Police Officers Shoot Fire Chief In Courtroom.

[Aratech]

Unbelievable.

JERICHO, Ark. – It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps.

The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court.

Payne ended up in the hospital, but his shooting last week brought to a boil simmering tensions between residents of this tiny former cotton city and their police force. Drivers quickly learn to slow to a crawl along the gravel roads and the two-lane highway that run through Jericho, but they say sometimes that isn't enough to fend off the city ticketing machine.

"You can't even get them to answer a call because normally they're writing tickets," said Thomas Martin, chief investigator for the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department. "They're not providing a service to the citizens."

Now the police chief has disbanded his force "until things calm down," a judge has voided all outstanding police-issued citations and sheriff's deputies are asking where all the money from the tickets went. With 174 residents, the city can keep seven police officers on its rolls but missed payments on police and fire department vehicles and saw its last business close its doors a few weeks ago.

"You can't even buy a loaf of bread, but we've got seven police officers," said former resident Larry Harris, who left town because he said the police harassment became unbearable.

Sheriff's deputies patrolled Jericho until the 1990s, when the city received grant money to start its own police force, Martin said.

Police often camped out in the department's two cruisers along the highway that runs through town, waiting for drivers who failed to slow down when they reached the 45 mph zone ringing Jericho. Residents say the ticketing got out of hand.

"When I first moved out here, they wrote me a ticket for going 58 mph in my driveway," 75-year-old retiree Albert Beebe said.

The frequent ticketing apparently led to the vandalization of the cruisers, and the department took to parking the cars overnight at the sheriff's department eight miles away.

It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After Payne failed to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said.

It's unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind.

Doctors in Memphis, Tenn., removed a .40-caliber bullet from Payne's hip bone, Martin said. Another officer suffered a grazing wound to his finger from the bullet.

Martin declined to name the officer who shot Payne. It's unclear if the officer has been disciplined.

Prosecutor Lindsey Fairley said Thursday that he didn't plan to file any felony charges against the officer or Payne. Fairley, reached at his home, said Payne could face a misdemeanor charge stemming from the scuffle, but that would be up to the city's judge. He said he didn't remember the name of the officer who fired the shot.

Payne remains in good condition at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He referred questions to his lawyer.

"I know that he was unarmed and I know he was shot," Fishman said. "None of that sounds too good for the city to me."

After the shooting, Martin said police chief Willie Frazier told the sheriff's department he was disbanding the police force "until things calm down." The sheriff's department has been patrolling the town in the meantime.

A call to a city hall number listed as Frazier's went to a fax machine. Frazier did not respond to a written request for comment sent to his office.

Alexander, the judge, has voided all the tickets written by the department both inside the city and others written outside of its jurisdiction — citations that the department apparently had no power to write. Alexander, who works as a lawyer in West Memphis, resigned as Jericho's judge in the aftermath of the shooting, Fairley said. She did not return calls for comment.

Meanwhile, sheriff's deputies want to know where the money from the traffic fines went. Martin said that it appeared the $150 tickets weren't enough to protect the city's finances. Sheriff's deputies once had to repossess one of the town's police cruisers for failure to pay on a lease, and the state Forestry Commission recently repossessed one of the city's fire trucks because of nonpayment.

City hall has been shuttered since the shooting, and any records of how the money was spent are apparently locked inside. No one answered when a reporter knocked on the door on Tuesday.

Mayor Helen Adams declined to speak about the shooting when approached outside her home, saying she had just returned from a doctor's appointment and couldn't talk.

"We'll get with you after all this comes through," Adams said Tuesday before shutting the door.

A white Ford Crown Victoria sat in her driveway with "public property" license plates. A sales brochure advertising police equipment sat in the back seat of the car.

Criminy, this is entering the realm of the surreal.

[Patrick Degan]

You would think those cops would sort of grasp that it's not a good idea to shoot the top official of the service they'd need to call on if their headquarters or any of their homes caught fire one day...

[Dominus Atheos]

The whole thing is pretty crazy, but my personal favorite part is how the city prosecutor says he isn't going to file charges against the cop who did the shooting. Unless the fire chief pulled his own gun, there really aren't a whole lot of possible circumstances where the officer had a legitimate need to shoot him when there were 6 other cops in the room.

[Frank Hipper]

Ghost town in the making; City Hall's been shuttered since this happened?

Wow.

[Anguirus]

^ It's already a ghost town. Did you catch the bit about it's "last business" closing?

Shit, this could be a movie. Sounds like those cops had their own little empire out there, and that's already interesting before they gun down the fire chief.

[Gil Hamilton]

Yeah, it sounds like the cops were issuing traffic tickets and pocket the results and set up a nice little business of fleecing motorists for money.

Of course, that's not radically different than alot of small towns, where the cops in the town do exactly the same thing, particularly if you have an out of state license and aren't likely to show up to appeal the ticket. That they shot at the fire chief is the really wild thing.

[Mr Bean]

This story started out standard. Poor town turns itself into a speed trap to raise money. Where we start going off the end is when it appears that the cops are keeping the money for itself and harassing people on their own property. We are about two steps removed from that horrible movie who's name I can't recall of Samuel L Jackson's where he's a cop who hates his neighbor, and the neighbor hates him and both try to bring the other to ruin.

So the cops are harassing the civilians and the civilians are wrecking the officers property and then and then the fire chief get's shot. Why do I see some sort of climatic movie show-down? I can already see the "based on true events" movie coming down the line. I'd call it "One night in Jericho"

[Punarbhava]

This town was in the news awhile back for similar craziness, insane speed traps and obscene traffic tickets.

This is sad, but not surprising at all.

[White Haven]

Well, we certainly know where some of the money's been going. Something tells me that the prosecutor would be filing charges if the local police crime ring wasn't lining his pockets...

[tim31]

We simply don't get this sort of small-town racket crap happening in this country, thanks in part to the fact that all the police services are organised at a state level. No, the corruption happens in the cities instead.

So the cops are harassing the civilians and the civilians are wrecking the officers property and then and then the fire chief get's shot. Why do I see some sort of climatic movie show-down? I can already see the "based on true events" movie coming down the line. I'd call it "One night in Jericho"

I'm going to take the lower road and make it a special episode of CSI Miami.

HORATIO: Shot by the local police, Frank? (puts on sunglasses) They put his fire out.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

[Lord of the Abyss]

Some updates here and here.

JERICHO, AR (WMC-TV) - A small town story reminiscent of a John Grisham novel is now making national news.

A police officer in Jericho, Arkansas, shot the town's fire chief in the middle of a courtroom following an argument over speed traps.

At the Regional Medical Center in nearby Memphis, Jericho Fire Chief Don Payne continues to recover from a gunshot wound to his side.

His attorney, Randy Fishman, said the shooting followed a shoving match. Payne, he says, was unarmed.

"Shoving match ensued he was shoved from behind. Then one of the officers saw fit to Barney Fife-style pull a weapon and fire at him," Fishman said.

He also says the city is at fault for its makeshift police department. "In society, when we give a man a pistol, he better be trained. Know how to use it, and when to use it, or we're out in the wild, wild, west."

The police officer involved in the shooting has been neither charged nor cleared.

The prosecuting attorney is expected to make a decision about whether or not to file charges by the beginning of next week.

The ordeal brought to light something Jericho residents say is a major problem. Just about everyone who lives there has a story about a ticket they say was unfair.

And the complaints stretch beyond city limits. Dr. Clint Abner says he used to commute through the town until he received two speeding tickets in two weeks, totaling $250.

"He told me I was doing 50 in a 45," said Abner. "I told him he was wrong. I was not speeding - I was well aware of my speed."

Meanwhile, the police department in the town of less than 200 residents now appears to be taking a break.

Jericho's only police cars haven't budged since the allegations of corruption began heating up.

"It's our understanding there aren't any police officers working at this time. That's why we've stepped up patrols," said Crittenden County Sheriff's Department Spokesperson Thomas Martin.

And rather than being concerned about the lack of police presence in town, Jericho residents are instead breathing a sigh of relief.

Action News 5 was unable to find Jericho's police chief Friday. Even Martin says he doesn't know how to reach him.

JERICHO, Ark. (WMC-TV) - Allegations of police corruption have been heating up in the tiny town of Jericho, Arkansas.

Numerous complaints have surfaced since a police officer there shot the town's fire chief in the middle of a courtroom after they argued over speed traps.

The officer's name has not been released, and he has been neither charged nor cleared in the incident.

Jericho Police Chief Willie Frazier was nowhere to be found folowing in the days following the shooting. Action News 5 finally caught up with him at the town hall on Saturday, when he exited the building holding a bundle of files in his hand.

Frazier refused to discuss the shooting or the corruption allegations, telling a reporter to talk to his attorney, whose name Frazier never provided.

The allegations include issuing illegal traffic tickets.

Local resident Joe Douglas who said he almost joined the Jericho police force told Action News 5 that he decided against it after speaking with an officer.

"They would get paid when they wrote tickets, from the tickets. But only if they wrote tickets," he said.

A spokesperson with the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department said it's illegal for officers to work under any quota system.

Douglas briefly worked for Frazier's private security company, but he says he quit because he didn't receive his paycheck on time.

He says Frazier drove his squad car to his company's security jobs. "Driving a city squad car all over Memphis for his own security work...I kind of found that a little dishonest. Not getting paid was a little disheartening."

Ray Hardiman manages the property in Atoka, Tennessee, where Frazier lived up until last weekend. Hardiman says Frazier fell three months behind on the rent for the sprawling 3200 square foot home.

"He told me he had health issues and couldn't afford to pay the rent. So, he moved," he said.

Hardiman also says the Jericho police chief always drove his squad car to his Atoka home, over an hour away.

"His police car was here every night," he said.

The Crittenden County prosecutor is reviewing the shooting case and the allegations of speed traps.

Paid if and only if they handed out tickets? And the police chief hasn't been seen in a while, and was last seen leaving City Hall with a bunch of files ? Is that the sound of a shredder I hear?

[Wing Commander MAD]

We simply don't get this sort of small-town racket crap happening in this country, thanks in part to the fact that all the police services are organised at a state level. No, the corruption happens in the cities instead.

So the cops are harassing the civilians and the civilians are wrecking the officers property and then and then the fire chief get's shot. Why do I see some sort of climatic movie show-down? I can already see the "based on true events" movie coming down the line. I'd call it "One night in Jericho"

I'm going to take the lower road and make it a special episode of CSI Miami.

HORATIO: Shot by the local police, Frank? (puts on sunglasses) They put his fire out.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

I imagine there is quite a bit of training disparity between your police and the average small town American cop. I can't speak for other places but, the local township police (the township I live in is a suburb of a small city) here are largly viewed as incompetant. Infact, if any thing serious happens it is generally viewed as better to contact the Pennslyvania State Troopers before the local police. The real kicker is that the state troopers tend to show up before the local officers do and the nearest state trooper barracks is located in one of our neighboring townships (presumably this is just from a standard 911 call). Anectdotally, it's been known for state troopers and officers from the city and neighboring townships (other suburbs of the same city) to show up to a report of an incident before the local police.

[CaptainChewbacca]

And for understatement of the year:

"I know that he was unarmed and I know he was shot," Fishman said. "None of that sounds too good for the city to me."

Not too good at all.

Oh, and Tim31, you owe me a new keyboard for the spit-take.

[Stofsk]

I like how the prosecutor ruled out filing a felony charge against the copper who shot the fire chief. That's pretty incredible.

Even just a reckless discharge of a firearm charge should be appropriate. Maybe it would be a slap on the wrist but at least it wouldn't be ignored.

[dragon]

I like how the prosecutor ruled out filing a felony charge against the copper who shot the fire chief. That's pretty incredible.

Even just a reckless discharge of a firearm charge should be appropriate. Maybe it would be a slap on the wrist but at least it wouldn't be ignored.

Actually it's against the law to be armed in a court room unless your a member of the Bailiff.

[Stofsk]

How did he get it in there in the first place? Don't they have metal detectors and guards?

[Wing Commander MAD]

I'd guess lax security measures being taken seeing as its a small town. According to wikipedia, the town only had 184 residents according to the 2000 census. Now wether the lax security measures were because its a relatively quiet town, or becuase the individual was local law enforcement (or knew the person responsible letting him through), I don't know, your milage may vary by cynicism.

[Kamakazie Sith]

I'd guess lax security measures being taken seeing as its a small town. According to wikipedia, the town only had 184 residents according to the 2000 census. Now wether the lax security measures were because its a relatively quiet town, or becuase the individual was local law enforcement (or knew the person responsible letting him through), I don't know, your milage may vary by cynicism.

It's actually very common for law enforcement to be allowed to carry their weapons in restricted areas that a regular citizen can not.

For example, it's against the law to carry any weapon inside the court rooms in Utah, but whenever I appear in court I am always armed. I just show my police ID to the court security.

[Thanas]

I've seen the same thing in Florida.

[Eleas]

I like how the prosecutor ruled out filing a felony charge against the copper who shot the fire chief. That's pretty incredible.

Even just a reckless discharge of a firearm charge should be appropriate. Maybe it would be a slap on the wrist but at least it wouldn't be ignored.

Bluntly speaking, this situation wouldn't have existed in the first place if the officials in that area weren't corrupt enough to allow it. These cops plainly knew they could count on getting away with some outrageous shit, and likely would have continued to do so, but for the fact that it went public.

[Wing Commander MAD]

I'd guess lax security measures being taken seeing as its a small town. According to wikipedia, the town only had 184 residents according to the 2000 census. Now wether the lax security measures were because its a relatively quiet town, or becuase the individual was local law enforcement (or knew the person responsible letting him through), I don't know, your milage may vary by cynicism.

It's actually very common for law enforcement to be allowed to carry their weapons in restricted areas that a regular citizen can not.

For example, it's against the law to carry any weapon inside the court rooms in Utah, but whenever I appear in court I am always armed. I just show my police ID to the court security.

Thanks for the info. See, I find that rather odd. While I certainly don't expect something like this to happen, it strikes me as rather a bad idea to allow anyone with some form of stake in whatever the current court procedings are to have a weapon. Officers are afterall only human, and thus prone to the whole gamut of emotions and irrational behavior present in a confrontinve situation. I would really only expect the bailiffs, as a truly neutral 3rd party responsible for maintaining order and security in the court, to be the only individuals allowed to be armed. Is there some reason law enforcement are allowed to keep their weapons, or was it just assumed that nothing like this would ever happen? I wonder if any kind of reconsideration of current practices will result from this? Sith, what would your opinion as someone in lawenforcement be to the changing of these practices?

[Kamakazie Sith]

I'd guess lax security measures being taken seeing as its a small town. According to wikipedia, the town only had 184 residents according to the 2000 census. Now wether the lax security measures were because its a relatively quiet town, or becuase the individual was local law enforcement (or knew the person responsible letting him through), I don't know, your milage may vary by cynicism.

It's actually very common for law enforcement to be allowed to carry their weapons in restricted areas that a regular citizen can not.

For example, it's against the law to carry any weapon inside the court rooms in Utah, but whenever I appear in court I am always armed. I just show my police ID to the court security.

Thanks for the info. See, I find that rather odd. While I certainly don't expect something like this to happen, it strikes me as rather a bad idea to allow anyone with some form of stake in whatever the current court procedings are to have a weapon. Officers are afterall only human, and thus prone to the whole gamut of emotions and irrational behavior present in a confrontinve situation. I would really only expect the bailiffs, as a truly neutral 3rd party responsible for maintaining order and security in the court, to be the only individuals allowed to be armed. Is there some reason law enforcement are allowed to keep their weapons, or was it just assumed that nothing like this would ever happen? I wonder if any kind of reconsideration of current practices will result from this? Sith, what would your opinion as someone in lawenforcement be to the changing of these practices?

Your concerns are seriously flawed. If you can't trust them in the court room with a firearm why would you trust them with a firearm out in the field?

The other reason is when you're a police officer you are one 24/7, so in most departments you're expected to be able to do your job if a situation requires action.

[Cosmic Average]

How did he get it in there in the first place? Don't they have metal detectors and guards?

Considering that this is the courtroom in question... Anyway, looks like the fire chief has been charged with battery on an officer.

WEST MEMPHIS, AR - A man shot by cops inside a small town courtroom in Arkansas will soon be charged with battery on a police officer according to the West Memphis City Prosecutor. The shooting happened two weeks ago in Jericho.

Fire chief Don Payne was arguing a traffic ticket, and got into an argument with officers. One of the officers shot Payne in the back. West Memphis City Prosecutor Lindsey Fairley says none of the police officers will be charged.

Fairley says Payne went after officers, and the officers had every right to detain Payne.

Link

[neoolong]

Doesn't Fairley mean the right to shoot him in the back?

That's a screwed up situation. Is there no oversight for local cops? State-level or something?

[Kamakazie Sith]

Doesn't Fairley mean the right to shoot him in the back?

That's a screwed up situation. Is there no oversight for local cops? State-level or something?

There might be something that we're not aware of because I don't see how a prosecutor would tell the media that the police won't face charges for shooting a man in the back unless he were doing something that justified it like for example he was about to smash an officers face...