Post by WaTcHeR on Apr 22, 2006 14:57:48 GMT -5
04/22/2006 - MARSHALLVILLE - One of the two police officers involved in the arrest of a man here who died in police custody has resigned.
Meanwhile, the state investigation into the arrested man's death and the violence that flared afterward remains under wraps.
In a letter of resignation to Police Chief Stephen Stewart dated April 17 but not made public until Friday, officer Brandon Williams said it was "with mixed emotions" that he decided to quit his job and "accept a position that is more in line with my career aspirations."
Williams could not be reached for comment.
Stewart, who is in frequent contact with Williams and officer Anthony Taylor, the other police officer involved in the fatal arrest, said the resignation was completely voluntary and unrelated to the outcome of the state investigation, which is still secret.
"Whatever they decide to do is their decision alone," said Stewart, who had been hesitant to release information on Williams' resignation for fear of fueling rumors that continue to swirl through the town of 1,300 three months after the prisoner died and the police chief's home was gutted by an arson fire.
There is no reason why one officer resigned instead of the other, the chief said, except that it was Williams' desire to do so. Both officers have been on paid leave since the incident. Stewart said he does not know whether either officer has hired an attorney - a choice he also has left up to them.
It was 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 when officers Williams and Taylor went patrolling in an unmarked pickup truck for Clarence "Clint" Walker, a 48-year-old father and grandfather who was wanted on probation and parole violations. When they spotted him walking through a local housing project, the two police officers attempted to subdue and arrest him, reportedly with pepper spray.
Walker, who had been known to resist arrest before, struggled with the officers. At some point, he stopped breathing and was pronounced dead at the hospital in nearby Fort Valley an hour-and-a-half later.
After witnessing or hearing of the arrest, angry townspeople gathered outside the police station, some throwing objects at the building and police cars.
Chief Stewart, who had driven the unconscious Walker in an ambulance to the Peach Regional Medical Center, hastily arranged to have his pregnant wife and two children taken out of town. Shortly afterward, around 1 a.m., the Stewarts' home was looted and set on fire.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
The fire remains under investigation by the GBI and other agencies but little progress apparently has been made in finding the arsonists. Stewart, who has sent his family to live with relatives in metro Atlanta, returned to his job as police chief and is staying with a friend in Marshallville.
After speaking this week with District Attorney Cecilia Cooper, Stewart said he did not get the impression she had gotten any further in deciding what to do with the results of the state's criminal investigations. He has largely been kept out of the loop regarding the investigation into Walker's death, the chief said.
"They were never real talkative about it," Stewart said of state investigators.
For nearly a month, Cooper's office in Americus has had the results of the GBI investigation into Walker's death, but she has thus far refused to release its conclusions to the public.
The district attorney, who was in court in Stewart County this week and did not return phone calls from a Telegraph reporter, has said she is waiting to discuss the investigation with Walker's family before releasing any information.
Georgia open records law apparently does not require Cooper to disclose the findings until the case is closed. If she decides to file criminal charges, it will be at least May before that happens - when the next grand jury is called in Macon County. She could also decide there is no evidence of criminal activity, and close the case.
"I still think that what she's going to do is present it to the grand jury before she makes a comment on what happened," said Charles Jones, Marshallville's city attorney.
Cooper has sent letters to members of Walker's immediate family telling them she would get in touch with them to set up appointments to discuss the investigation, Marshallville Mayor Gloria Dixon said Friday. The letters specified no time that would occur, said the mayor, who also is one of Walker's cousins.
Dixon said she is in contact with Cooper, but neither she nor the city were sent a copy of the letter to the dead man's relatives. The mayor said she is not happy with the length of time it is taking for the results of the state investigation to be released, though she understands Cooper is likely occupied with other duties in the six counties she serves in the Southwestern Judicial Circuit.
"That was her decision, not ours," Dixon said of Cooper's keeping the results of the investigation secret. "Because all of us are ready for the results. ... I can't say what she's gonna do. I wish she would (release them)."
Meanwhile, the rumor mill continues to turn, Stewart said, with some residents accusing him of having stepped on Walker's neck during the arrest - even though the police chief was not even at the scene. The chief was at home getting ready for bed when his officers alerted him by phone to Walker's unconscious condition.
"Where there's lack of information, lack of fact - rumor abounds," Stewart said. "And until that comes out, none of us know and we can't even get the right information out. ... They don't want to listen to what I know of what transpired."
The chief has busied himself in the last few days with putting together a budget proposal for his department. He's moved into a new office, where framed black-and-white photographs of his wife, son and daughter overlook his desk.
DEPARTMENT'S FUTURE
Ideally, Stewart said, he'd like to hire six full-time officers plus an investigator to provide 24-hour police service to Marshallville.
With Williams' resignation and Taylor's continued absence on administrative leave, there is now just one full-time officer on duty and two vacancies, Stewart said. He recognizes that financial reality may not immediately allow creation of the full-time department he envisions - additional hiring would increase his proposed budget from just under $200,000 to $268,000, almost half of the city's entire general fund.
Still, Stewart said he is encouraged by a renewed community interest in police activity. He is helping residents start a Neighborhood Watch program and is organizing a citizens police academy that he hopes will begin in May.
These initiatives, which Stewart had hoped to start before the 29-year-old police chief was called up for a year's tour of duty in Iraq in 2004, are meant to help residents understand the service police provide behind the scenes, he said.
"We're not just here to write tickets and take people to jail," he said.
Mayor Dixon said she, too, is seeing more interest among residents in improving their community. Residents are holding a citywide cleanup today, which helps in the healing process, the first-term mayor said.
"People want closure - they really want closure so they can move on," she said. "It's a devastating thing to have happen to our town, and I pray and hope the community will build and get stronger after this.
"But the city and everyone involved needs closure."
Meanwhile, the state investigation into the arrested man's death and the violence that flared afterward remains under wraps.
In a letter of resignation to Police Chief Stephen Stewart dated April 17 but not made public until Friday, officer Brandon Williams said it was "with mixed emotions" that he decided to quit his job and "accept a position that is more in line with my career aspirations."
Williams could not be reached for comment.
Stewart, who is in frequent contact with Williams and officer Anthony Taylor, the other police officer involved in the fatal arrest, said the resignation was completely voluntary and unrelated to the outcome of the state investigation, which is still secret.
"Whatever they decide to do is their decision alone," said Stewart, who had been hesitant to release information on Williams' resignation for fear of fueling rumors that continue to swirl through the town of 1,300 three months after the prisoner died and the police chief's home was gutted by an arson fire.
There is no reason why one officer resigned instead of the other, the chief said, except that it was Williams' desire to do so. Both officers have been on paid leave since the incident. Stewart said he does not know whether either officer has hired an attorney - a choice he also has left up to them.
It was 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 when officers Williams and Taylor went patrolling in an unmarked pickup truck for Clarence "Clint" Walker, a 48-year-old father and grandfather who was wanted on probation and parole violations. When they spotted him walking through a local housing project, the two police officers attempted to subdue and arrest him, reportedly with pepper spray.
Walker, who had been known to resist arrest before, struggled with the officers. At some point, he stopped breathing and was pronounced dead at the hospital in nearby Fort Valley an hour-and-a-half later.
After witnessing or hearing of the arrest, angry townspeople gathered outside the police station, some throwing objects at the building and police cars.
Chief Stewart, who had driven the unconscious Walker in an ambulance to the Peach Regional Medical Center, hastily arranged to have his pregnant wife and two children taken out of town. Shortly afterward, around 1 a.m., the Stewarts' home was looted and set on fire.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
The fire remains under investigation by the GBI and other agencies but little progress apparently has been made in finding the arsonists. Stewart, who has sent his family to live with relatives in metro Atlanta, returned to his job as police chief and is staying with a friend in Marshallville.
After speaking this week with District Attorney Cecilia Cooper, Stewart said he did not get the impression she had gotten any further in deciding what to do with the results of the state's criminal investigations. He has largely been kept out of the loop regarding the investigation into Walker's death, the chief said.
"They were never real talkative about it," Stewart said of state investigators.
For nearly a month, Cooper's office in Americus has had the results of the GBI investigation into Walker's death, but she has thus far refused to release its conclusions to the public.
The district attorney, who was in court in Stewart County this week and did not return phone calls from a Telegraph reporter, has said she is waiting to discuss the investigation with Walker's family before releasing any information.
Georgia open records law apparently does not require Cooper to disclose the findings until the case is closed. If she decides to file criminal charges, it will be at least May before that happens - when the next grand jury is called in Macon County. She could also decide there is no evidence of criminal activity, and close the case.
"I still think that what she's going to do is present it to the grand jury before she makes a comment on what happened," said Charles Jones, Marshallville's city attorney.
Cooper has sent letters to members of Walker's immediate family telling them she would get in touch with them to set up appointments to discuss the investigation, Marshallville Mayor Gloria Dixon said Friday. The letters specified no time that would occur, said the mayor, who also is one of Walker's cousins.
Dixon said she is in contact with Cooper, but neither she nor the city were sent a copy of the letter to the dead man's relatives. The mayor said she is not happy with the length of time it is taking for the results of the state investigation to be released, though she understands Cooper is likely occupied with other duties in the six counties she serves in the Southwestern Judicial Circuit.
"That was her decision, not ours," Dixon said of Cooper's keeping the results of the investigation secret. "Because all of us are ready for the results. ... I can't say what she's gonna do. I wish she would (release them)."
Meanwhile, the rumor mill continues to turn, Stewart said, with some residents accusing him of having stepped on Walker's neck during the arrest - even though the police chief was not even at the scene. The chief was at home getting ready for bed when his officers alerted him by phone to Walker's unconscious condition.
"Where there's lack of information, lack of fact - rumor abounds," Stewart said. "And until that comes out, none of us know and we can't even get the right information out. ... They don't want to listen to what I know of what transpired."
The chief has busied himself in the last few days with putting together a budget proposal for his department. He's moved into a new office, where framed black-and-white photographs of his wife, son and daughter overlook his desk.
DEPARTMENT'S FUTURE
Ideally, Stewart said, he'd like to hire six full-time officers plus an investigator to provide 24-hour police service to Marshallville.
With Williams' resignation and Taylor's continued absence on administrative leave, there is now just one full-time officer on duty and two vacancies, Stewart said. He recognizes that financial reality may not immediately allow creation of the full-time department he envisions - additional hiring would increase his proposed budget from just under $200,000 to $268,000, almost half of the city's entire general fund.
Still, Stewart said he is encouraged by a renewed community interest in police activity. He is helping residents start a Neighborhood Watch program and is organizing a citizens police academy that he hopes will begin in May.
These initiatives, which Stewart had hoped to start before the 29-year-old police chief was called up for a year's tour of duty in Iraq in 2004, are meant to help residents understand the service police provide behind the scenes, he said.
"We're not just here to write tickets and take people to jail," he said.
Mayor Dixon said she, too, is seeing more interest among residents in improving their community. Residents are holding a citywide cleanup today, which helps in the healing process, the first-term mayor said.
"People want closure - they really want closure so they can move on," she said. "It's a devastating thing to have happen to our town, and I pray and hope the community will build and get stronger after this.
"But the city and everyone involved needs closure."