Wrong Address at 3 a.m. leads to arrests, $15K settlement
Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 10:35 pm
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;
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;
