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Details of altercation made public Melodie Phelps News Editor There has been no decision on the fate of Monticello Police Officer Robert Ellisı position with the force, but a lengthy hearing, which was open to the public, has provided details of an apparent altercation between Ellis and Chief Melvin Rose that occurred on February 17. Prior to the hearing on Thursday, March 24, there were numerous stories circulating about the incident. The Outlook has been contacted several times, by telephone and by e-mail, regarding the altercation, but the only information released to the newspaper over the past several weeks was a public notice that was required by law to be placed in regard to Ellisı public hearing. According to testimony provided Thursday, the incident occurred in the squad room of the Monticello Police Department and began after Ellis questioned a change on his time card. Both Ellis and Rose testified that Ellis had claimed three hours sick time, which Rose changed to vacation time. Ellis had picked up his paycheck and noticed the change just before the altercation. But from there the testimony of the two changes quite a bit. Rose said that Ellis was the aggressor in the incident, and Ellis said that Rose sprayed him with mace several times. Kentucky State Police Trooper Parrish Baker, who was in the building at the time of the incident, stated that he was sprayed several times as well, as he tried to separate Ellis and Rose. The hearing was set up much like a court hearing, with Mayor Thurston Frye presiding over the event. City Attorney Jay Jones presented witnesses, including Chief Melvin Rose, while Robert Ellisı attorney Gail Wilson, who is from Jamestown, presented witnesses to support Ellisı case. Numerous city police officers and former city police officers were called to testify for the hearing, as well as dispatchers. In addition to officers and dispatchers, the hearing began before a standing room only crowd, as many local residents, who had heard rumors about the altercation, attended. Frye stated Ellis, who is apparently suspended from duty at this time, is accused of assault, violation of the cityıs personnel and procedures policy regarding sick leave, as well as verbal abuse of other city employees. Rose was the first person to provide testimony during the hearing. Rose testified about February 9, when Ellis had called into the dispatch center and said that he would not be able to work his shift that night. Rose stated that Ellis told the dispatcher on duty that he had to be in Corbin for court the next morning. When Rose reviewed time sheets submitted by Ellis for that shift, he said the officer had written down three hours sick time for February 9. Rose said he changed the time sheet to reflect three hours vacation time instead of sick time before he signed the document. Rose said he was following the cityıs policy by changing the time sheet, since an employee can be suspended or terminated for turning in an inaccurate time sheet. Rose also stated that he did not receive any documentation indicating that Ellis had been sick on February 9. Rose was on a traffic stop on February 17, when he was called by Ellis to meet him at the police station. He said it was around 2 p.m. Rose said that when he entered the squad room, Ellis was sitting at his brotherıs desk and was looking at his pay stub. Rose said he walked behind the desk to where Ellis was sitting and Ellis asked him about the change from sick time to vacation time. Rose said that as he began to explain it, Ellis took both his hands and smacked them down hard on the desk. From there, Rose said Ellis pushed him and then grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Rose said he stepped back and took out his can of mace. At this point, Rose stated that Ellis threatened to kill Rose if he maced him. Rose testified that Ellis advanced toward him with his fists up. Rose said Ellis took a swing at him, did not hit him, and Rose said he sprayed his mace. Rose said Ellis swung and punched him on the ear, then picked him up and threw him across the desk. Rose said he was hit several other times by Ellis and was knocked against the bulletin board. ³I continued to spray him with mace because I thought he was trying to kill me,² stated Rose. At some point, Rose said that Trooper Baker came into the room and tried to pull Ellis off him. At some point, employees from the street department came into the back of the building and Baker and Ellis exited into the parking lot, according to Roseıs testimony. Rose said that he was later contacted by Trooper Baker, who wanted to know what Rose wanted him to do. Rose said that he had talked with the mayor regarding the incident. Rose presented pictures of his ear, which he said suffered broken cartilage because of one of the blows he took from Ellis. He also testified that he was bruised on his chest and stomach, as well as several other places. Rose also said he had been suffering from a back problem before this altercation. Ellisı attorney then questioned Rose regarding the incident. Wilson asked if he recalled Ellis being on the phone when he entered the squad room. Rose said he did not see him on the phone. Wilson also asked Rose about the change in the time sheet for Ellis. Rose said he had changed time sheets on other instances. He said that he had not contacted Ellis regarding the change before he turned it in. Under questioning by Wilson, Rose stated that Ellis had received the Officer of the Year Award for 2003. He also stated that there were no warnings or other complaints in Ellisı personnel file. Rose told Wilson that during the altercation with Ellis, each time Ellis challenged him he sprayed him with mace. After Rose finished testifying, Jones called Trooper Baker in for questions. Baker said that he was working out in the basement of the police department when Ellis first came down and talked with him. Baker said Ellis came and asked if someone could change a time sheet after it had been signed. Ellis explained that he had used three sick hours and that his check reflected that it was three vacation hours. Baker said he advised Ellis to talk with City-Clerk Treasurer Greg Latham about the matter, and Ellis left to go back upstairs to use the phone. Baker said Ellis came back later to tell him that Latham said the chief had changed the time sheet and that he was allowed to make the change. Latham had advised Ellis to talk to Rose or the mayor. Baker said that as he was preparing to leave the basement, he heard a loud noise. He then heard a second loud noise, and as he made his way upstairs, Baker said he heard Ellis calling for him. Ellis was yelling that Rose was macing him, according to Baker. Baker said that he ran into the squad room and found Ellis and Rose standing face to face between Ronnie Ellisı desk and the window to the 911 dispatch center. He said that he saw Rose spray Ellis with the mace. Baker testified that Ellis then struck Rose twice in rapid succession. Baker said Rose started to stumble and turn, then wheeled back around and sprayed Ellis again. Baker said he saw Ellis strike Rose again. Baker said he ran to get between the two officers. He said that Ellis was cursing and yelling during this time, but that Rose did not say anything. Baker said that Rose sprayed again, this time hitting the trooper as well as Ellis. ³I got a face full,² stated Baker. He explained that the stuff ³hurts a lot...It is painful.² Baker said he was trying to wipe his face, as he again got between the two men. At that point, Baker said that Rose sprayed mace again and the trooper got another face full. As Rose retreated, Baker said Ellis advanced toward him and as he stepped between them, Rose sprayed the mace again. At some point, street department employees Jamie Wallen and Dwight Gregory entered the back of the building, Baker testified. He said that he wrapped up Ellis around his mid-section, and he, Gregory, and Wallen took Ellis out the back of the building into the parking lot. Baker said that he talked with his sergeant at the Police Post to see what to do. He was advised to talk to each officer and see if they wanted the State Police to be involved. Neither indicated that they wanted the State Police to do anything, according to testimony. Under questioning from Wilson, Baker explained the effects of mace. He said it physically hurts, it causes the eyes to swell and it stifles breathing. Baker also told Wilson about verbal commands that officers are trained to use when utilizing mace on a suspect. 911 Dispatch Center Coordinator Stella Pogue was on duty when the incident occurred. Pogue said that she first talked with Ellis just before 2 p.m. when he asked her about his pay check and the time that was changed on his time sheet. She said Ellis used the console in the dispatch area to contact Rose on the radio. She said Rose entered the building and then went to the squad room. She heard a scuffling noise several minutes later and turned in her chair to see what was going on. She said she saw Rose and Ellis and they were standing close together. She said she saw Ellis hit Rose. Pogue turned back to the console and began to radio for other officers to come to the station to help. When she looked back around, Pogue said Ellis and Rose were at the other end of the squad room, much further away from the window. She also saw Trooper Baker trying to part the two men. Pogue turned back to take phone calls and when she looked back in the squad room, Gregory and Wallen were there. Pogue was also asked to review a 911 dispatch log that was kept for February 9, when Ellis called in to tell the dispatcher that he would not be in to work his shift. According to the log, Ellis told the dispatcher that he had to be in court the next morning in Corbin. Both Gregory and Wallen also testified about entering the police station through the back door and finding Ellis being restrained by Baker. Wallen said that as they led Ellis out the back door, Rose continued to walk toward the men. Dispatcher Johnny Dishman testified regarding an altercation with Ellis that occurred at least a year ago. He said Ellis had made a traffic stop and had become upset because it had taken Dishman some time to provide him with information regarding the registration of the vehicle. Dishman said that Ellis was angry when he returned to the police station and that he threw off his jacket. ³I was very intimidated by him,² stated Dishman. Dishman said he spoke with Rose, as well as County Judge-Executive Bruce Ramsey regarding the incident. He decided not to file a formal complaints against Ellis and said that Ellis later called him and apologized. Dispatcher Jerry Guinn was questioned about an incident regarding a filing cabinet that was damaged at the police station. Guinn said that he had a disagreement with Ellis over a call that he put out over the radio. Guinn said that a filing cabinet was hit or kicked and was dented, but he did not see who damaged the cabinet. He said he and Ellis talked things over and they got the problem resolved. Several members of the Monticello Police Department, including Officer Tony Morris, Officer Allen Braden, and Sgt. Joe Bybee testified about statements they had made regarding incidents when Ellis appeared angry. None of the officers said they had filed any complaints against Ellis. Bybee said that Ellis had made several remarks about Rose favoring Bybee over the other officers. A former officer, Rick Marcum, who was called for testimony by Wilson, said that remarks like this were common when he was with the department. He referred to it as banter between the second and third shift officers. Wilson brought in Officer Ronnie Ellis as a witness. Ronnie Ellis was apparently on the telephone and heard much of the incident in the squad room that afternoon. Ronnie Ellis said that he was at the jail with a shoplifter he had taken into custody, when a deputy jailer informed him that he had a call from his brother. Ronnie Ellis picked up the phone, but no one said anything on the other end. He said he began to hear conversation in the background. Ronnie Ellis said he heard his brother ask Rose why he had changed his time. Ronnie Ellis said he heard Rose say, ³Youıre not going to bully over me like you think you can the others.² The next voice he heard was his brotherıs, telling Rose not to spray him with mace. Then, he said he heard his brother calling for Trooper Baker. Ronnie Ellis said he hung up the phone and headed to the police station to see what was happening. When he reached the facility, Baker and his brother were in the parking lot, washing their faces with water. Ronnie Ellis said he went inside to talk with Rose to see what had occurred. Rose said that Robert Ellis had come after him and that he had sprayed him with mace. Ronnie Ellis said that he was never asked to give any statement to the Monticello Police Department regarding what he heard. He said he wrote out what he heard over the phone on his own time, probably on the weekend after the incident occurred. Deputy Wayne Conn, who is a former Monticello Police Officer, testified about two incidents in which his time sheet was changed by Rose while he was a city officer. Conn said that on the first occasion, he had written down four hours of overtime, which occurred during a week when he was driving to daily training. When he received his paycheck, the overtime had been taken off. When he asked Rose about the change, Conn said he was informed that he could not be paid for driving time to and from training. Officers were only paid for driving one way. On another occasion, Conn said he had taken sick time and when he was paid it was changed to vacation time. When he asked Rose about the change, Conn said Rose told him that he didnıt think he had been off sick. Conn said Rose did not consult him on either of these changes before they were made. Conn also testified in regard to training to use mace, since he is an instructor for the program. He said there are verbal commands that are used when utilizing mace. If a suspect poses a threat to an officer, then the officer uses a one to two second burst of the spray to make the suspect compliant. Former Monticello Police Officer D.J. Davis testified regarding a threat made to him by Rose, soon after Rose became Police Chief. Davis said he was asked to meet Rose in the parking lot of the shopping center. He said Rose threatened to fire him if he did not get his activity numbers up. Former Monticello Police Officer Gordon Stephens also testified that Rose threatened to fire him regarding activity numbers. Stephens said he was written up for lack of activity. He testified that during times when his activity numbers were lower, he was working third shift when there is less traffic ticket activity. The final testimony was presented by Robert Ellis, who recounted the events of February 17, from the time he picked up his paycheck in the 911 Dispatch Center. Ellis said he first questioned Baker about the change in his time sheet. He later called Latham about the change, and said he also talked to Pogue about the matter. After talking with Baker a second time, Ellis said he sat down at his brotherıs desk and placed a call to the Wayne County Detention Center to talk with his brother. He said he heard Rose enter the station and then talk with Pogue before coming back to the squad room. Ellis said he laid the phone on his shoulder. He said he asked Rose why his time sheet had been changed from sick time to vacation time. Rose made the statement that Ellis wasnıt going to bully him like the other officers, and Ellis said that he slapped his hand down on the desk. He said Rose was approaching him as he talked. Ellis said he stood up from the desk. At that point, he recalled Rose stepping back and tugging at his belt. Ellis said he thought Rose was getting his mace out and he warned Rose not to spray him. At this point, Ellis said he was still behind his brotherıs desk. Ellis said that Rose sprayed him, then he made a swing at Rose and missed. He said he began to yell for Baker at that point. ³It had escalated into something that should never have happened,² said Ellis. Ellis said he told Rose not to spray him, but said that Rose continued to spray him, even after Baker had wrapped him up. Ellis said that it was only after the second time he was sprayed with mace that he actually ever struck Rose. He said that he did not recall grabbing him by the shirt. The hearing concluded at 7:30 p.m. and Mayor Frye noted that he had a five-day period in which to issue a ruling. When contacted Monday morning, Frye said that it would likely be Wednesday before he reached a decision. He noted that there are several different things that can occur as far as disciplinary action in this matter, but he did not elaborate. Reader Comments Don (4/1/2005) I thunk both of these so called monticello finest should be fired immediately. Michael Ingram (4/1/2005) I think they both should go. As a military law enforcement officer as well as a future civilian officer this behavior is completly uncalled for and is a serious danger to other officers working the streets. Add a comment |
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