Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Accused Officer Suspended Twice Before Attacks

WSOC TV News Reporting:

Fired Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Officer Marcus Jackson was suspended twice in 2009, just weeks before being charged with sexually assaulting two women during traffic stops.

Eyewitness News has learned Jackson was suspended for two days in September. An internal review board found Jackson was speeding on the way to a call. After a fellow officer crashed on the way to a call last summer, CMPD said Jackson reported that he and that officer were traveling 45 miles an hour when they were actually driving at least 75 mph.

In November, Jackson was suspended again for conduct unbecoming an officer. Police in Mint Hill responded to a call and found that Jackson had broken through a door to gain entrance to his estranged wife’s apartment. Because Jackson’s name was still on the apartment’s lease, Mint Hill Police filed no charges. But a CMPD internal investigation found he should have been charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering. For the second time in two months, he was suspended for two days.

Word of those suspensions is troubling to City Council member Patrick Cannon. “It doesn’t make me happy to know that there are even more things that are out there,” Cannon said. He added, “It is my hope that we’ll have the police chief come before us and talk about where we are in terms of background checks because we don’t want a situation occurring where we ask ourselves, ‘How did it get this far and why did it get that far.’”

Council member Andy Dulin said he’s concerned that Marcus Jackson received only two-day suspensions. He said police need to address that. “We’re gonna tighten that up,” Dulin said.

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