By Jennifer Horton, Reporter
Three Montgomery Police Officers
have been charged in the past four weeks with crimes ranging from murder to
leaving the scene of an accident. Two of those arrests have occurred in the
last three days.
Two of the officers were on duty
at the time of the reported incidents, and all are in their early 20s.
Prosecuting three MPD officers at
the same time was unheard of until now.
To put it in perspective,
District Attorney Daryl Bailey has prosecuted upwards of six police officers in
his career prior to the three arrests.
“We are treating these cases very
seriously,” Bailey said. “The city [of Montgomery], we give them much credit
for coming forward. They are not trying to cover up or hide anything.”
Bailey requested the judge set
the latest MPD officer’s bail at $30,000 cash due to the seriousness of the
offense, and it was granted.
Officer Morris Leon Williams
remained behind bars Wednesday night on a second degree sodomy charge. MPD
Chief Ernest Finley confirms Williams was accused of a sex crime involving a
mentally challenged victim while responding to a call on Monday.
“When we come across the officer
who has crossed that line, that is corruption; that is a violation of public
trust,” Finley said.
Officer G.T. Farris resigned
following his arrest on Tuesday for allegedly leaving the scene of an
accident. SBI investigated the accident,
and charged Farris with felony leaving the scene of an accident.
Finley confirmed the state
investigator drew blood to confirm anything in his system. Farris was off duty
at the time of the offense. Finley indicated the accident and injury sustained
in the crash are serious.
“It’s a tough week for the family
at MPD,” Finley explained. “I’m going to be up front with you about that.”
The arrests are changing the way
MPD conducts business. Finley firmly believes bad decision making, not age is
to blame for the recent offenses.
“Officers have historically and
traditionally been young,” Finley said. “You can be a cop at 19, and these guys
have been on the force for two to three, even four years.”
Despite that belief, he has
implemented more field training.
Currently, 18 officers are
undergoing a course now with another to be offered in June. There's no word why
the officers were selected for this additional course.
The largest wholesale change
comes in the form of two-person patrols for second and third shifts, an issue
that reached a fever pitch following the arrest of Officer Aaron Smith,
recentlycharged with murder for the shooting death of an unarmed man.
Smith was patrolling alone in a
high-crime area when the incident unfolded. Finley said it’s an issue he heard
loud and clear from the officers and the community following the death of Greg
Gunn.
“The second and third shift, we
have a minimum of six two-man patrols in those high-crime areas,” Finley
explained.
The dual patrol could increase to
as many as 12 teams, but Finley could not confirm how many officers were left
to patrol alone.
Finley is using his senior staff
members as eyes and ears for the force, by appearing in roll call and
meetings. Their job is to talk to the
officers about sensitive issues, identify any concerns involving their
personalities or red flags and monitor those issues.
As MPD works past a damaging
month, Finley maintains he has a zero tolerance policy for officers who break
the law and live unsavory personal lives.
“That’s intolerable, [and] we are
not going to put up with that,” Finley said.
Despite the mounting evidence
against MPD officers, Bailey says he has a deep respect for the profession and
the officers who are protecting Montgomery.
“They are the thin blue line
between order and chaos every single day,” Bailey said. “Those who have done
wrong, we need to demand better. We have to make sure the officers are
receiving training, and they are the very best officers to protect our
community.”
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