by Naman Crowe
posted October 29, 2005
Chattanooga Police Chief Steve Parks should be fired for his outrageous decision to override Deputy Chief Skip Vaughn’s recommendation, following an Internal Affairs probe, to terminate an officer for turning his K9 on a citizen and nearly ripping his ear off.
According to a Chattanoogan.com story based on a Channel 9 news report, Parks dismissed the recommendation to fire the officer for excessive force and instead gave Officer John Watkins a 28-day suspension, a one-year probation and transferred him out of the K9 unit.
According to the news account, Channel 9 shot a video of Watkins pursuing a man who had wrecked a stolen car and started running. Watkins turned his K9 on the man. The result was a vicious attack, which, according to Hospital personnel, almost cost the man his ear.
The victim, Kenneth Stone, was charged with evading and resisting arrest and reckless driving, according to the Chattanoogan.com report.
Now listen to the incredible statement Chief Parks gave to Channel 9:
“There was not sufficient proof to show that his actions were excessive. I think what he did was reasonable, basically, to what was going on around him. I felt like that he had made some poor decisions in that case, and I felt like maybe that wasn't the best place for him, that he has talents that we can obviously use in this department.”
This was in the face of Deputy Chief Vaughn’s recommendation to terminate Officer Watkins, following an Internal Affairs investigation of charges that the officer used excessive force in making the arrest. And yet Chief Parks says there was not sufficient proof to show that Officer Watkins’ actions were excessive.
Even more incredible, Chief Parks claims that what the officer did “was reasonable, basically, to what was going on around him.”
The only thing going on around him was that a man was fleeing the scene of a wreck and because Officer Watkins had his K9 with him, he decided to turn the animal on the man, which is the same as ordering the dog to attack and maul a human being for running from a cop.
It gets more incredible. Chief Parks goes on to say that he felt the officer “made some poor decisions in that case…” And what “poor decisions” would that be? To allow the dog to extract a pound of flesh from the man before he is even arrested or charged with a crime?
No problem. Chief Parks explains it away with, “I felt like maybe that wasn't the best place for him, that he has talents that we can obviously use in this department.”
And what talents of Officer Watkins is there that can now “obviously” be used in the police department? Is it his law enforcement temperament and proven disposition to use excessive force in making an arrest and causing serious harm to the citizen as if he were the judge and jury dispensing legal punishment for evading and resisting arrest and reckless driving?
Officer Watkins may not have the use of a K9 as a weapon anymore, but he will still have his gun, his stick, his badge of authority and his predisposition to use excessive force when making an arrest.
And that is why Chief Parks should be fired – not given a 28-day suspension or a one-year probation – because he is the police chief and because he is the one man most responsible for the general conduct and over-all character of the Chattanooga Police Department.
It is an obvious fact, known to any reporter that has ever spent any time on the police beat and known to any officer that has ever worked for any police department in the United States, that police brutality and excessive force is as normal a part of police work as a badge, a gun and a uniform.
The majority of officers may not engage in it themselves, but they all see it going on and they all follow the blue code of silence, which is the main reason it has always gone on and will always go on.
The best hope that any city has in terms of combating this long running and pervasive problem of police brutality and excessive force rests mainly on the shoulders of the person that a city picks to be its police chief.
In the case of Chief Parks, he rose to his current position by way of his work in the Internal Affairs division. It is obvious that the same mind-set he has now in terms of what constitutes police brutality and excessive force is the same mind-set that he had during all his years in Internal Affairs.
That was the reason for his outrageous decision to override Deputy Chief Vaughn’s recommendation, following an Internal Affairs probe, that Officer Watkins should be terminated for the good of the department and the safety of the citizens of Chattanooga.
Obviously Chief Parks sets a much lower bar when it comes to professional police conduct than the current Internal Affairs division and his own chief deputy. He maintained that low bar throughout his career as an Internal Affairs investigator and he honestly means to maintain that standard in his position as police chief.
In this latest outrage, Chief Parks has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that he is incapable of leading the type of police force that Chattanooga, or any other city deserves.
It’s time for the city fathers to hand Chief Parks his walking papers, wish him well and find a replacement that will help us rather than hurt us. We owe that to our citizens and our city and the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of justice throughout America.
There are still people living here in Chattanooga that can remember when they were kids and the cop on the beat was a person that could be trusted to serve and protect, rather than to be feared and despised as out of control villains and thugs, dangerous to human life.
It shouldn’t be that hard to get back to that. All it would take is a new generation of public officials with a zero tolerance for police brutality and excessive force, and the courage to get rid of the bad apples in order to keep the rot from spreading throughout the box.
Naman Crowe
namancrowe@yahoo.com
* * *
Mr. Crowe,
Glad to see that you have such an opinion on Officer Watkins. First and foremost, were you there? How do you know what happened? You are going by what the news reports, very inaccurately, I might add.
This situation was handled approximatley five months ago. So now, for some unbeknownst reason, the CPD IA releases findings that he had been transferred. Old News.
I pose this question to anyone. What would you do? That is it. Apparently, an individual has stolen a car, led police on a chase, crashed it and took off running. I guess Officer Watkins (who has a beautiful family) should have just given up, got back in his vehicle and went home, eh?
It is people like you who want to Monday morning quarterback every police maneuver.
Dr. John Thompson
jmay202@comcast.net
* * *
Dr. Thompson, we civilian citizens honor and respect the officers who serve the public with pride, grace, dignity and respect. Who do not dishonor their badge by hiding behind their profession to commit crimes; bully and intimidate innocent people or get young women in "compromising" situations and threaten them will arrest if they don't comply to some twisted perverson.
We citizens who have been affected by police misdeeds to not wish to minimize the seriousness of what it takes to be a good, decent police officer. However, there appear to be a new breed signing on today who, apparently, do not take their jobs seriously. They abuse their authority and use their powers as a means to intimidate, abuse, commit crimes, demean innocent citizens so as to boost their own feelings of low self esteem. Some of their acts, if committed my the average citizen, would warrant long prison terms. But under the cover of law, many have come to realize they are protected.
dee hurston
dhhurston@netscape.net
* * *
Mr. Crowe,
I don't know you, but with all due respect, I find it ludicrous that you believe that using a K-9 dog to catch a fleeing (and possibly armed) felon is "excessive."
Originally from Chattanooga, born and raised there, I had the opportunity to retire from law enforcement in Portsmouth, Va. For three years during my career, I worked in an Internal Affairs unit of the Portsmouth (VA) Police Department.
I think you should be ashamed in calling for Chief Parks' firing.
Frank Klein
fklein1@cox.net
* * *
I am shocked that anyone thinks that having a dog chase a felon is considered "excessive force." The crook should consider himself lucky he was not shot and killed in trying to escape.
Crooks should not be able to think that it is "OK" to flee the scene of a crime. What are cops supposed to do if the criminal is too fast to catch on foot, just let him escape to continue preying on society?
I support our officers who have a near-impossible job, and I support Chief Parks. Police brutality does occur, but not in this case, and, to be honest, a lot of crooks and low-lifes get better treatment than they deserve.
Gary Furman
Chattanooga
GaryFurman@Walkerschools.org
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