Judge dismisses Sheriff’s harassment charge
Published 2:04 pm Thursday, November 14, 2024
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West to stand trial for obstructing governmental operations
Lowndes County Sheriff Chris West stood trial on Thursday, appearing before Judge Fred Bell in the Hayneville Municipal Court facing misdemeanor charges of harassment and obstructing governmental operations. Bell dismissed the harassment charge but ruled the Sheriff must stand trial for obstructing governmental operations.
The Sheriff was not immediately available to comment. County Commissioner Dickson Farrior, who was present for the hearing, expressed his thoughts on the trial’s outcome.
“I think the other [charge] should have been dismissed,” Farrior said. “I’m really disappointed in the proceedings this morning.”
County Commissioner Robert Harris filed the charges on Aug. 29 alleging misconduct by West during a June 24 Commission meeting. West appeared before Bell in an Oct. 10 pre-trial hearing during which the Judge determined the Sheriff would proceed to trial in the case mounted by the Town of Hayneville.
Harris said he did not share the judge’s opinion on the harassment charge.
“I disagree because the complaint that I gave [for] harassment may not have been worded exactly like it should have been, but it still had the same type of hold that I would say, for lack of better word, that the intent of it was there,” Harris said.
Bell informed the court his purpose for the Nov. 13 hearing was to determine whether the charges would stand up to a trial, not to issue findings of guilt or innocence.
“Sheriff West is presumed innocent throughout these proceedings and remains so until the trial or facts determine that he is guilty of the charge,” Bell said. “The court expresses no opinion as to any guilt or innocence or Sheriff.”
The judge delivered his findings in an order he read to the courtroom. Related to the harassment charge, the order reads, in part:
“There is no assertion that Defendant West used abusive or obscene language or made an obscene gesture toward the Complainant.
“The Court rules on the validity of the arrest warrant as it pertains to the assertions set forth in the deposition.
“At this juncture, the Court does not make factual findings or [assess] the credibility of witnesses, including the Complainant and Defendant. Nor does the Court rule on the veracity or truthfulness of the statements in the deposition. Rather, the Court assesses the validity and legitimacy of the criminal charge, as alleged in the deposition. The Court finds that the allegations and assertions, as set forth in the deposition, do not state a criminal charge of harassment. Therefore, the Court dismisses this charge without prejudice.”
Regarding the charge of obstructing governmental operations, the judge’s opinion state, in part:
“Although the Court has already found herein that this assertion does not state a charge of harassment, the Court, nevertheless, finds this assertion sufficient to state a charge of obstructing governmental operation.”
The charges stemmed from an altercation between West and Harris when the two elected officials engaged in a heated exchange over relocating the Sheriff’s investigators’ office. At the Commission’s June 24 meeting, the Sheriff refused to move investigators into the former Hayneville Town Hall, and said the facility’s small size would hamper investigators’ ability to perform critical, confidential case investigations effectively and protect citizens from exposure to offenders reporting to the office.
The debate reached a boiling point when Harris instructed Lowndes County Administrator Jacquelyn Thomas to disconnect electric service to the building investigators occupied at the time, a facility at 504 Alabama Highway 21 in Hayneville. West responded by saying, “This is a law enforcement building. Turn it off, we’re going to have a problem… Your Black ass [will] sit in jail.”
“This [discord] is not good for the county,” Farrior said. “We’ve got problems we need to be working on rather than dealing with this situation. This was purely political. This has been coming on for a couple of years, and it came to a head at the [June 24] meeting that some of the commissioners have been disrespecting the sheriff and trying to keep him from getting his equipment and doing what he needs to do.”
On July 8, the commission voted 3-2 to bring charges against West. That decision was overturned during the commission’s Nov. 13 meeting when commissioners voted 3 to 2 to issue a letter of support for West and go on record supporting the dismissal of charges against the Sheriff. Farrior, who introduced the motion, Joseph Blankenship, who offered the second, and Fletcher Hayes supported the measure while Commission Chairman Charlie King, Jr. and Harris voted against it.
“The County Commission supports the sheriff,” Farrior said. “We went on record yesterday as asking that the charges be dismissed or supporting that the charges be dismissed. [West’s actions] did not interrupt the [June 24] county commission meeting. We took care of all the county commission business. Everything was done. There was nothing that was left undone. I don’t think the meeting was interrupted in any way.”
Hayneville Police Chief Kelvin Mitchell spoke out at the end of Thursday’s hearing, claiming he believed West is a danger to the community.
“I have witnessed him physically assault people,” Mitchell said. “He can’t get away with this.”
Farrior and Rice expressed concern over the judge permitting Mitchell to speak out.
“I don’t think that the police chief should have got up and said what he did. He was completely out of order,” Farrior said. “I think the judge should have stopped him immediately.”
“For the chief of police to stand in front of the municipal judge and say, ‘I disagree with your order,’ you have the authority to rule on these proceedings before you,” Rice told the court. “He does not. I’m suggesting that this entire case be thrown out.”
Harris said he intends to pursue all the charges, including those dismissed by Bell.
“We will continue to go forward with that,” Harris said. “The Sheriff is guilty of [harassment]. He’s a menace to society.”
Bell gave Rice until Nov. 19 to respond to the ruling and indicated he would set a trial date as soon as possible. The Judge could still decide to dismiss all charges, or set the next hearing date.