Wrong Address at 3 a.m. leads to arrests, $15K settlement

[ELB]

The fog of...early morning.

Murfreesboro TN -- My summary...

Sheriff's office gets 911 hang up call from a city address. Passes it to city dispatcher, who enters it for dispatch as 304 Campus Crossing SOUTH, instead of 304 Campus Crossing NORTH.

Officers knock on apartment door some time after 3 a.m., not yet knowing they were at wrong address. Inside are Roger Chilton, 51, his son Justin Chilton, 20, (a Military Policeman just returned from Iraq), and Meredith Harrington, 20 (I think), pregnant girlfriend of Justin. I believe they were all asleep until the police knocked.

What happens next is in dispute. Justin says the police did not identify themselves, he didn't recognize them as police, only as armed people, and (per TV interview) he held his pistol behind the door, out of sight. Police say they did identify themselves, that Justin said he didn't believe them, and pointed the pistol at them while "screaming." One of the cops gets a shotgun out.

At some point the apartment occupants put the gun down, the police put them (or throw them, depending on who you ask) to the floor, and may or may not have struck Justin in the head with the shotgun and stepped on his hands. One officer curses at the pregnant girlfriend, telling her to roll over on her stomach, berating her for being pregnant at young age, and making sarcastic remarks. (This last part is not in dispute since it was caught by a dash camera on a patrol car.) Somewhere during this, the policemen become aware they are at the wrong address. It appears the police department may not have mentioned this in its initial reports to the media; it only came out in the news when the Chiltons were interviewed a few days later.

The two men are arrested. Father is charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest. Son is charged with possession of firearm under age of 21, alcohol consumption under 21, possessing a weapon while under the influence, and aggravated assault on a police officer. Based on some of the official testimony, the alcohol-related charges are based on Justin being asked, before being Mirandized, at the police station if he had anything to drink.

A grand jury indicts both men. The trial is postponed when the dashcam video of the cop cursing the woman comes to light and results in an investigation. Later a judge rules the dashcam audio of the officer cursing at the pregnant woman cannot be used at trial by the defense. He does rule that Justin's answer to the alcohol question may be used by the prosecution.

The Chiltons file $1.5M federal lawsuit against the policemen, the dispatcher, the department, and the city. The police department suspends the dispatcher for five days, with one year probation, for putting in the wrong address. The cop who cursed the woman was also suspended for five days, later resigns, and now works for the Sheriff's department. A sergeant was counseled for not taking corrective action once the address mix-up was discovered.

Eventually (yesterday, 25 May) The Chiltons settle with the city for $15K to cover lawyers fees and other costs, and ask the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, which it does. Technically there are still charges pending against them, but some articles indicate these have been reduced in severity, and maybe will go away altogether at a hearing next month.

Further notes: a portion of the dashcam video that appears on a news website shows a side view of a man with a shotgun shouldered shouting "Get down, get on you knees, show me your hands." During that portion of the video he does not ID himself. Also, I see nothing that identifies him as a police officer -- he is wearing a watch cap, dark jacket or shirt, and dark pants, and equipment around his waist like a police duty belt. No shoulder patch is visible, and I can't see his chest. This is only a small portion of the whole event.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100 ... settlement+" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.ph ... tory=15932" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.ph ... tory=17467" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=10726309" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[d strokes]

Man, that sucks. I hope they get all charges dismissed.

They would have to break my door down to get in. I'm not opening the door at 3AM for anyone, especially if they don't ID themselves, and if there was no reason for them to be there anyway.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

They charged the father with public intoxication
after they wrongfully rousted him out of bed in his own home?

Really? Sheesh.

SIA

[Skooter]

That's just plain WRONG !

[wheelgun1958]

More jackbooted thugs watching too much (reality) tv. These kind of people do not belong in such position. Likewise these 'tactical' teams need to be disbanded nationwide. I remember watching cop shows on tv in the '70s where the 'tactical' team was ridiculed by the street cops as unnecessary. Even in England (The Thin Blue Line) they were mocked. I even remember an op-ed article in the Washington Post July 18 1997 from a former DC officer decrying their exploding growth.

excerpt:

"The Post's June 17 front-page story described the growth of SWAT teams in American police departments {"Exploding Number of SWAT Teams Sets Off Alarms"}. I was a member of the District's Metropolitan Police Department for 22 years, and I see the continued growth of SWAT teams as not only further isolating a traditionally isolated occupation but increasing personal danger for the officers themselves. In this I agree fully with Joseph McNamara, a former police chief in San Jose and Kansas City, who was quoted in the story."

copy available here

It has since gotten out of hand.

[Purplehood]

They charged the father with public intoxication
after they wrongfully rousted him out of bed in his own home?

Really? Sheesh.

SIA

That really torks me off. Where exactly do you get drunk that is not public if you can't do it at home?

[gigag04]

More jackbooted thugs watching too much (reality) tv.....I remember watching cop shows on tv

So....ah....nevermind. I don't really want to go there. It would be waaaayyyy off topic.



If you re-read the story with all the events but then pretend that the address was correct, the response from others seem legseems more reasonable. I don't tolerate insulting people you are dealing with. PI's are tricky, *if* all went down as stated in the article (which I highly doubt) I don't think the PI's will stick.

[shortysboy09]

*if* all went down as stated in the article (which I highly doubt) I don't think the PI's will stick.

I bet that's what happened here. We can speculate all we want, but I bet some important details were left out. For instance, what if when they got the father out of the apartment he got really belligerent with the officers? Couldn't that be a PI charge? Once he is out of the apartment he is technically in public right?

[Purplehood]

*if* all went down as stated in the article (which I highly doubt) I don't think the PI's will stick.

I bet that's what happened here. We can speculate all we want, but I bet some important details were left out. For instance, what if when they got the father out of the apartment he got really belligerent with the officers? Couldn't that be a PI charge? Once he is out of the apartment he is technically in public right?

I would consider that a manufactured charge. He was forced into the status of PI by the Police action. It was not through any action of his own. Even if he was the actual perp and they had the right address, it would not be appropriate to tack on the PI charge. That irks me beyond belief.

[SQLGeek]

How is there "dashcam" video if all of this happened in an apartment?

[BAD17]

IDK. it sucks to be all them and I hope to never be in that situation. But why would you answer the door at 3 AM with a gun behind the door when you are 20 yo and drunk. I know because you are a young MP and you think you are invinceable because thats how you are trained. I would have left the door closed and called 911 and had the dispatcher verify it was LE at the door. I am all for cover and concealment but LE come on you have to be plainly ID'd with a big shoot me "POLICE" vest on or a badge or something. It was a crappy deal for them.

[gigag04]

How is there "dashcam" video if all of this happened in an apartment?

Still catches audio from the body mic.

[SQLGeek]

How is there "dashcam" video if all of this happened in an apartment?

Still catches audio from the body mic.

That I understand. This is the part I was wondering about:

Further notes: a portion of the dashcam video that appears on a news website shows a side view of a man with a shotgun shouldered shouting "Get down, get on you knees, show me your hands."

[SQLGeek]

The video is in this article:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=10726309" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The officer is outside standing in front of the cruiser. Something is not quite adding up here.