MPD officers cleared of excessive means allegations

[Chuck]

Two months after a complaint was filed with the Maysville Police Department alleging "excessive means" were used to restrain a 14-year-old juvenile, an investigation into the complaint cleared officers of the allegations.

In a letter mailed to complainant Amanda Mullins, the assistant public advocate for the Department of Public Advocacy and the person who filed the complaint, Police Chief Kent Butcher said the "investigation revealed that none of the officers named in the complaint or involved in the arrest, detention or transport of the juvenile acted in a manner that would support the allegations made."

"I do appreciate your interest in this matter and for bringing it to our attention," Butcher wrote in the letter. "It has always been our mission to keep our streets and neighborhoods as safe as possible and at the same time keep our interactions with the public as positive as possible."

The complaint was filed in mid-October by Mullins and identified four officers in the complaint, though seven officers were allegedly involved in the arrest of the female juvenile.

The juvenile was arrested on charges of intoxication initially, though other charges filed later alleged she also struck an officer and damaged property within the police department by kicking over a water cooler, according to information previously provided.

Mullins alleged in the complaint she filed that the juvenile was not able to call her grandmother for an hour after the arrest, and was initially refused medical treatment. She also said the juvenile was taunted and ridiculed by officers, as well as dragged by her restraints, causing bruising.



The information provided by Mullins was based on the testimony of the juvenile in question, she has said, as well as the testimony of witnesses. She was concerned the efforts of the officers involved went beyond what should have been necessary to handle a 14-year-old girl who weighed just 90 pounds.

Since Mullins filed the complaint and shared information with The Ledger Independent, a motion had been filed in court to apparently hold her in contempt. The motion was essentially "voided" sometime after.

The specifics of the motion are not known, and Mason County Attorney John Estill would not comment on the motion.

"It is a confidential juvenile proceeding, and I would have no comment," he said.

Butcher wrote in the letter that Major Ron Rice, assistant police chief, was assigned the complaint for investigation, and he had spent many hours interviewing and researching the allegations contained in the complaint.

"It was a very thorough investigation that he did," Butcher said Monday afternoon.



Butcher noted in the letter that he hoped "any future contact with our agency will be of a more positive nature."

Mullins did not immediately return calls Monday for comment.

Contact Misty Maynard at 606-564-9091, ext. 274.

http://www.maysville-online.com/articles/2006/12/18/local_news/3147complaint.txt

[ashley cooper]

As a concerned citizen, an internal investigation of a complaint of this velocity should never be done. There are a lot of complaints that are filed with the police department that never see the light of day and usually they are complaints of violence from our local police. I say bravo to Amanda Mullins for looking out for the rights of these every citizens. I believe our juvenile society betters when people like Amanda show there generosity and concern. The police see so much violence that they begin to live it. One officer feeds off of another officer and if the things that that young child endured that day is acceptable in our society than that I find that to be a scary thought. The Maysville Police need to take a step back and look at the violence that is displayed from their officers and get a handle on certain situations before they become out of control. People who do things and are never held accountable will continue to act inapproprietely.

[TheMan]

You have no clue.. but thanks for your opinion.

[F_Farkell]

As a concerned citizen, an internal investigation of a complaint of this velocity should never be done. There are a lot of complaints that are filed with the police department that never see the light of day and usually they are complaints of violence from our local police. I say bravo to Amanda Mullins for looking out for the rights of these every citizens. I believe our juvenile society betters when people like Amanda show there generosity and concern. The police see so much violence that they begin to live it. One officer feeds off of another officer and if the things that that young child endured that day is acceptable in our society than that I find that to be a scary thought. The Maysville Police need to take a step back and look at the violence that is displayed from their officers and get a handle on certain situations before they become out of control. People who do things and are never held accountable will continue to act inapproprietely.

When the police take that step back, I hope a thief is not holding a gun to your head while they think about what they should or should not do . Especially as not to infringe on the thief's civil rights.

Maybe if you need to call 911 they can send out a drunk kid.....

What's wrong with this picture

Fred

P.S. Good guys 1.... Drunk kids nada

[Foxy]

People who do things and are never held accountable will continue to act inapproprietely. That is why 911 was called to handle and make accountable this drunk teenager. Thanks for noticing.
I find that most people that have a problem with any type of law enforcement are those that find themselves in the backseat of a car more often than most of us. I have neighbors that hate the police, because they are always doing illegal things that cause them to be in the backseat of a police car. I on the other hand, do not have a problem with the police because I don't do things that would cause me to end up in jail!!!

[ashley cooper]

Believe me there are more people in this community that have a problem with police than just criminals. There are a lot of people who are watching to make sure that justice is served. The general public does not know of when police beat up their spouses or there running around partying and driving drunk and while on duty arresting other people for driving drunk. I don't have a problem with police in general, just ones who think they are above the law or excuse me, who know their above the law. And if I were a victim of a crime, I would not call this local police department, I would call the state police.

[JUVE]

Believe me there are more people in this community that have a problem with police than just criminals. There are a lot of people who are watching to make sure that justice is served. The general public does not know of when police beat up their spouses or there running around partying and driving drunk and while on duty arresting other people for driving drunk. I don't have a problem with police in general, just ones who think they are above the law or excuse me, who know their above the law. And if I were a victim of a crime, I would not call this local police department, I would call the state police.


Well it is strange that you would live in a city in which you have no faith in the police, or maybe you just have no idea what you are talking about.

[TheMan]

No. I know this name.. There is reason why they are posting this stuff. But it has nothing to do with corrupt policing.

Let them speak their mind. They will go away..

[User Name]

I have never been beaten by the Maysville Police.

Just for the record.

[OldDog]

And if I were a victim of a crime, I would not call this local police department, I would call the state police.

For your safety I hope it is not an emergency situation. Because as good as KSP is they will not make it to you in time.

[mark]

You have no clue.. but thanks for your opinion.


The Man, I have a suggestion.

The next time you're in this situation arresting a suspect, why not take him over to Aberdeen, stop by the Dairy Queen & buy him an ice cream?? While you're at it, don't leave him handcuffed &.........you may as well leave the back door of the police car open too.

Scarcastic?? You bet??? That's what the clueless bleeding heart libs wants you to do.

Personally....

I'm with you guys. Protect yourself anyway possible so you can go home to your wife & kids when your shift is over. If the crying punks would stay out of trouble, they wouldn't be seeing you anyway.

Nuff said..............see ya mark

[Foxy]

Agreed Mark! WOW!! We agree that is cool!

[TheMan]

Ridicule is part of the job. Matter of fact it's a major part of the job. The Monday morning quarterbacking from your supervisors down to the general public. You should have done it this way, or if I were there I would have done it that way. And that's fine, except. You weren't there. You've had several hours to days to think about what you would have done. I had several milli-seconds.

I have personal knowledge of this case. Was I there? No. But had I been I would have been one of the officers named in the investigation. Unlike Miss (Mrs.,Ms.) Mullins I will not speak of the details of this incident of any others before it. Some call her a civil rights hero, I call her.. a defense attorney. She was doing what she thought her job was.

Either way.. The support was overwhelming in this case as was the ridicule. You take the good with the bad, and come in tomorrow and do your job just like you did it the day before.

[ashley cooper]

"The state police would not get to me in time?" Sure they would, they have before.

[OldDog]

"The state police would not get to me in time?" Sure they would, they have before.

Keep telling yourself that.

[fluffy]

If you don't like the Maysville Police and believe that they are corrupt and overly violent, then I would suggest you and your colleagues that are watching us so closely, take advantage of the department ride a long program. If you think you can do the job better than we can, you ARE WELCOME TO IT!! I have spent my entire adult life in service to this community and I take it very seriously. However, now it seems to be a good time to find another way to serve, like retirement and a pina' colada!

[TheMan]

Gimme 10 more years. (If I make it..) and you can have your fluffy drink and I'll have my beer. ;)

[Jeremy]

Ride a long program? You mean ordinary people can ride along with police as they do their jobs? Where do I sign up! I wouldn't be going to be critical. I just want to tag along for the experience.

[Foxy]

I have done the ride along on several occasions. It was a very neat experience and I enjoyed it tremendously! I recommend it to anyone!!

[TheMan]

Ride-a-long is available to any citizen without a criminal record. And we can usually accommodate times and days to everyone's connivance. You can even choose the officer you wish to ride with. In order to set up a ride-a-long you need to contact either Lt. O'Hearn or Lt. Horch. The Chief and Major can do it too, but you'll get quicker results with these two since the Major and Chief are always so busy.

[Bryan Underwood]

... Unlike Miss (Mrs.,Ms.) Mullins I will not speak of the details of this incident of any others before it. Some call her a civil rights hero, I call her.. a defense attorney. She was doing what she thought her job was......

I would like to say on Mrs. Mullins behalf (an unauthorized biography I might add) that this whole incident did cause her a great deal of anguish. As a defense attorney we are continually asked by our clients to believe them and pressured to take certain actions based on those beliefs. One of the difficult aspects of being an attorney is knowing when to tell a client "No, I'm not going to do X" even though X would please them. I don't know if that was the case here, but I could see on Amanda's face that this whole business was not something she took lightly.

[mason_chick]

Anyway............What ever happen to the child?

[fluffy]

I would like to say on Mrs. Mullins behalf (an unauthorized biography I might add) that this whole incident did cause her a great deal of anguish. As a defense attorney we are continually asked by our clients to believe them and pressured to take certain actions based on those beliefs. One of the difficult aspects of being an attorney is knowing when to tell a client "No, I'm not going to do X" even though X would please them. I don't know if that was the case here, but I could see on Amanda's face that this whole business was not something she took lightly.

I'm sorry Brian, I fully believe in and support our system prosecution and defense, However, You cannot convince me that Ms Mullins did not knowingly and maliciously follow her chosen course of action in this incident. I was there, I saw her face, (she definitely did not take it lightly), and I knew her intent when I saw it. Leave the BS in the barn where it belongs. The members of Maysville's law enforcement community are professionals who have the best interests of our community at heart. If you don't believe it, then go participate in the ride along program and try to get to know those officers. Most of them are from here, have family here, and have a vested interest in preserving the peace of our community, but we at no time deserve the sort of un-substantiated character busting that we seem to be continually a target of. :mad:

[Bryan Underwood]

Ok, Fluffy, I won't try to convince you other than to say that doesn't sound like the Amanda I know. And, I have rode along with Maysville's finest, in the front and the back seat (I prefer the front).

[TheMan]

While I appreciate your intent and understand why you would post what you did. (professional courtesy) I believe that if she thinks she should defend her actions, I encourage her to do so here, not have others do it for her. I was there to. I have dealt with the young lady in question on several occasions. Yet I am still not at liberty to discuss the particulars of this or any other case she was involved in. Your a good guy Bryan, and one heck of an attorney. But think about it. They things that the police were accused of? You've been here all your life, have you seen this from any of our officers? Don't you think that a little investigation on her part would have been in order before she went to the paper and made unsubstantiated accusation against the police department?

Sorry Mason_chick, juvenile cases are sealed and can not be discussed in the public.