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
I don't believe that. I don't think there is any connection at all between the special designation and Cheek deciding not to run.
"This is a backroom deal. And in my opinion, it's the first step to getting rid of this case with none of the political players getting hurt."
Hey, I'm content if none of the Lacrosse players get hurt.
I'll do the deal. End the case, and the spotlight gets turned elsewhere. You can have Durham.
Excellent investigative reporting, Mike. You certainly gained more information in a couple of hours than the media has in a week. This shows it isn't hard to do if an organization has any desire to seek out the truth.
You are the man and I certainly enjoy your posting on this forum. Thanks.
That's one of the great things about this group, jennyd. We can disagree on a point, but nothing gets personal. We'll see how it plays out.
I happen to believe that there is a connection and that is why it took Cheek so long to make a decision. Those things don't get worked out in a couple of hours. Cheek knew what he was going to do all along. It just took time to get what some others wanted worked out and get as many people involved in the lacrosse case on board.
Oh please. What deal? I believe the last time this group even met was in March, before the lacrosse party.
How did they discuss this "deal"?
Cheek also was talking about a special prosecutor, not a special designation. Wouldn't you think that if there was any deal, Cheek would have asked for a special prosecutor?
It is ok with me if you don't want to believe that there is a connection. I am perfectly content to believe that there is a possible connection. The players are all in the legal profession. They see and communicate with each other regularly. Publicly acknowledged meetings are not necessary to broker such a deal. Cheek would have not even been needed in any direct contact with Nifong. In politics, what goes on behind closed doors all to often stays behind closed doors. We only get to see the final results.
If I thought it was going to be in Sunday Paper, I wouldn't had gone over there. However, it's apparent the papers aren't interested in the least (at least the N&O).
thanks
We'll have to wait and see. I didn't see anything indicating the Judge will be from outside the normal Judges that rotate through that division (Superior Court Judges).
It stated a state official would select one of 3 Judges that the Defense lawyers propose.
Do you really think they can pick 3 Judges from anywhere in the State? Doesn't sound right.
The designation is a compromise. Cheek may have called for a special prosecutor, but he settled for this.
We don't know when Nifong and Cheek last talked -- directly or indirectly.
And why would Nifong even bring up that early March meeting? Sounds like a red herring to me.
There is no limitation in the rule (sorry that earlier I called it a statute). There's nothing to prevent them from selecting a judge from outside the circuit. The state supreme court chief justice -- not the chief circuit judge -- makes the final call after each side submits three names. That suggests to me that the pool is statewide. The only qualification seems to be that the person is a judge. (It would help if we knew the background of this rule.)
Of course there is a connection. But some don't want you to realize it.
Some of your statements make no sense. And no, there's nothing funny about it if you mean humorous.
I think it has been posted.
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