Posted on 03/18/2005 3:36:11 PM PST by Brian Mosely
A Knox County Republican political operative and county employee resigned Thursday, saying he has been harassed by county law enforcement officers and become an enemy of the now-former chairman of the local party.
In a lengthy e-mail to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, Tyler Harber, 24, accused the Knox County Sheriff's Office of "vengeful and illegal actions" in recent days.
"Last night, after I was followed by undercover officers and then forcefully removed from my vehicle, I was handcuffed and confined in the back of a Knox County Sheriff's vehicle, officers refused to show proper identification, read me my rights, or notify me of why an illegal search of my vehicle was conducted, or why I was taken into custody. I decided that I could no longer endanger myself and my loved ones," the e-mail states.
Harber's letter follows the anonymous delivery Monday of copies of e-mails to Ragsdale that came from the personal account of former Knox County Republican Party Chairman Chad Tindell. The correspondence dealt with newly elected Chairman Brian Hornback's removal of paperwork and computers from Republican Party headquarters over the weekend.
The Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, including the possibility that someone illegally accessed Tindell's e-mail account. The FBI_also has been notified.
Harber makes no allusion to the package of e-mails in his resignation letter. He wrote that he had become "a political target of the Sheriff or at least persons in the Knox County Sheriff's Office."
(Excerpt) Read more at knoxnews.com ...
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3630707,00.html
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