Officer charged with assault had been suspended for 6 weeks

We know that Officer David Estele Jones III was given a hefty suspension in April 2010. What we don’t know is why.

Jones is the officer accused of slamming Richard McVicker to the ground after a traffic collision involving the officer’s mother. Jones first court appearance was today in court, but his lawyer, George Laughrun, showed up on his behalf.

McVicker, who said he had "a few beers" before the collision and was charged with driving while impaired, told me yesterday that Jones’ mother took his license when he asked if she was OK following the collision.

McVicker says he rapped on the woman’s window, trying to get it back. Jones’ lawyer used the word “banged.”

Earlier today, we reported that Jones had been suspended by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police department three times since he’d been hired a decade ago. We got the information via a public records request.

About a year ago, the Charlotte Observer requested detailed information about suspensions from the city and the police department. A new state law had made public for the first time information about a public employee’s suspensions, demotions, and dismissals.

The list we received from the city had hundreds of suspensions on them, most for small amounts of time. But a few officers, like Jones, had multiple suspensions or suspensions of a week or more.

Gov. Bev Perdue has said the personnel law – which was passed as part of a series of ethics reforms – was designed to increase accountability in government.

But in this case, it appears to have provided more questions than answers, as readers have asked the same question – why was Jones suspended?

We’ve asked city and police officials for more information on Jones’ suspensions. We’ll share their response when we get it.