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| Message: | Posted on Fri, Jan. 13, 2006 Police overreaction leads to chaos Fort Worth Police incident report BOB RAY SANDERSIn My Opinion A father's voice trembled as he described how a police officer threw his son to the ground in their front yard and handcuffed him. The mother, a retired schoolteacher who did not witness the incident, was in tears at the very thought that "seven carloads of police" had come to her home and had taken not one but two of her adult sons to jail. When Lorenza and Ernestine Fields called me last fall to report what had happened at their east Fort Worth home, I found it hard to believe that all the chaos had resulted from a young man smoking a cigarette in his parents' front yard. Based on official police reports and interviews with family members, James Fields and his half brother, Samuel Fails III, were at their parents' home on the afternoon of Sept. 30, 2005, when James decided he wanted to smoke. The parents don't allow smoking in the house, so James went outside and lit up a cigarette. Fort Worth police officer E.A. Bentley, driving by the home on Druid Court, noticed James smoking and stopped his car to question James about whether he was old enough to possess a cigarette. As the officer approached, James went inside the house. The officer said he went to the door, rang the bell and told the person who answered (Samuel) that he wanted to speak with the person who had just entered the home -- to verify his age. Samuel called for James to come to the door. "I also called his father, Lorenza, to the door," said Samuel, 44. "The officer asked James to step outside, with which he complied. I also went outside. Immediately, the officer asked James, 'Why didn't you stop when I called you?' James replied, 'I didn't know you were talking to me.'" Bentley asked to see James' identification, but James said he had no ID on him. Both Lorenza and Samuel had told the officer that James was 21, and Lorenza said he offered to get James' birth certificate from the house to prove it. "Witness #1 [Lorenza] told me that AP#1 [James] was of legal age, and I informed him that he was now being detained for going into the house when I told him to come over for the cigarette" questioning, Bentley wrote in his report. During the discussion outside, James went toward the steps of the house, and that's when the situation took a turn for the worse. "As I was again attempting to explain to [Lorenza] what my purpose for being there was, I heard [Samuel] tell [James] that I was harassing them and had no business talking to them and told [James] to go into the house," Bentley wrote. James "then started walking towards the front door of the residence, at which time I took hold of [James'] right arm with my left hand, and told him to come have a seat in my police vehicle, which was to prevent [James] from leaving the area and help contain the situation." Everyone present, including the Fields' 11-year-old grandson, Ryan Fails, agreed that Lorenza tried to step between James and the officer while continuing to beg Bentley to leave his son alone. "I grabbed Lorenza and said, 'Don't touch him, man, this guy will shoot you,'" Samuel said. "James jerked away from the officer. The officer then threw James to the ground. I told the officer that he was out of line and that he needed to get up off of James when he was handcuffing him. He told me and Lorenza if we keep talking, he'd take us to jail, and to 'just shut up!'" Bentley called for back-up, and several police cars showed up. In the meantime, Samuel had gotten a pen and paper to begin getting officers' names and badge numbers. "That's when one of the other officers that had arrived on the scene came over and asked, 'Which one of you is Samuel Fails?'" Samuel said. "I replied, 'I am.' The officer said, 'Turn around, you are under arrest.'" Samuel said he asked the arresting officer, "You are going to arrest me without asking me anything? He said again, 'Turn around.' I complied and was handcuffed and escorted to the police car." Both Samuel and James were arrested, taken to jail and charged with evading arrest/detention and interfering with public duties. In addition to the treatment outside their parents' home and the time in jail, Samuel and James had to spend money on bail and attorneys -- none of which should have ever happened. First of all, the officer should never have stopped to question James, who, by the way, is indeed 21 (born March 24, 1984, the date that clearly appears on the arrest record) even if he thought James was underage. James was at a private residence minding his own business, and I would hate to think Fort Worth police make a habit of going on private property to question "suspects" about violating the underage smoking law. And even if he thought James was an underage smoker, Bentley should have ended his "investigation" as soon as James' father appeared at the door and identified himself. Note that the city ordinance governing underage possession of cigarettes states: "A person who is younger than 18 years of age commits an offense if the person: possesses, purchases, consumes or accepts receipt of a cigarette or tobacco product." But then there is a very clear exception to that ordinance: "It is an exception to this section that the minor possessed, purchased, consumed or received the cigarette or tobacco product in the presence of the minor's parent, guardian or spouse." So, had James actually been an underage smoker, the fact that he was at his parents' home with his father present meant no law was broken. The officer in this case, perhaps beginning with good intentions, overreacted and is responsible for escalating a situation that should never have occurred. The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office apparently understood that. The cases against James and Samuel were dismissed last month. In papers filed with County Criminal Court No. 7, the stated reason for the dismissals was: "In the interests of justice." Yes, justice did prevail, but this is a family that has been harmed, and they deserve more. Last month, Samuel and Lorenza filed an official complaint with the Internal Affairs Division of the Fort Worth Police Department. This is one case in which the department, which never likes to admit a mistake, owes this family an apology. How about it, Chief Ralph Mendoza? Link LiveFree™  | ||||
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