Monday, December 12, 2011

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.

42 comments:

  1. you mean IF you get it...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cleve,
    If you are as "connected" with CMPD as you want us to think, then surely you know someone who knows why Jones has been suspended.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The guys drunk and hits his mom.

    He gets a pass from me. I would have pounded this sob too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous 5:17PM...

    Which is why you should never become a police officer!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is the United States of America..not a South American military juanta with a para-military gestapo as police.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What the Observer also fails to mention (maybe because they don't know yet) is whether the previous suspensions were for on-duty incidents or off-duty incidents. That would be interesting to know.

    In this case, if Jones believed his mother was in danger of attack or bodily harm, I can't totally fault him for the way he handled it. Now, whether he read the situation right is another story.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This loose cannon must be fired immediately or the chief should be held accountable. Taxpayers will end up paying for legal expenses and settlement for his continuous bad behavior. He should not be allowed in courtroom again except to be sentenced.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Handcuffed and thrown into payment and beaten as bad as pictures indicated is a cowardly act of a short man in a rage. Mother was not in danger as she was in her car with windows rolled up and doors locked. What if this was your kid ?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Was the cop's BAC checked?

    ReplyDelete
  10. You gotta be pretty drunk to let granny "take" your license and keys and then get back in her car and lock ya out.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This was a criminal act on the part of Jones. He should be judged accordingly.

    ReplyDelete
  12. None of us know what the guy's BAC level was, so none of you know if he was "drunk".

    If the guy was out of control the officer had every right to get the guy to calm down, and then if need be, in handcuffs.

    Slamming the guy down and causing the injuries that are seen in the man's mug shot, was that necessary?

    None of know what exactly went down, because we weren't there. It's easy to monday morning quarterback it and be judge, jury, and executioner on the internet.

    Hopefully CMPD will do a through investigation and they will fire the cop, if it's deemed necessary.

    With the cop's prior history of suspensions that's not going to help him out on this specific incident.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I wonder if he would have hit Beason like that If Beason was the driver

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh,so now the observer is saying it was his driver's license he wanted back that she had in her possession.Yesterday,the observer reported that it was his cars keys he wanted,and that's why he was pounding on the window.This is why the observer has so many leftover holes in a story they print because the writer/investigator doesn't have all the facts and leaves too many questions and holes in the story.Do the people who get their info know the 4 main questions of reporting? When,where,why,and how.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I have read a lot of thes comments and there are several things that need to be clarified.
    1) The blog doesn't mention or investigate the charge of assualt with a deadly weapon that McVicker was charged with in 2010.
    2) THe blog doesn't mention that McVicker has openly on the record admitting to being drunk and being over the legal limit
    3) The blog does not mention that McVicker has liver damage and his wife has openly stated that he is constantly bruising, currently has jaundice, gets bruised by things as minor as playing with the dogs.
    4) McVickers own recorded statements clarify that Jones never struck hin in any manner with his hands, fists, feet, a weapon. He in no way punched or kicked McVicker. he in no way repeatedly hit him or banged his head into the ground. McVicker has given his account several times and has specifically stated he wasn't punched. He maintains consistently that he was approached from behind (with no warning), grabbed by the arm, thrown (slammed has also been used) headfirst, had a knee on his back , and then cuffed him.

    Finally, any accusation that calims he beat McVicker is patently false based on McVicker's own statements.
    The only conclusion one cans draw is that McVicker was bruised from the detainment. One cannot assume he was harmed intentionally, or that an assault took place.
    There can be no assumption it was intentional, because he bruises more than the average person due to complications from liver damage. Additionally, it has not been determined if McVicker was in fact acting aggressively when he was taken down and detained. The main factor that would lead one to believe the officer was not behaving with any malice, is that he never struck this man or did anything violent with a repetitive nature.

    ReplyDelete
  16. So why didn't the mom call the police instead of the out-of-control off duty son? Ok, so you want to play rough with a cheap shot from behind, but at what point is this overkill to face plant the guy on the street? Why all the secrecy about why this hothead has been suspended multiple times? Let's say he didn't blind side a drunk, and he walked up on Cam Newton or someone and got his ass whipped, then I guess all these law and order types woould be justifying why he should have just pulled a gun and blown the guy away.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The cop's lawyer is the same guy that got Beason off his assault charge.

    ReplyDelete
  18. As long as the drunk did not hit a member of my family.

    One can only assume that is the main point everyone is concerned about?

    ReplyDelete
  19. @Anon 7:14
    Dear Officer Jones, your attorney will be irate that you posted on this blog. Since you clearly feel you did nothing wrong, maybe you can further elaborate on the reasons for your multiple suspensions. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey Anon 7:14
    The blog also does not mention that esteemed CMPD officer Jones is a total disgrace to CMPD and that since he clearly can't follow department procedures should be terminated.

    ReplyDelete
  21. While we are on the top of this Beason-Jones defense attorney... So he represents police officers when they are charged with crimes or go before the civil service board concerning job termination AND then he also practices primarily as a criminal defense attorney??? How on earth is that not a conflict of interest??? The bar needs to issue an opinion on that. I'm willing to bet the typical criminal case where he is the defense attorney goes a little something like this - "Laughrun: Officer what happened on that night? Officer: I lost my notes and cannot remember. Judge: Not guilty!" If the police know this guy will be standing beside them when they do wrong, then they have loyalties to this defense attorney well beyond any to the public they are sworn to protect. That is a gross violation of ethics. This should be exposed. Also amazing is how the elected DA worked with this guy and the elected DA's wife still works there. This town is corrupt.

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ 7:14pm....is that you mytemp001?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Most Officers are members of the FOP or PBA One of the benefits of the membership is each has attorneys to represent officers in situations when an attorney is needed. Laughrun is one of the attorneys plus he is one of the best around.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Brad Smith is an ethical attorney and is all around awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous @ 9:14 - is that you Gary Wright?

    ReplyDelete
  26. F...all of you! If that was me i would do the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Next time the Fraternal Order of Police calls you for money it is going to defend dirtballs like this. And the other part of your donation goes to keep the police liquor lounge (FOP) running. If this cithy gets collective bargaining you will never be able to get rid of the bad ones.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous @ 9:16, what does Brad Smith have to do with this story?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Better question: what does Brad Smith, Esq., aka the torch barer of justice, not have to do with this?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Where does the DA's wife work? I'm confused

    ReplyDelete
  31. anon 5:41 got it exactly right: a short man in a rage.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I think this guy could die of his injuries due to an aneurysm, blood poison, etc. He should be in intensive care.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ive run a lot of calls with this officer. I wouldnt want to be on his bad side, but after the crap that gets thrown at Police Officer's, I wouldnt want to be on any of their bad sides after a few years on the police force. Most of you people are completely ignorant to what goes on out there on the streets. There are a ton of good Police Officer, then there are a ton of police officers on edge because the public does stuff like push them to the edge instead of complying with the law and listening to them... and then you have a small fraction that are bad seeds... just like any other business. Jones has the look of crazy in his eye when I see him, but as long as Im doing the right thing, I trust him to do the right thing. I dont think he acted any different than any other person would when defending their mother, and I think you people are all just on a witch hunt.. but thats what its like working in public service. You do for those who feed you, and then they eat you....

    ReplyDelete
  34. F...all of you! Iam Police If that was me i would do the same thing. sh..i am

    ReplyDelete
  35. Yes, there are plenty of good police officers. Jones is not one of them. He reflects badly on the other officers and hurts the reputation of the police with the citizens. If he is such a great guy, why not just open up the records of his three prior suspensions. If a bad guy gets three arrest, he is a career criminal. If a Cop gets three suspensions, he is a career bully.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I think a hard-nosed attorney who is going to address unique challenges, resolve complications and fight for your rights is the best lawyer should you hire in case you bump into this kind of trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  37. FUCK ALL THE SELF RIGHTEOUS COPS OUT THERE. "OH ITS A HARD JOB AND YOU DONT UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES ON IN THE STREET" BIGGEST LOAD OF SHIT EVER. IF ITS SO TOUGH DONT FUCKING DO IT.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Yeah!! What he said!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Brad Smith is still the shiz.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I love your show, that's amazing! I have read your articles for a long time, and i think you really did a good jod. rs gold , runescape gold

    ReplyDelete
  41. Gw2field Whenever you wait any profession, there will probably be circumstances particularly exactly where it's best to alter your Buy GW2 Gold, as well as merely desire to.

    ReplyDelete