995 when he became the 14th Judicial District's senior resident judge. Prior to serving on the Superior Court bench, Judge Hudson served as a District Court Judge for five years, an Assistant District Attorney in Durham, an Assistant Public Defender in Fayetteville, and practiced law for two years with a private firm.
http://www.nccourts.org/County/Durham/Staff/Superior.asp
In trouble with the law
One summer night in 2002, excessive drinking led to charges that the woman stole a car and led officers on a reckless car chase.
The episode started at the Diamond Girls club on Angier Avenue in Durham. According to Larry W. Jones, the owner of Diamond Girls, the woman appeared at the club that night and "tried out," giving lap dances to a few men.
Jones said the manager at the time did not offer the woman a job because she was "acting funny."...
I can't see ANYONE from the Durham bench being in charge of this case. We're batting 0 for 2 so far. Of course this changes the pressure points now. The lege, the attorney general, the state bar association, the state supreme court, the gov...
You got it, abb. This is the next best thing to a change in venue or a special prosecutor.
The judge is going to be from a predominately white area.
Or even better, it's going to be a moderate black judge (assuming there is one in NC).
It's obvious the Durham CourtHouse Crowd doesn't want their money machine tampered with, otherwise Nifong and company would never contemplate this development...
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