The officer and the crowd eventually left after they realized they had the wrong address, and the unidentified girl was found safe, according to the DA's office.
Illiteracy is a terrible thing.
Posted on 05/12/2020 10:52:59 AM PDT by Tired of Taxes
A North Carolina officer was fired and is under criminal investigation after he allegedly gathered a group of people and tried to break into a teen's home while searching for a missing person, prosecutors said.
New Hanover & Pender County District Attorney Ben David charged Jordan Kita, a former deputy with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office, with "forcible trespass, misdemeanor breaking and entering, and willful failure to discharge duties," for the incident that took place on May 3, David's office said. Monica Shepard told reporters that her son Dameon answered loud knocks to the door of their Pender County home and were allegedly confronted by Kita and other men, who were armed. Shepard and her son are both black; Kita and the group that confronted them are white.
Kita, who was off-duty but allegedly had his weapon and uniform, said they were looking for a missing girl and came to the address looking for a suspect with a different name, according to the mother and son. Dameon Shepard said he was confused since there was a sign on the lawn that announced his graduation from Laney High School with his name on it.
"I'm just like, 'My name is Dameon. My name is Dameon. I go to Laney High School. I graduated. My sign's on the lawn," the teen told ABC affiliate WWAY.
Monica Shepard said she tried to step in and told Kita he had to leave. The officer allegedly said, "Well, I'm just going to step inside and close the door and talk to you guys," and put his foot in the door, according to Shepard.
The officer and the crowd eventually left after they realized they had the wrong address, and the unidentified girl was found safe, according to the DA's office.
More info and video:
(Excerpt) Read more at goodmorningamerica.com ...
This is why vigilantism is best left to Hollywood fantasy.
He’s lucky he wasn’t met by a homeowner with a 12 ga. who wasn’t afraid to use it on belligerent intruders.
“The officer and the crowd eventually left after they realized they had the wrong address...”
Just as well, dude was never gonna make detective with that kind of deductive skill anyway.
YouTube is filled with videos of uniformed cops trying to force their way into houses without a warrant. “Make it easy in yourself. We just want to look around. Then we’ll leave.”
And the old “foot in the door“ routine is not uncommon. Close the door on that foot, and you can get yourself arrested for battery on a police officer.
"Please remain calm and know that committed professionals will see that justice is done in a courtroom," he said at a news conference.
Yikes.
The officer and the crowd eventually left after they realized they had the wrong address, and the unidentified girl was found safe, according to the DA's office.
Illiteracy is a terrible thing.
These hoodless antics are going to go real bad soon.
Kita should be fired.
But he’s also under criminal investigation? That’s seems excessive. Has he screwed up like this before? Is he being investigated because he is white and the family were POC?
If anything I hold him to a higher legal standard than the head of any other vigilante gang. He knows better and knows how to get a search warrant.
Detective may have been out of reach, but he sounds like SWAT commander material for some departments.
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