TBI, state auditors investigating County Clerk employee for embezzlement

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, the district attorney’s office and the state Comptroller’s office are investigating the disappearance of thousands of dollars from the Dickson County Clerk’s office.

County Clerk Phil Simons told the county commission at a called budget committee meeting last night that between $14,000-$15,000 had been taken from the Dickson satellite office through an elaborate scheme in which the books appeared to balance at the end of each day.

The situation came to light in mid-September when the deputy clerk who allegedly took the money was off work and another deputy worked at that desk where paperwork was found, leading to the discovery of the alleged theft, Simons said.

He said the employee allegedly manipulated reports through failure to record or voiding cash transactions, then using other peoples’ checks to pay the fees that had been paid in cash.

Simons said as soon as he discovered the alleged theft he went to county attorneys and they notified the district attorney's office.

The DA contacted the TBI and an auditor from the state Comptroller's Office.
He said the stolen cash came from automobile registration renewals, business licenses, registrations and other fees that the employee allegedly pocketed.

The investigation is still ongoing and Simons did not identify the employee. However, he said the employee was terminated by mail on the grounds of employee misconduct after walking out of the office following an interview by the TBI and the Comptroller’s Office of Audit.

“There was no admission of guilt and no confession,” Simons said.

When asked why the employee was fired without admitting to the theft and the investigation is incomplete, he said that’s why she was fired for employee misconduct.

“It’s very broad,” he said.

Simons said the county would have to cover the missing money until the case is prosecuted but that either the county's insurance or a blanket bond, which covers all employees who handle money, will reimburse the county.

Simons said there are normally 10 employees working the Dickson office and he doesn’t plan to fill the position vacated by the former employee.

“I have some other ideas in mind,” he said. “But we have nine other people that we don’t have a problem with. I trust everybody until it’s proven otherwise.”


http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091202/DICKSON01/91202049/TBI-state-auditors-investigating-County-Clerk-employee-for-embezzlement

WAY TO GO K.T. Now Just Keep Working That :)

Sheriff Taylor's sticking to his Taser - policy

Department policy says 'use of the Taser on young children is discouraged,

except in extreme situations.'
By NICK BONHAM
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
December 04, 2009 01:24 am


Days after a deputy stunned an "out of control" 10-year-old, Sheriff Kirk Taylor said his office has no plans of altering its Taser policy in regard to the device's use on children.

"It's not black and white. Every scenario is different. The threat is different. (Using a Taser), that discretion needs to be left to the officer and then it needs to be scrutinized, and trust me, it's been scrutinized," Taylor said at a press conference Thursday.

The Pueblo County Sheriff Department's policy says "use of the Taser on elderly persons and young children is discouraged, except in the most extreme situations."

The boy was stunned and arrested Monday after Deputies Mark Myers and Randy Mondragon were sent to the boy's Pueblo West foster home.

The call was in regard to a "out of control" juvenile who was destroying property and threatening his foster father, Daniel Biby, with a pipe, a stick and throwing landscape timbers at him. The boy, who Taylor said has a violent history and record of running away, fled from officers holding a 2-foot-long pipe.

The boy ran to a neighbor's house where he cornered himself between a camper trailer and a pontoon boat that were backed against a fence.

Taylor said the area in which the child was in was no wider than 3 feet.

The boy ignored commands to drop the pipe and was stunned with a Taser by Myers. Mondragon then apprehended the child, who was later booked into Pueblo Youth Center on suspicion of menacing with a deadly weapon.

Neither the boy, deputies or Biby were injured in the incident.

Taylor maintained on Thursday that the deputy's Taser use and method of arrest was appropriate and justified.

"We get no joy in doing what had to be done. My officers feel pretty bad but they acted appropriately," Taylor said. "My reaction was no different than the public's outcry. I probably would've deployed my Taser as well. Would have I been happy about it? No. But I can tell you, after looking at the fact-scenario, they acted appropriately."

Taylor described the physique and size of the boy, who's name hasn't been released because he's a juvenile, as that of a "normal 10-year-old."

The sheriff described Myers as a "thick" man at 6 foot 2 inches tall. He also said he knew Myers to be a chaplain with the local order of the Fraternal Order of Police.

"Myers is like a gentle giant," Chief of Law Enforcement Charlene Graham said.

Taylor said this was the fourth time this year that deputies had used a Taser.

In October, the device's manufacturer, Taser International, issued a recommendation to include the chest in the non-preferred target area, which also includes the head, neck and testicle areas.

The boy was struck by two darts in the preferred target zone, one in the lower abdomen and the other in the left leg, Taylor said.

After the incident was reported in the morning edition of The Chieftain, Taylor said he received phone calls from media as far away as New York. He said he was interviewed for "Inside Edition."

Tasers are controversial in their use, but much of the national interest stems from the recent firing of an officer in Arkansas who stunned an unruly 10-year-old girl with a Taser.

The officer was not fired for stunning the girl but failing to follow department procedure for not activating a built-in camera on the Taser.

Taylor said Tasers his officers use do not have cameras and that this incident "is nothing like the one in Arkansas."

Many of the comments posted on The Chieftain's Web site were critical of the sheriff department's Taser use on the boy.

"Nobody wants to Tase a 10-year-old. My hope is that this young man gets the help he needs," Taylor said.

The 10th Judicial District's Critical Incident Team is not investigating the incident. The team consists of investigators from every law enforcement agency in the county that are charged with probing controversial incidents involving officers, such as in-custody deaths, shootings and serious accidents.

nickb@chieftain.com







http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/12/04/news/local/doc4b18c14be4be0333474716.prt

Legally Kidnapped: DHS Lawsuit

Legally Kidnapped: DHS Lawsuit

Child advocates plan rally, memorial service in Indianapolis

Child advocates plan rally, memorial service in Indianapolis

By Tim Evans
tim.evans@indystar.com

Advocates for children and families today planned a rally outside a local office of the Indiana Department of Child Services to demand greater accountability.

The rally was set for 4 p.m. at the Marion County office of the the state department, 4150 N. Keystone Ave.

The purpose of the Northside rally is to call for greater accountability by the state child protection agency, said Jennifer Cobb of … and Justice for All Inc., one of the event organizers.

Following the rally, the group will move to the Oasis of Hope Baptist Church, 1701 E. 25th St., for a memorial service honoring children who have died under the care of Department of Child Services over the past two years.

Speakers at the Near Northside memorial service will include Byron Alston, Dawn Robertson, Cobb, Pastor Joe Zelenka, The Rev. Richard Willoughby and Samuel Carson. Musical guests will include Gary Antelept.

For more information, contact Cobb at (317) 222-8476 or andjusticeforallinc@gmail.com.