(Memphis) An
off-duty Memphis police officer, accused of threatening a man by getting the
victim’s phone number from the 911 call center, is now under arrest.
Officer Darrell
Malone will be prosecuted for harassment.
This comes more
than three months after the incident was first reported.
The victim says
he’s relieved the DA’s office is taking action.
“I’m tickled
pink,” said Michael Montgomery, who thought the county forgot about his case.
“I had some
real concerns that it was just being dropped.”
But it looks
like someone believed he had one against Officer Malone.
He’s been
arrested for harassment. Court documents show the officer turned himself in
Monday after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.
Montgomery
first came forward demanding action back in October.
“It’s a
complete abuse of power,” said. ”He stepped across a line that shouldn`t be
stepped across.”
Montgomery says
Malone flashed a gun at him on Germantown Parkway and threatened him.
When Montgomery
called 911 for help, the off-duty officer was able to get Montgomery’s personal
cell phone number from 911 Dispatcher Jenny Rice,.
Montgomery told
us, “I got a phone call from a blocked cell phone number. It was the off-duty
police officer again who had gotten my information from dispatch. He was making
more threats to me.”
Since then,
Montgomery has wanted Officer Malone charged with a crime, but MPD’s Internal
Affairs Bureau decided Malone didn’t commit one and put him back on the job
November 27th.
Now, the police
department says he’s relieved of duty, again, but won’t say when that happened
or why.
Montgomery’s
just glad to know the system works, even if it takes a while.
“If you fight
the system, it will work for you,” said Montgomery. ”You just have to knuckle
down and bear with it. It may not be what you want immediately but in the end
you are going to get your results.”
Officer
Malone’s first court hearing has been set for April 5th. Montgomery says
prosecutors tell him he has a right to attend all of Malone’s hearings but
doubts he’ll go to them