...CHOKED HER AND PUSHED HER... HAD BRUISES ON HER BACK, ARM, THIGH AND NECK...
Cleared cop not on patrol
Was just the charge of domestic battery 'conduct unbecoming'?
Charleston Gazette, WV
By Andrew Clevenger aclevenger@wvgazette.com
June 28, 2008
Five months after he was acquitted on domestic battery charges, a Charleston police officer remains on paid administrative leave. Last June, Patrolman Daniel A. Dodd was arrested and charged with domestic battery for allegedly grabbing his girlfriend by the throat [*1] during an argument. He was immediately placed on leave by the department. On Jan. 9 [*2], after a bench trial in front of Kanawha County Magistrate Ward Harshbarger, Dodd was found not guilty. Dodd's girlfriend, [DP] [*3], refused to testify and submitted a sworn statement maintaining that Dodd never assaulted or abused her. She said she was the aggressor and he was only defending himself. More than five months later, Dodd has not been reinstated. Nor has he been dismissed from the department. He remains on paid administrative leave. Dodd, 26, said Friday that he is waiting for Chief Brent Webster's office to make a decision... Webster could not be reached on Friday. Multiple calls to Maj. John Shannon, the deputy chief of police, went unreturned... Charleston Police Lt. Steve Neddo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 74, said he had no specific knowledge of Dodd's situation... "Just because criminal charges go away doesn't mean that the department doesn't still have an interest in an officer," Neddo said. "There's one catch-all charge that's famous in law enforcement circles, it's called 'conduct unbecoming [an officer]'... "Could he be charged with something [else] by the department? Yes, he could," Neddo said. Once an officer faces an administrative charge, he is entitled to a hearing in front of a review board of other officers and representation by a lawyer, which could explain the apparent delay, he said. "That can drag on forever," he said. [Full article here]
[*1] This article says Dodd grabbed [DP] by the throat. Let's say that's VERY abbreviated thanks to the local news reporter who wants us to focus on a cop getting paid for nothing instead of a cop getting away with battery OR what would feel to ME like ATTEMPTED MURDER. From an article in the Charleston Gazette last June:
...ACCORDING TO THE COMPLAINT, DODD HIT HIS GIRLFRIEND, [DP], CHOKED HER AND PUSHED HER DOWN. [DP] HAD BRUISES ON HER BACK, ARM, THIGH AND NECK
Is the issue then that Dodd is still getting a check? Or is it a corrupt legal system? How can a court accept from [DP] that she lied that she had been assaulted with that much physical evidence on her body of what happened? What were Dodd's bruises from her madwoman attack? Dodd could have restrained her instead of choked her and beat her entire body if he was defending himself. Where's the police report? What did the officers on the scene see and hear? (Did they even write it down? Did the report disappear? What does it say?) Looks to ME like everyone involved is corrupt - From the judge to the prosecutor to the police department to those that control the local media and don't ask the screaming questions and who so quickly drop off the details - all hiding by something or other to circumvent truth when it comes to a police officer - the ultimate boyhood hero.
[*2] The article above says there was a bench trial on January 9th (2008) where Dodd was found not guilty because DP didn't come and recanted that she was the victim. Missing in the reporting then is the link between that January bench trial and the fact that - according the Charleston Gazette (hidden in another article, at the very bottom) the charges were dropped 2 months earlier than that - which would mean the chief has been THINKING for seven months, not five:
"by Andrew Clevenger
October 16, 2007
...Also on Monday, a domestic battery charge against a Charleston police officer was dropped in Kanawha Magistrate Court. Daniel Adam Dodd has been on administrative leave since June... Magistrate Traci Carper-Strickland dismissed the charges after the victim failed to appear in court after having been served with a subpoena."
[*3] DP refused to testify? Is that the best the prosecutor or the reporter can come up with? No questions asked. DP was by herself with all the powers-that-be against her.
[*] Is it insignificant that before the time of this attack Dodd had a wife? Was she safe? Was DP safe? Are they safe now? What has CPD known over the years? Who cares? Not the Charleston Gazette or the Charleston Daily Mail. I look out the window and wonder what change can there ever be without the media using their power to help make things right and without the general public responding to that by raising their voices? Victims of officer-involved domestic violence are used to not getting any help from dv agencies... kind of left out in the windstorm to die or blow away.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder gypsy cophop cophop hx repeat teflon west virginia state politics]
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Police officer charged in domestic battery case
ReplyDeleteCharleston Gazette (subscription), USA - 14 hours ago
By Gary Harki
June 30, 2007
A Charleston police officer has been charged with domestic battery for allegedly grabbing his girlfriend by the throat and hitting her.
Daniel Adam Dodd became violent with his girlfriend during an argument at their home on Deer Creek Drive in St. Albans, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court on Thursday.
Dodd, a patrolman with the Charleston Police Department for about four years, is on paid administrative leave until the case is resolved, said Charleston police Capt. Kevin Perdue. Police Chief Brent Webster is out of town this week.
According to the complaint, Dodd hit his girlfriend, Drema Dawn Pearson, choked her and pushed her down.
Pearson had bruises on her back, arm, thigh and neck, said State Police Trooper B.H. Moore of the South Charleston detachment.
The incident happened Wednesday evening and the victim and a witness reported it Thursday, according to Moore and the complaint.
"[Dodd] also had marks on him where she scratched him on the eye and a couple of places," Moore said. "I don’t know if he will file anything. ... Apparently there is a history between the two."
Pearson was expected to meet with police again, he said.
Things must be looked at properly before disciplinary or punitive action could be taken, Perdue said. "I am sure there will be an internal investigation, but it’s early," he said.
Lt. James A. Sands is the only other officer on administrative leave with the Charleston force, he said. Sands was placed on administrative leave in early June. Police have declined to comment on whether his leave is related to allegations that he worked for another employer while on the clock for Charleston.
Charleston police Lt. Steve Neddo, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 74, said he could not recall when the last officer was placed on administrative leave in connection with domestic battery.
"It’s not been recently," he said. He emphasized that Dodd was on administrative leave because he is innocent until proven guilty.
Dodd was released on a personal recognizance bond and instructed not to have any contact with Pearson, according to the complaint.
To contact staff writer Gary Harki, use e-mail or call 348-5163.
Charges dropped
ReplyDeleteCharleston Gazette (WV)
Andrew Clevenger
October 16, 2007
Also on Monday, a domestic battery charge against a Charleston police officer was dropped in Kanawha Magistrate Court.
Daniel Adam Dodd has been on administrative leave since June.
He was charged with domestic battery after he became violent with his girlfriend, choking her and pushing her down at their Deer Creek Drive home in St. Albans, according to a criminal complaint.
Magistrate Traci Carper-Strickland dismissed the charges after the victim failed to appear in court after having been served with a subpoena.
To contact staff writer Andrew Clevenger, use e-mail or call 348-1723.
CHARGES DROPPED - SO OFF TO PERPETRATE AS AN OFFICER AT BELLE POLICE, WV NOW?
ReplyDeleteNEW JOB, SAME MAN.
DROPPED CHARGES DON'T MEAN IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
GAZE INTO THE BRUISES.
UPDATE: Officer Daniel Dodds current wife has filed for a domestic violence protective order against him. More Details to come!!!
ReplyDeleteI added some meta tags to this post for my own sorting:
ReplyDeleterepeat, hx - which means there are indicators or proof that he has a history of dv
teflon - which means there's no legal accountability for his committing crimes. He can go on as if he is a law abiding citizen - while he is not. Nothing sticks!
cop-hop, gypsy cop - which mean he just leaves one department and goes to another. Sometimes departments know and hire them anyway, and sometimes departments don't ask so they don't have to spend so much money and time trying to train a new officer -
or to do a brother a brotherhood favor.
Domestic violence is a CRIME. Officers who are criminally abusive to their intimate partners or children should not be officers. There are other jobs. And when the whole system works together for the perp, you can bet the victim gets the message - no where to turn. These victims will continue to die - usually quietly or as a staged suicide - at an alarming rate until someone cares about them. Few want to help them.
The domestic violence community remains quiet. Their funding comes from the same people who pay law enforcement.
New:
ReplyDelete[WV] Belle Police Officer Dodd has a new police department, new woman, but same domestic violence allegations
[WV] Belle Police Officer Cox, who reportedly blackened girlfriend's eye, was afterwards crowned police chief