Post by WaTcHeR on Jun 2, 2006 14:19:05 GMT -5
06.02.2006 - The Richmond City Commission has committed to decide on an outside investigative source to research a recent complaint of police brutality filed against the Richmond Police Department. The decision should be made by the next meeting of the Citizen’s Police Advisory Board scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in City Hall.
The board met Thursday with about 50 Richmond residents concerned with a complaint filed by 17-year-old Travis Parks, who claims to have been treated with brutal force by Officer Kelly Rouse. Rouse admits to beating Parks in the legs with a baton several times, according to the officer’s report.
Parks is the son of Debra Parks, 53, who was struck May 19 on East Irvine Street by Domino’s Pizza delivery driver James Clifford, 22, of Richmond.
According to the report released from the Richmond Police Depart-ment, Parks was hit by the vehicle during heavy rainfall and suffered injuries to her head and legs. She remains in the University of Kentucky Medical Center in stable condition.
The altercation between Parks and the Richmond police officers dispatched to the scene began when the police finally found the scene of the accident, even though Travis and his sister, Calvetta Winstead, had tried to flag them down while police passed the scene several times, Travis Parks said in an interview shortly after the incident.
Videotapes played at Thursday’s meeting show that Parks was using obscene language toward the officers. According to reports filed by Rouse and Officers Joshua Hale and Timothy Humble, Parks was cursing and walking toward the officers with clinched fists.
Richmond resident Lula Herron expressed her confusion about why the officers retaliated by using force.
“Are clinched fists and curse words a weapon?” she asked Maj. Eddie Goode, who was on the scene along with Officers Rouse, Hale and Humble
“The closed fists put the officers in fear of danger,” Goode said.
Pauline Todd, a 40-year Richmond resident did not understand the actions taken with Clifford, who was driving the pizza delivery car.
“I’ve been reading the paper since this incident happened and I want to know why was this young man not charged?” she asked.
“I interviewed the young man and he knew that he had hit something,” Goode said. “He turned around and came back three or four times trying to find out what he had hit. Ms. Parks had been thrown out of the roadway and behind a mailbox. She was wearing dark clothing and he overlooked her.”
Clifford went back to where he worked and told his manager and coworkers what had happened, Goode said. Another Dominoes pizza delivery driver told Clifford at work that he had just come from the area where he had hit something and saw a lot of police cars. Clifford then went back to the scene, Goode said.
“We are going to continue the investigation and contact the commonwealth’s attorney to see if he wishes to present it to the grand jury,” he said. “The reason the young man was not charged on the scene was that in order for an assault charge, there must be a criminal intent to commit a crime. By him returning back to the scene, I don’t think he intended on hitting Ms. Parks.”
Sheree Campbell, who lives near the area where the incident took place, voiced her concern with the speed Clifford was traveling while driving down Irvine Street.
“The speed limit on that street is 25 miles-per-hour and the police report says that he was driving 35-40 miles-per-hour, but he was never given a citation,” she said.
Goode admitted to not noticing the discrepancy on the report and said the report would be reviewed again and checked for accuracy.
Another item that was questioned was the difference between reports filed by the Richmond Police Department and the Richmond Fire Department, which also responded to the scene.
According to Tom Smith, chairman of the advisory board, the report filed by the fire department documented that Parks was hit in the abdomen, as well.
All of these points will be considered by the investigating party, who Tom Reed of Eastern Kentucky University’s Department of Criminal Justice, thinks should be someone who is experienced in doing these types of internal investigations.
“I did a thorough study of the Orange Street incident (occurred in 2004 involving police brutality against black teenagers) and it was anything but expert,” he said.
The previous investigation of the Richmond Police Department was conducted by members of the its own department.
“We need to get beyond the ‘Blue Code of Silence,’” Reed said.
Aside from the investigations called for in Parks’ case, John Fisher, regional director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, pointed out the progress that has been made in the past two years.
“I would like to commend the work that the Richmond Human Rights Commission did a couple of years ago during the Orange Street incident,” Fisher said. “You managed to get an agreement with the state justice department regarding sensitivity training. I can tell you that was an unprecedented agreement and other cities are envious of that, including Lexington and Louisville, so you have done a lot of good work here.”
Richmond City Commissioner Robert Blythe also recognizes the progress made; however, he is aware that there is still work to be done.
“We might make five steps forward, but because of one step back, we conclude that we haven’t gotten anywhere,” he said. “The truth is that there have been great improvements made. There are still things left to do, but unless we are specific and unless people are willing to come forward and help out the situation, this will not work.”
Blythe expressed his frustrations with those who may have ideas about how to improve relations between the police and city, but choose not to speak.
“We’re spending entirely too much time hitting and missing,” he said. “We need to talk about what we really think will make this thing better and then commit the resources necessary to make it happen. We’ve played with it too long and we’re creating in our community wounds that I’m afraid will never heal.”
The board met Thursday with about 50 Richmond residents concerned with a complaint filed by 17-year-old Travis Parks, who claims to have been treated with brutal force by Officer Kelly Rouse. Rouse admits to beating Parks in the legs with a baton several times, according to the officer’s report.
Parks is the son of Debra Parks, 53, who was struck May 19 on East Irvine Street by Domino’s Pizza delivery driver James Clifford, 22, of Richmond.
According to the report released from the Richmond Police Depart-ment, Parks was hit by the vehicle during heavy rainfall and suffered injuries to her head and legs. She remains in the University of Kentucky Medical Center in stable condition.
The altercation between Parks and the Richmond police officers dispatched to the scene began when the police finally found the scene of the accident, even though Travis and his sister, Calvetta Winstead, had tried to flag them down while police passed the scene several times, Travis Parks said in an interview shortly after the incident.
Videotapes played at Thursday’s meeting show that Parks was using obscene language toward the officers. According to reports filed by Rouse and Officers Joshua Hale and Timothy Humble, Parks was cursing and walking toward the officers with clinched fists.
Richmond resident Lula Herron expressed her confusion about why the officers retaliated by using force.
“Are clinched fists and curse words a weapon?” she asked Maj. Eddie Goode, who was on the scene along with Officers Rouse, Hale and Humble
“The closed fists put the officers in fear of danger,” Goode said.
Pauline Todd, a 40-year Richmond resident did not understand the actions taken with Clifford, who was driving the pizza delivery car.
“I’ve been reading the paper since this incident happened and I want to know why was this young man not charged?” she asked.
“I interviewed the young man and he knew that he had hit something,” Goode said. “He turned around and came back three or four times trying to find out what he had hit. Ms. Parks had been thrown out of the roadway and behind a mailbox. She was wearing dark clothing and he overlooked her.”
Clifford went back to where he worked and told his manager and coworkers what had happened, Goode said. Another Dominoes pizza delivery driver told Clifford at work that he had just come from the area where he had hit something and saw a lot of police cars. Clifford then went back to the scene, Goode said.
“We are going to continue the investigation and contact the commonwealth’s attorney to see if he wishes to present it to the grand jury,” he said. “The reason the young man was not charged on the scene was that in order for an assault charge, there must be a criminal intent to commit a crime. By him returning back to the scene, I don’t think he intended on hitting Ms. Parks.”
Sheree Campbell, who lives near the area where the incident took place, voiced her concern with the speed Clifford was traveling while driving down Irvine Street.
“The speed limit on that street is 25 miles-per-hour and the police report says that he was driving 35-40 miles-per-hour, but he was never given a citation,” she said.
Goode admitted to not noticing the discrepancy on the report and said the report would be reviewed again and checked for accuracy.
Another item that was questioned was the difference between reports filed by the Richmond Police Department and the Richmond Fire Department, which also responded to the scene.
According to Tom Smith, chairman of the advisory board, the report filed by the fire department documented that Parks was hit in the abdomen, as well.
All of these points will be considered by the investigating party, who Tom Reed of Eastern Kentucky University’s Department of Criminal Justice, thinks should be someone who is experienced in doing these types of internal investigations.
“I did a thorough study of the Orange Street incident (occurred in 2004 involving police brutality against black teenagers) and it was anything but expert,” he said.
The previous investigation of the Richmond Police Department was conducted by members of the its own department.
“We need to get beyond the ‘Blue Code of Silence,’” Reed said.
Aside from the investigations called for in Parks’ case, John Fisher, regional director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, pointed out the progress that has been made in the past two years.
“I would like to commend the work that the Richmond Human Rights Commission did a couple of years ago during the Orange Street incident,” Fisher said. “You managed to get an agreement with the state justice department regarding sensitivity training. I can tell you that was an unprecedented agreement and other cities are envious of that, including Lexington and Louisville, so you have done a lot of good work here.”
Richmond City Commissioner Robert Blythe also recognizes the progress made; however, he is aware that there is still work to be done.
“We might make five steps forward, but because of one step back, we conclude that we haven’t gotten anywhere,” he said. “The truth is that there have been great improvements made. There are still things left to do, but unless we are specific and unless people are willing to come forward and help out the situation, this will not work.”
Blythe expressed his frustrations with those who may have ideas about how to improve relations between the police and city, but choose not to speak.
“We’re spending entirely too much time hitting and missing,” he said. “We need to talk about what we really think will make this thing better and then commit the resources necessary to make it happen. We’ve played with it too long and we’re creating in our community wounds that I’m afraid will never heal.”