...“He will not be working as a police officer until this is resolved,” [Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur] Smith said...HAGERSTOWN OFFICER CHARGED WITH POINTING GUN AT GIRLFRIEND
Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD
By DAN DEARTH dan.dearth@herald-mail.com
December 2, 2008
HAGERSTOWN — A Hagerstown police officer was charged with two counts of assault last month in connection with an incident in which he allegedly pointed a pistol at his girlfriend. Curtis W. Kelley, 24, of [#####] Ave., Williamsport, was charged with first- and second-degree assault, and one count of reckless endangerment, according to documents from Washington County District Court. Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith said Kelley has been placed on leave with pay. “He will not be working as a police officer until this is resolved,” Smith said. Kelley declined to comment when reached by telephone on Tuesday at his home. Donna Messina, human resources director for the City of Hagerstown, said Kelley was hired July 24, 2007, and earns $40,456 a year. Hagerstown police received a tip in November that Kelley pointed his departmentally issued gun at his live-in girlfriend’s head during an argument between the couple on Sept. 12 at their apartment on Kenly Avenue in Hagerstown, court documents say. The argument began after the woman told Kelley she was meeting a male friend whom she had known since kindergarten. During a subsequent interview with police on Nov. 19, the woman confirmed that Kelley pointed the pistol at her, documents allege. The woman told police that Kelley said he wouldn’t shoot her because she “wasn’t worth the (expletive) bullet.” The woman said she didn’t believe Kelley would shoot her at the time, but was afraid he might “do something while she was asleep or when she wouldn’t have a chance to defend herself,” she alleged in court documents. After police interviewed the woman, they confiscated Kelley’s duty weapon — a .40-caliber handgun — that was lying with other police-related items on a table at the apartment, according to court documents. Police tried to interview Kelley on Nov. 20 about the incident, but he declined to answer questions without an attorney, the documents say. Kelley was charged after police presented the evidence to Washington County State’s Attorney Charles Strong and Deputy State’s Attorney Steve Kessell, documents show. The application for the statement of charges was dated Nov. 24. A conviction on the charges carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $7,500 in fines. [LINK]
hope he is not on any force, any domestice volice charge, will not allow you to carry a gun in the state of MD so what happened here?
ReplyDeleteCharges against city cop dismissed
ReplyDeleteHeraldMail
By ERIN JULIUS
December 18, 2008
HAGERSTOWN -- A Washington County District judge on Thursday dismissed all charges against a Hagerstown Police officer who was charged with pointing a gun at his live-in girlfriend.
Curtis W. Kelley, 24, of 15701 Fenton Ave., Williamsport, faced charges of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Washington County District Judge Ralph H. France II dismissed those charges after hearing testimony from Hagerstown Police Sgt. Paul Kifer and arguments from the prosecutor and defense attorney.
After the preliminary hearing Thursday morning, Kelley declined to comment, on the advice of his attorney.
At least 10 Hagerstown police officers, some in uniform and others in street clothes, sat in the back of the courtroom during the hearing.
The woman in the case was not in the courtroom Thursday, said Deputy State's Attorney Steven Kessell, who declined to comment further after the hearing.
Hagerstown Police received a tip in November that Kelley pointed his department-issued gun at his live-in girlfriend during an argument between the couple Sept. 12 at their apartment on Kenly Avenue in Hagerstown, Kifer testified Thursday.
The argument began after the woman told Kelley she was meeting a male friend whom she had known most of her life, Kifer said.
During a subsequent interview with police Nov. 19, the woman said that Kelley had been getting ready for work and pointed the pistol at her while she was in the living room playing with their dog, Kifer testified. The woman told police that Kelley said he wouldn't shoot her because she "wasn't worth the (expletive) bullet," Kifer said.
Kelley's defense attorney argued to the judge that the assault charges required the victim be in fear of bodily harm at the time of the incident.
Kifer had testified that the woman said she "did not believe he would shoot her," but that she was concerned Kelley might harm her later.
The woman's report to Kifer that she did not believe Kelley would shoot her was enough to defeat any finding of guilt of first- or second-degree assault, defense attorney Shaun Owens said.
The couple had been together for a number of years, but there had never been any allegations of physical harm to the woman, Kifer testified.
After the hearing, Kelley's attorney took questions.
"He looks forward to getting back to work, serving and protecting the people of Washington County," Owens said.
Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith spoke Thursday in general about the process involved when a police officer is charged criminally. Once the criminal charges are disposed of, the department is obligated to perform an internal investigation before the officer may return to work, Smith said.
Kelley had not been performing police duties but he was being paid, Smith said.
http://articles.herald-mail.com/2008-12-18/news/25167668_1_hagerstown-police-charges-preliminary-hearing-thursday-morning
I saw him yesterday. Great officer.
ReplyDeleteHow is that relevant to what he does on his off time behind closed doors?
ReplyDelete