Fountain Inn Sets Up Civilian Review Board to Handle Non-Existent Police Abuse Problem
More taxpayer money well spent:
Residents with police complaints in Fountain Inn now have a place to air their side of the story.
Fountain Inn has set up a Police Review Committee made up of seven city residents who will review formal complaints against officers as well as cases where police officers use force.
Fountain Inn Police Chief Keith Morton welcomed the new committee saying it would help the Police Department be transparent.
“We’ve never had anything to hide at the Fountain Inn Police Department,” Morton said. “This is just an opportunity to let citizens from our community see what we do.”
Fountain Inn agreed to start a review panel after mediation between the city and members of its black community following the July 2007 hanging death of a black man in the city jail. Greenville County Solicitor Bob Ariail ruled the death of Richard “Jabo” Johnson, 25, Fountain Inn, a suicide, but citizen outcry led to involvement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The new committee has great responsibilities, Mayor Gary Long said.
“We hope we don’t have to use it very often but when we do, at least we have one now that we have an appeal to go to,” Long said.
It took three years to establish the committee, partly because it took time for the two sides to agree on a list of criteria to be involved on the committee. Members must be a city resident, registered voter with a driver’s license, and must either have completed the Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy or pledge to complete it within one year, Morton said.
So…Fountain Inn was bullied into creating a bureaucracy hostile to law enforcement after a guy hung himself and the people who wanted the board actually fought the city on requirements that make sense, like understanding the law and police procedures. As of now the people who will handle civilian complaints against police have merely “pledged” they will take a course at the academy, but will begin their duties before doing so.
What could go wrong?
Here’s a question people should be asking. How much does this cost? Do these board members get paid? How will they conduct investigations? What’s their budget?
Cost should be first and foremost in residents minds. While the 2009 financial report Fountain Inn has available on their official site paints a rosy picture of economic stability (using some creative accounting) table A-2 (pg 7) shows that there is a declining trend in wealth generating private business activity and an increase in governmental expenditures. Specifically, you’ll see that while governmental charges for services, government grants and property taxes have all increased by at least $500,000, private business activity (the fees the city collects from businesses) has decreased by more than $2,000,000. This would indicate to me that the city is raising taxes on businesses which are being forced to pick up the slack for businesses that have been hurt by the recession or have closed down completely. If that’s the case the loss in revenue will be worse for this year’s financial report.
Table A-2 also shows a decrease in government expenditure on city services with a simultaneous increase in charges on those services for private business. This doesn’t seem like a sustainable economic policy.
Table A-4 (pg 9) is more startling, showing that the city has racked up a little under $10,000,000 in long term debt which is a little more than 32% higher than the year before. At that rate, this year the outstanding debt will be over $13,000,000 but the city revenues may still be decreasing by almost 10%.
So again, does Fountain Inn have the resources to throw at what is at best a vanity project for political activists and at worse a money grab by opportunists which addresses a problem that may not even exist? I don’t think so, do you?
Courtney Lynn Campbell Likes Sharing Child Porn, Probably Won’t Like Prison
61-year-old Courtney Lynn Campbell was busted by Mauldin police after he was caught sharing child pornography over a peer-to-peer network by the Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Fountain Inn resident distributed pictures of very young children engaged in sex acts and will be charged with one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, 2nd Degree. He’s looking at a 2-10 year stretch so he’ll be out in a couple of years.
Campbell’s computer was found to contain more child porn when examined by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and he’s got a $30,000 bond.
I wonder if he’ll like peer-to-peer sharing in prison as much as he does from the comfort of his home?
Mother of the Year Almost Kills 12-Year-Old While Cooking Meth
Awful. Thankfully the child wasn’t injured but can we start sending our kids out of the house when we want to cook meth from now on? That would be great:
FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. — Laurens County deputies said that a woman was injured when a methamphetamine lab exploded early Friday morning.
The explosion happened at 443 Durbin Ridge Road.
Deputies said that a woman was dropped off at Hillcrest Hospital early Friday morning with burns to about 40 percent of her body, mainly on her arms and chest. They said the woman was flown to the Augusta Burn Center for treatment.
Investigators said that a 12-year-old was at the home at the time of the explosion, but was not injured.
Wolves would be better parents than this moron.
Site of Fountain Inn Double Murder Destroyed by Fire
A fire has gutted the home where investigators say Gentry Chapman shot and killed his wife Amanda Chapman and stepson Ashton Arnold in late November. The home at 5553 Allen Bridge Road in Fountain Inn was fully ablaze when firefighters arrived early Sunday morning.
The fire destroyed the home and is considered “suspicious,” Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain told News Channel 7.
Gentry O’Neil Chapman Charged in Murder of Wife & Teen Stepson
Just after 4 a.m. Sunday, Gentry O’Neil Chapman called 911 to report that he had shot his wife and stepson to death at their Fountain Inn home. Laurens County investigators identified the victims as Amanda Chapman, 31, and her 17-year-old son Ashton Arnold. The boy was a varsity basketball player in his senior year at Hillcrest High School. Sunday was his 17th birthday.
After Amanda Chapman and Ashton Arnold suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, Gentry Chapman reportedly fired several additional shots outside the home before turning himself in to authorities. Fox Carolina reports:
Gentry O’Neal Chapman, 32, of Fountain Inn, told dispatchers he was in his vehicle and leaving his home and was headed to the Fountain Inn Police Department to turn himself in, which he did, police said. He had two other children, ages 8 and 12, that he took with him to the Fountain Inn Police Department, but they were not harmed, police said.
The 8- and 12-year-old were identified as Gentry Chapman’s stepchildren, according to GoLaurens.com. Both children were at the home during the shooting. They are now in protective custody with the Department of Social Services.
Gentry Chapman attempted to explain the double homicide to authorities as an act of self-defense, Laurens County Sheriff Ricky Chastain told WYFF4. “But I think as the story goes on, we’re finding that there was probably some sort of argument with his wife, which led to him shooting her,” Chastain explained. News Channel 7 has more on the self-defense angle:
Chastain said that Chapman claims that the shooting was in self defense and had been abused by the two victims. However, Chastain says that evidence at the scene did not substaniate the self defense claim.
“The bodies were found in different parts of the house,“ Chastain said. “It appears there may have been some type of argument that turned violent.“
Chastain said there is no history of domestic violence at the home and neighbors remained in shock over the loss of two close friends.
The crime scene at 5553 Allen Bridge Road in Fountain Inn is being processed by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. A shotgun that may have been used in the killings has been recovered at the residence.
Gentry Chapman faces two counts of murder. He is being held at the Laurens County Detention Center as he awaits a Monday afternoon bond hearing.