A story from a reliable confidential source relating to Morganton Shenanigans:
On Monday February 6, 2012, a lifelong resident
of Morganton came to Morganton City Council to express his issues with
what he described as a "False Arrest" on January 30, 2012. Mr. Roper
began his comments saying he had been told he would have ten to fifteen
minutes to speak but actually captivated those in the council chamber
for almost twenty minutes.
Joe Eddy Roper lives on College Street in
Morganton, about a mile from Morganton Public Safety Headquarters and
next to a busy area of Morganton, Fleming Bypass. In his own words Mr.
Roper described the events of January 30, where he was ordered out of
his car at gunpoint by Morganton Public Safety Officer Kim Davis and
immediately "slammed" onto the hood of the patrol car followed by being
handcuffed so tightly he had severe injury to both wrists.
Mr. Roper demonstrated his rotator cuff injury
saying he did not have full un-restricted use of his left arm, and still
experienced numbness in his fingers. Mr. Roper is 75 years old and
although he was a wrestler in his younger days he is not as "quick" and
able to move as he was in his younger days. Joe Eddy demanded Morganton
City Council fire officer Kim Davis and an unnamed backup officer for
what he described as 'police brutality' on January 30th.
Mr. Roper stated that "50 years ago, if he had
been treated as he was on January 30, he wouldn't have 'took it' off the
officers and they may have been hurt and hurt bad." Mr. Roper further
said "If Morganton cannot operate a reasonable and fair police
department, maybe a new chief should be hired."
Joe Eddy spoke of his work and accomplishments
during his life, stating he had twenty years in law enforcement and he
would not ever have "jerked away" from an officer in a manner appearing
to be resisting arrest and especially now that he is 75 years old. He
told those at city council he had been asked to be a chief deputy at
Burke County Sheriff's Department during the time David Oaks was sheriff
in the 1960's and had been asked to accept the Chief of Police job at
Drexel in the past, but did not work in those positions.
Joe Eddy has been a teacher and NC Driver's
License Examiner in Burke County and continued to tell city council
about threats against himself and his son by an individual he named as
"Eric Nichols." Mr. Nichols reportedly has threatened to kill both Joe
Eddy Roper and his son on multiple occasions and has "pulled a gun" on
both of them more than once including in the parking lot of Mighty
Dollar - a dollar store less than a mile from Joe Eddy's home. On Monday
January 30, when confronted by Eric Nichols, Joe Eddy said he reached
for a can of mace, but decided instead to get into his car and go home.
Joe Eddy told Morganton City Council, "There are
two reasons most people do not come before this city council, one they
fear retaliation from the establishment, this city council, or they
have no money. Joe Eddy continued saying, "I don't fall into either of
those categories."
When he left the store Public Safety was called
to a report of a domestic disturbance in the parking lot of the dollar
store. After arriving officers immediately went to Joe Eddy's home where
he was forced from his car at gunpoint by officer Kim Davis. It is this
reporters belief based on many citizens telling of incidents of
excessive use of force that Morganton officers who are "cross trained"
both as police and firefighters, leads to fatigue and shorter fuses as
to how they respond to people in apparent criminal situations.
As Joe Eddy finished his comments, he stated
"this is not going to go away tomorrow. Joe Eddy Roper will be here
tomorrow and I will follow-up on this until I am satisfied it has been
resolved, however long it takes."
Last summer, a 17 year old Freedom High student
was shot and killed at his home when he answered the door and the
officer stated "he saw a gun" and when the suspect was ordered to drop
the weapon, he did not (according to the officer) and he was shot and
killed. The mother still maintains Public Safety never announced
themselves as "the police" but after knocking on the door and seeing the
young man holding a BB gun started shooting, killing the young man.
That case was ultimately 'cleared' by the
District Attorney's office, but the mother attempted to sue Morganton as
she maintains they did not identify that they were "the police" and
just killed her son without justification. Morganton has had several
incidents recently such as this, and many citizens believe the fact that
officers are required to do "two jobs" they are more stressed than just
police officers who face similar circumstances.
Morganton is the only municipality in North
Carolina (other than Butner, a prison near Raleigh) that has "Public
Safety" in which officers are required to do two jobs and as such it
seems Morganton is setting itself up for disaster by overextending the
limits of 'one person' by requiring them to do two jobs. All other towns
and cities that have been "public safety" now have 'switched back' to separate police and fire departments because of low morale and dangerous
situations faced by people doing two dangerous jobs.
It has been said that Police Officers deal with
people, and Fireman deal with things and the two should do only one job
because of the nature of the work and to be able to provide citizens
with the best protection possible.
I have been a critic of the "public
safety" enforcement model for years, and as we continue to see people
treated in a manner other than within "due process" Morganton will
continue to become a less desirable place to live.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
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9 comments:
On August 30th, 2010, WCNC reported that resident Megan Melott, at the home where 17 year old Michael Sipes was shot by Morganton DPS officers stated, “he stepped onto the porch with a rifle and was shot by police.” Officers arrived at the mobile home just after midnight on a call of a domestic disturbance.
I chose that report because it was from a witness, on the scene, who lived there, not an ‘official’ story from the police. There seems to be some doubt about the veracity of the statements issued by the police.
Both calls it seems were concerning or about ‘domestic disturbances’. That is one of the most dangerous calls any officer can roll on. Emotions are high, it’s tense, people are not usually rational or even at their best. Stir in alcohol and weapons and you have a master recipe for disaster. I’m not saying that either of those were or are involved in either instance, that is merely an observation of the volatility when those two ingredients are included in the mix.
Certainly the demand of doing two jobs is more strenuous than those of one. I would contend to you however that working rotating shifts is more strenuous than working a fixed or set shift. And there are studies that exist that attest to that premise and the long term physiological effects. Yet it is an accepted norm within the public safety profession. The reality is you can do both tasks adequately, but it is the rare person that will master them. However public safety is merely a means for the employing entity to be cheap. A means of getting two jobs for one salary, that is well below what it would cost to employ two people for those jobs. And there you have competing paradoxes. Increase taxes to cover the costs to hire the people to do both jobs? How well would that go over in the world of too big government, we need smaller government, we need limited government? You get what you pay for.
When things are rolling along and everyone is happy as a clam, things are great. The job is getting done, the public isn’t complaining, life is good. But when these little blips on the radar appear, there is a demand for a fix, a casting about for identity of the problem, a bureaucratic mad dash and political indignation. Of course, the problem has been there the entire time, it’s only when it affects someone else that it becomes critical and an outrage. Then those elected officials, in their righteous indignation, can claim plausible deniability, even though it is they that ultimately determine expenditures and revenue rates and pay scales. And that’s what it is all about, the bottom line.
So would better pay or job specialization have stopped what took place in the two matters referenced? Doubtful. You step out of your home and there are large white 4 door sedans sitting there with emergency light bars on top and reflective graphics on the side, does it really leave who is there to the imagination? You leave the scene of a public ‘domestic disturbance’ what does it look like if you’re getting there with only that amount of information to work with? Sure, you investigate. You also secure the scene and the people in it. Safety first is tantamount to survival. I will contend however there are a lot more facts than we are aware of.
http://morganton.wbtv.com/news/crime/71030-father-son-gang-man-during-fight-auto-zone-police-say
This sure is 180^ from how wbtv described the incident. I hope the truth of the matter will surface.
MORGANTON - A heated argument that started in the parking lot of an Auto Zone led to one man being maced in the face by a gunman, police say.
Morganton Department of Public Safety officers were called to the store at 220 West Fleming Drive around 12:30 p.m. on Monday.
Witnesses who called 911 said three men were engaged in a heated argument in the parking lot, police said. Another caller told police one of the men was seen with a gun inside a brown van.
Officers arriving at the store were able to stop a brown van as it was trying to leave the parking lot.
The driver, Joe Eddy Roper, started yelling and cursing at officers and put up a fight as officers tried to detain him, police said.
According to the MDPS, Roper's son, 48-year-old Edward Allen Roper, had been fighting with Eric Eugene Nichols in the Auto Zone parking lot before Nichols got in his vehicle and drove across the street to the Mighty Dollar store.
Joe Eddy Roper then showed up and started walking around his van while carrying a handgun, witnesses told police.
Joe Eddy Roper sprayed Nichols in the face with mace after following him in and out of the Mighty Dollar, police said. Nichols reportedly got into his car and tried to drive away, but was unable to see clearly and drove back to the Auto Zone and asked employees for help.
Officers found a handgun and mace in Joe Eddy Roper's van and another gun in Edward Allen Roper's vehicle.
Joe Eddy Roper was taken to the magistrate's office and charged with Going Armed in Terror of the Public, Resisting, obstructing and delaying and officer, and Simple Assault.
His son, Edward, was charged with communicating threats and was served and released on a written promise to appear.
Like a wise sage once opined, "there's always three sides to every story."
When you talk about WBTV and their reporting of anything in Western North Carolina, Steve Ohnesorge is the most useless reporter in Charlotte, North Carolina. And yes he lives here in Morganton. I have never known him to question a government official in Western North Carolina.
Steve Ohnesorge can best be described as a douche.
I agree with 'Silence DoGood' EXCEPT - In the fourth paragraph you said "Increase taxes to cover the costs to hire the people to do both jobs"
I would point to the City of Lenoir as an example. Lenoir is almost identical in population and land area to that of Morganton, but during the last 35+ years Morganton has used a "public safety" concept, Lenoir has used the traditional "police" and "fire" model. I believe their taxes are very similar by comparison, but the real fact here is this - MOST towns and cities in North Carolina and the nation as a whole have found that the "public safety" concept is dangerous, and causes a need for cities to use neighboring "volunteer resources" more often due to lack of adequate officers as 'public safety' and in the final analysis REALLY costs taxpayers A LOT MORE money and opens citizens up to a "less protected" status by comparison to that of police officers and fire fighters. We as a people can discuss and look at doing things in a more "cost effective" manner, but providing law enforcement and fire protection should NEVER EVER be a combined job as it leads to disasters that could have been prevented. Officer fatigue can easily cause someone to be dealt with differently in the "public safety" concept compared to seperate Police and Fire.
I wrote a senior paper in college on this topic and did weeks of research using 15 to 20 different agencies in four states. It should be said here that if public safety is such as "good" cheap way to "get the job" done "everyone is happy as a clam" until a blip appears on the radar, well that BLIP....very well could be your loved one experiencing justice meted out by someone who has had to work a structure fire for several hours and then continue their shift (without showering or cleaning up) and be faced with the "gun at the door" scenario.
I feel Morganton should STOP the combined "public safety" concept ASAP for the above reasons, and those of you that read this entire comment should research it as I have...the information will shock you !
I agree with 'Silence DoGood' EXCEPT - In the fourth paragraph you said "Increase taxes to cover the costs to hire the people to do both jobs"
I would point to the City of Lenoir as an example. Lenoir is almost identical in population and land area to that of Morganton, but during the last 35+ years Morganton has used a "public safety" concept, Lenoir has used the traditional "police" and "fire" model. I believe their taxes are very similar by comparison, but the real fact here is this - MOST towns and cities in North Carolina and the nation as a whole have found that the "public safety" concept is dangerous, and causes a need for cities to use neighboring "volunteer resources" more often due to lack of adequate officers as 'public safety' and in the final analysis REALLY costs taxpayers A LOT MORE money and opens citizens up to a "less protected" status by comparison to that of police officers and fire fighters. We as a people can discuss and look at doing things in a more "cost effective" manner, but providing law enforcement and fire protection should NEVER EVER be a combined job as it leads to disasters that could have been prevented. Officer fatigue can easily cause someone to be dealt with differently in the "public safety" concept compared to seperate Police and Fire.
I wrote a senior paper in college on this topic and did weeks of research using 15 to 20 different agencies in four states. It should be said here that if public safety is such as "good" cheap way to "get the job" done "everyone is happy as a clam" until a blip appears on the radar, well that BLIP....very well could be your loved one experiencing justice meted out by someone who has had to work a structure fire for several hours and then continue their shift (without showering or cleaning up) and be faced with the "gun at the door" scenario.
I feel Morganton should STOP the combined "public safety" concept ASAP for the above reasons, and those of you that read this entire comment should research it as I have...the information will shock you !
Let’s talk, shall we. For fiscal 2010-11, Morganton reports having a tax base of $1.667 billion dollars and a property tax rate of $0.46 per $100 dollar valuation. Morganton has a population of 16,935. Lenoir for the same period reports a tax base of $1.478 billion and a property tax rate of $0.54 cents per $100 dollar valuation. Lenoir has a population of 18,261. The City of Lenoir reported total revenues as $26.4 million; for the City of Morganton, $59.9 million during the same fiscal year. However, $43.1 million of that was from utilities enterprise funds; water, sewer, and electricity. Lenoir only showed revenue from its enterprise of water and sewer at $7 million. Lenoir expended $8.04 million on Public Safety. Morganton expended $7.2 million for Public Safety. So if you take away the enterprise funding for both, you’re left with $19.4 million for Lenoir and $16.8 million for Morganton. So, yes, there’s an $802,000 dollar spending disparity between the two on Public Safety and a $2.4 million dollar disparity in revenues, with Lenoir being on top of revenues and spending. The reason I excluded enterprise revenues is, those are supposed to be self-sufficient operations without the use of general fund (primarily tax revenues) appropriations to sustain them.
I never said that I was a fan of Public Safety, quite the contrary actually. But I likewise know the reasons why it’s done. But as you can see, Lenoir outspends Morganton for fire and police protection, primarily because they have it to spend, or so it would seem. So in order to hire those firefighters, how do you propose paying for it? And, in case you’re wondering how many, ISO and/or NFPA (I don’t remember which now precisely) regulations require a 2 in 2 out rule, meaning if you’ve got 2 firefighters in a structure, you have to have two outside on the line or standing by, not counting your engineer on the apparatus. That’s 4 fire personnel plus the engineer and an officer/fireground commander on the scene of each call. Now, you can pull the officer from another station inside the City, as well as personnel, but for safety and insurance purposes, as well as your insurance rating, which dictates how much you pay in fire insurance protection, those things apply. So however many stations you have in Morganton, plan on hiring that many and provide 24/7/365 coverage. And Morganton, like most other places, use volunteer firefighters in addition to full time staff. The problem there is, over the years, it’s been increasingly harder and harder to get people to volunteer to do the job, the training, and devote the time for no compensation.
The smart thing would have been for Morganton to split the two when Robbie Williams was Chief way back when they had the resources to do it. But there was resistance to that notion from the City, even then. They don’t want to spend the money on it, in part, because it ‘works’ for the City of Morganton; just ask. Oh, and all the dollar amounts used are rounded.
Sorry, the disparity between spending is in error. It's $840,000 and not $802,000.
I can't preview commentary any more without getting kicked back to re-enter the word verification 2or 3 times.
Re:
"When you talk about WBTV and their reporting of anything in Western North Carolina, Steve Ohnesorge is the most useless reporter in Charlotte, North Carolina. And yes he lives here in Morganton. I have never known him to question a government official in Western North Carolina.
Steve Ohnesorge can best be described as a douche."
Agreed 1000%. If SteveO even bothered signing the Journalists Code of Ethics, he crossed his fingers behind his back while doing so.
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