Post by WaTcHeR on Mar 10, 2006 11:46:24 GMT -5
03/10/2006 - Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson placed a special deputy on administrative leave after police were told he had fired a pistol at his estranged girlfriend.
Jay Abernathy, a deputy who works in security at the City-County Building, is accused of firing at Whitney Moffett on Tuesday evening, according to an Indianapolis Police Department report. She was not hurt, and Abernathy has not been arrested.
Abernathy, 21, is the second special deputy in less than a week to face accusations of shooting at a woman. Ray Spradley, a part-time building deputy, was arrested March 3 in the slaying of his girlfriend, Nikki Henderson. Spradley is being held in the Marion County Jail.
"It's unfortunate that this occurred," Anderson said. He declined to comment specifically on either case, citing the pending investigations.
The public should not be concerned about the quality or demeanor of his special deputies, however, Anderson said. All special deputies undergo background checks, psychological tests and nine weeks of training, he said.
"I'm trying to make sure it reaches a higher level of professionalism," he said. The quality of special deputies is at a level "that it has never been in this department."
Special deputies carry guns, wear badges and have full arrest powers, but -- unlike merit deputies who patrol the streets -- their authority ends whenever they step out of uniform.
The department has fewer than 500 special deputies, Anderson said. They work as corrections officers, building deputies and security agents in hospitals or grocery stores.
Abernathy, hired as a building deputy in October, was placed on paid leave Wednesday after Moffett made a report to police. Anderson said police seized Abernathy's department-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun.
Abernathy works from 3 to 11 p.m. and earns $8.91 an hour.
According to a police report, Moffett met Abernathy about 8 p.m. Tuesday at his current girlfriend's home in the 2900 block of Gladstone Avenue. The report said Moffett and Abernathy argued over his role as father to their daughter.
Moffett, 19, got into her car and was expecting Abernathy to follow her to pick up their child. While she waited, Moffett said, she saw Abernathy raise a handgun and fire one shot in her direction, police said. The shot did not hit Moffett or her car.
Moffett reported the incident to police about 11 hours later, at 6:49 a.m. Wednesday, police said. Police found a .40-caliber casing where Moffett said the shooting occurred, the report said.
Sgt. Judy Phillips, an IPD spokeswoman, said investigators will present evidence to the Marion County prosecutor's office by early next week. Prosecutors will make the final decision on what charges, if any, Abernathy will face.
Jay Abernathy, a deputy who works in security at the City-County Building, is accused of firing at Whitney Moffett on Tuesday evening, according to an Indianapolis Police Department report. She was not hurt, and Abernathy has not been arrested.
Abernathy, 21, is the second special deputy in less than a week to face accusations of shooting at a woman. Ray Spradley, a part-time building deputy, was arrested March 3 in the slaying of his girlfriend, Nikki Henderson. Spradley is being held in the Marion County Jail.
"It's unfortunate that this occurred," Anderson said. He declined to comment specifically on either case, citing the pending investigations.
The public should not be concerned about the quality or demeanor of his special deputies, however, Anderson said. All special deputies undergo background checks, psychological tests and nine weeks of training, he said.
"I'm trying to make sure it reaches a higher level of professionalism," he said. The quality of special deputies is at a level "that it has never been in this department."
Special deputies carry guns, wear badges and have full arrest powers, but -- unlike merit deputies who patrol the streets -- their authority ends whenever they step out of uniform.
The department has fewer than 500 special deputies, Anderson said. They work as corrections officers, building deputies and security agents in hospitals or grocery stores.
Abernathy, hired as a building deputy in October, was placed on paid leave Wednesday after Moffett made a report to police. Anderson said police seized Abernathy's department-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun.
Abernathy works from 3 to 11 p.m. and earns $8.91 an hour.
According to a police report, Moffett met Abernathy about 8 p.m. Tuesday at his current girlfriend's home in the 2900 block of Gladstone Avenue. The report said Moffett and Abernathy argued over his role as father to their daughter.
Moffett, 19, got into her car and was expecting Abernathy to follow her to pick up their child. While she waited, Moffett said, she saw Abernathy raise a handgun and fire one shot in her direction, police said. The shot did not hit Moffett or her car.
Moffett reported the incident to police about 11 hours later, at 6:49 a.m. Wednesday, police said. Police found a .40-caliber casing where Moffett said the shooting occurred, the report said.
Sgt. Judy Phillips, an IPD spokeswoman, said investigators will present evidence to the Marion County prosecutor's office by early next week. Prosecutors will make the final decision on what charges, if any, Abernathy will face.