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Drop charges, Harris urges
By LEON M. TUCKER, Times Staff Writer CLEARWATER -- Police need to drop all charges against 18-year-old Joseph Walden, says his great-uncle, county Commissioner Calvin Harris. Harris said he continues to have faith in the Clearwater Police Department's community policing efforts, despite what happened Monday afternoon when Walden was thrown to the ground and arrested outside the Ross Norton Community Center in south Clearwater. "They are people who want to provide service," Harris said. "Chief (Sid) Klein is service-oriented, he is involved with all kinds of things you would not expect a chief to be involved in and his department has mirrored that -- I don't think that has changed." Nonetheless, Harris said, the police version of events does not square with what he knows about Walden. "Joe should not come out of this with any kind of a record, and I know that's one of his concerns," said Harris. "Anybody who knows him knows he is not an aggressive kid; the actions they describe is totally out of character for him." Two police reports say Walden lunged at an officer Monday, forcing officers to arrest him while they were investigating a car with no tag parked outside the Ross Norton Recreation Center. The 2001 Chevrolet Impala belonged to Walden, who denies he lunged at anyone. He said the vehicle's temporary dealer tag was displayed in its rear window. Safety Harbor Commissioner Robin Borland and Walden's boxing coach Ben Getty say they saw Walden as he was handcuffed, knocked to the ground and eventually taken to jail, where he spent the night after being booked on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. An Internal Affairs investigation was launched by Klein in response to calls the department received concerning the allegations, police spokesman Wayne Shelor said. Klein has declined to comment on the matter, saying he is "precluded by law" from discussing it publicly. "When I talked to Sid he assured me, when he was made aware of (the incident), he started an Internal Affairs investigation," said City Manager Bill Horne. "All the commissioners read the articles and have an interest in it, but we are guarded in what we say until the results of the investigation come back." Mayor Brian Aungst agreed. "We've got to get two sets of stories so it's hard for me to say," he said. "Hopefully, these types of things won't happen in the future, but we'll just have to wait and see if (the force) was a justifiable or not." Shelor identified the officers involved in the investigation as Benjamin Hailey, Natalie Pehote, Sean Allaster and Terri Naumann. A review of each officer's personnel files show favorable job evaluations by their superiors as well as regular letters of appreciation from residents. The case's next stop is the State Attorney's office. "We will conduct an investigation, and that investigation will involve talking to all witnesses involved -- law enforcement and non-law enforcement," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett. "A legal analysis will determine if charges will be filed or not." This comes a month after the department's Internal Affairs officer wrapped up a seven-month investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by three officers. Officers Anthony Pearn and James Mehr Jr. resigned, and Sgt. James Heinz was demoted.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
