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Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison For Kicking in a Door Without a Warrant
The agreement among the thugs in blue was to get “consent” through intimidation to search the residence in question. When that failed, Christopher E. Hunt showed up later, kicked in a porch door and beat a “helpless, naked man” who was not resisting. At his trial four different police organizations testified against the rouge cop. In a rare case of judicial insight and candor the presiding judge said, “It appears that this defendant was intoxicated with the power of the badge.”
Looks like their are some acts that are far enough beyond the limits that even cops will stand up against their brothers in blue.
-Gordon Freeman
A St. Charles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for breaking the law while he and other officers were at a Middletown, Mo., home to apprehend a wanted meth cook.
In August, a jury found Christopher E. Hunt, 38, guilty of felony burglary and misdemeanor assault and property damage after a three-day trial that pitted police officer against police officer.
The charges stemmed from the Feb. 5, 2009, arrest of Phillip Alberternst, who was wanted on several felonies related to meth-making. Hunt and three other members of the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force were assisting members of the East Central Drug Task Force — which “serves” Warren, Audrain and Montgomery counties — with the arrest.
In arguments during the trial, Montgomery County Prosecutor Nicole Volkert said officers had agreed to try a consensual search because they didn’t have a search warrant, but when Hunt showed up later, he kicked in a porch door and beat “a helpless, naked man” who was not resisting. The burglary charge stemmed from him going into the home.
Hunt plans to appeal his case, and he remains free after posting 10 percent of a $100,000 bail.
St. Charles County officials tried to write a check for the 10 percent, but Circuit Judge Keith Sutherland would not allow it. “I don’t know whether it’s normal or not, but we’re supporting our people,” County Executive Steve Ehlmann said later. “People don’t understand what a tough job these guys have.”
Ehlmann said Hunt then paid $5,000 of the bail money, and St. Charles County Sheriff Tom Neer put up the other half.
At the sentencing, Hunt broke down several times while reading a statement in which he detailed his military service with the Marines and his lifelong desire to be a police officer. He said on the day of Alberternst’s arrest, he felt everyone around him was in danger.
“I had to decide in a matter of seconds what it took jurors five hours to weigh,” he said. “My intention that night was not assault, it was safety.”
Hunt’s wife also testified on his behalf, but Sutherland did not let Neer or Ehlmann get on the stand after Volkert said they weren’t listed as potential witnesses.
Volkert asked that Hunt get 15 years for the burglary charge, in part because he is a police officer.
“This is the type of person who makes other people doubt the entire system,” she said.
Hunt’s attorney, Joseph McCulloch, argued for probation. “His law enforcement career is ended; the ability to support his family is crippled,” he said. “I don’t know what message putting him in jail would send.”
But Sutherland said he agreed with the jurors that Hunt had gone to the scene that night with the intent to get revenge on Alberternst, then “made up facts to make himself look good.”
He said it was common knowledge that police officers stick together, but in this case officers from four different agencies had testified against Hunt.
“That’s very telling to me,” Sutherland said.
He also said that he didn’t doubt that Hunt loved his job and was a brave man.
“But it appears that this defendant was intoxicated with the power of the badge,” he said.
Three other St. Charles County officers — William S. Rowe III, Dion E. Wilson and Deric Dull — also are charged with misdemeanor counts of assault and making a false report in the arrest. No trial date has been set in those cases.
It is a rare case in that the unjust actions of these officers were not swept under the rug. It is good that the jurors and judge recognized that the actions of Christopher E. Hunt, as well as his colleagues’ – William S. Rowe III, Dion E. Wilson and Deric Dull – were wrong. The thing many have not yet recognized is that those actions would still be wrong if Hunt and his colleagues had received government permission beforehand.
While I certainly think Christopher Hunt should be held accountable for his actions, I think it’s worth considering what sort of restitution would help make the victim whole rather than forcing taxpayers to pay for him to be locked in a cage for the next 5 years. What do you think? -Kate
Deputy Sheriff Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison For Kicking in a Door Without a Warrant is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights
2012-10-09 16:53:49
Source: http://www.copblock.org/21968/deputy-sheriff-gets-5-years-for-kicking-in-a-door-wo-warrent/
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