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Send us your news Public Service Announcement Submit Advertising Classified Advertising Issue Archives 13 March 2008 |
Board stands behind Rawlings's good work
By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer
20 March 2008 — Citizens came out to the Fremont town board meeting again this month to address the local police department. But this month, a wider range of opinions were present.
Michelle May, who also spoke last month, addressed the board on an incident involving her son.
She said that her son had been unnecessarily harassed by the police while walking to the gas station one evening. Ms. May claimed that the officer involved made threats of arresting her son for no reason, and failed to activate the lights on the car in an effort to keep the video cameras in the police car from recording the incident.
She then said that she had contacted the town about her concerns, and had been called a liar.
“So now we’ve got a Chief you don’t want to go to, officers you don’t want to go to, and a town administrator you don’t want to go to,” Ms. May said. “Now I feel like I need to ask the board for help.”
Ms. May said she felt the officers in town were abusing their authority, and had no right to search people without cause.
Police Chief Ron Rawlings took that opportunity to speak.
He said that he had attempted to explain last month the basis of an ordinance that does allow officers to question and even search individuals.
Chief Rawlings explained that the law allows officers to question people who appear to be somewhere they shouldn’t be. He added that they also have the authority to search those people for their own safety.
“That law is a law all over the country,” he said. “It’s in place because of the prevalent drug problem that’s everywhere. We’ve done a search like that and found a weapon and a mask on the guy. If he didn’t have anything on him he’d be complaining, but he did have something.”
After Ms. May reiterated her points again, another citizen stepped forward to speak.
Isaac Artis stepped to the front of the room and said he came to the meeting to speak in support of the chief.
“A lot of times when you start doing good you start rubbing somebody the wrong way,” he said.
He added that he felt that the chief has done a good job in helping the department to reduce crime in town.
“If you don’t do your job, what you’re doing, then you may as well not be here,” he added. “But you must be doing something right because there’s a lot of people in an uproar trying to get rid of you.”
Ms. May then commented that she didn’t have a problem with the department doing it’s job.
“It’s the overdoing it we have a problem with,” she said.
After the public comment section was closed, Alderman Leroy Ruffin called the Chief to the board’s table.
He then stood and shook the chief’s hand, commending him on the job he has done in town. The rest of the board followed suit before ending the open session portion of the meeting.
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