Posted on 01/11/2012 7:34:45 AM PST by TSgt
A city police officer at the center of a controversial traffic stop involving a man with a permit to carry a concealed handgun has been fired.
Bill Adams, president of the Canton Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents Patrolman Daniel Harless, confirmed that city Safety Director Thomas Ream ruled that Harless is no longer a member of the city’s police force.
Ream issued a three-page ruling dated Tuesday.
“It is quite clear that (Harless’) actions represented a pattern of behavior where inappropriate verbal abuse and threats of death or great bodily harm of the various complainants occurred,” Ream wrote.
“This escalating pattern of potentially dangerous behavior cannot be justified or excused and clearly illustrates the seriousness of the departmental infractions.”
Harless plans to appeal the decision, Adams said.
Harless was accused of violating police department rules during the June 8 traffic stop during which police cruiser video shows Harless berating and threatening a man pulled over around 1:30 a.m. on Newton Avenue NW.
Harless unleashed a flurry of profanities at the driver, shouting he should have gunned down the driver, William E. Barlett, for being stupid.
The cruiser video went viral after it captured the attention of Ohioans for Concealed Carry, which posted the video online.
The police department’s internal affairs division launched an investigation, examining Harless’ behavior during the June 8th arrest and two unrelated traffic stops, each captured on a police cruiser dash camera.
In the June 8 stop, he was accused of violating the department’s rules and regulations for cooperation with the public, deportment and treatment of persons in custody. For that, he faced being suspended or fired.
Harless was placed on medical leave and other officers donated their sick days to him when his paid sick-leave time ran out.
The union had asked for an extension for the disciplinary hearing due to Harless being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances that transpired,” Adams said. “We feel that due to the fact that (Harless) has PTSD, that nobody realized it for eight-plus years, for it to come to light the way it did ... this is not a way we wanted this to play out. PTSD is obviously a disease.”
Adams said that the incident that sparked the disease occurred in 2003 when a suspect nearly bit off Harless’ finger while trying to get the officer’s gun.
“Here’s a guy who was in a life-and-death situation,” Adams said, adding that since the June 8 incident came to light, Harless has been diagnosed several times with PTSD.
“Most people that have a bad day on their job can go home, put their legs up and relax,” Adams said. “We can go home from our jobs in a body bag or with a serious physical injury from the hospital.”
He noted the recent incident in which Officer Tim Marks was brutally attacked by a suspect.
“It affects people in different ways. Unfortunately, (Harless) had PTSD, and it wasn’t realized for eight years. Unfortunately, he was fired, and we will address that situation at a later time.”
It is interesting that all the gun owners I know very much support law and order and the police. This Harless guy was obviously more a prodemrat union stooge than he was a policeman.
I find the idea of putting a guy using the PTSD defense back out on the street as a cop to be criminally vaccuous.
Ya’ll need to be on your guard when your community pols start talking about consolidating police forces in neighboring small towns. You do not want to wake up someday and find you’re under the thumb of a national police force. Sometimes alledged “inefficiences” are a good thing.
Just look at what’s happened with regionalized schools. The quality of education has declined and the teacher unions have become nothing more than an arm of the Marxist demrat party. Too many teachers are bringing their Marxist politics into the class rooms.
Doesn’t it bother anyone in the least, but me, that today’s schools get ever so excited about graduating students with the equivalent of a 1950s 8th grade education?
We have one rule in my house that has lead to twenty-five years of marital harmony. It is considered inviolable, and it applies perfectly, here.
You can ask for my help, or tell me what you want me to do...you DO NOT get to do both.
The two concepts are becoming increasingly distant relations.
PTSD you say? Turn in your gun with your badge, genius. You have mental instability issues. You can’t even get a CCW now.
And cowardice is not a disability.
I’m not yet that pessimistic. I think it’s more a matter of particular police departments and particular policemen/women. Even an in an antigun state like NJ, where I obtained my permit to purchase a hand gun, you can find both helpful and obstructionist police departments and policemen/women.
In NJ it is almost impossible for an ordinary citizen to obtain a CCP. However, the town police officer who over saw the gun purchase permit program could not have been more helpful. She advised me if there was a bottleneck it would be the State Police part of the vetting process. As it turned out I had my permit in about a week. Perhaps my having been career military had something to do with it as my life was an open book and on record.
Unfortuntely and all too often the wrong people seek and are selected for police officers. By that I mean it seems people who were bullys as kids go for law enforcement. I believe it’s a means for these miscreants to satisfy their need for power over other people. Harless was undoubtedly one of these people.
Bottom line: I still try to judge each police departmemnt and police officer individually. I will support and respect them until they prove unworthy.
To a resident of Florida, such as myself, this sounds like you lionizing the cop that snagged you in his speed trap because he ticketed you for a lower speed than he claims to have clocked you at.....
Is it "legal?" Sure. But it's no less legal if he's a prick about it. The problem is the will to enforce "legal gamesmanship," not the comportment with which that enforcement is carried out.
Claiming “medical problems” when caught in a jam is an old political ploy. The first one I remember was Nixon having an attack of phlebitis when Watergate blew up. After that, almost every politician or crook (I repeat myself) that was caught in the act showed up in court in a wheelchair and under “doctor’s care” - and with a wink-wink-nudge-nudge, the courts bought most of it.
I think, as others pointed out, it’s a win-win for this guy. He gets off the hook and rubs it in by getting an untaxable lifetime disability income. Others, somewhere, are taking notes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.