Published: December 06, 2008 08:00 pm      

Hearing draws back curtain

Allegations during arbitration show force in turmoil

Five or six people sat in on the reinstatement hearing of former Corsicana Police Sgt. Lamoin Lawhon Wednesday and Thursday.

From the point of view of the department, that’s probably a relief. Testimony about the inner workings of the department have not been flattering.

Among the revelations: Earlier this year, “rogue” cops worked the night shift, violating department policy without recriminations; Napoli’s was a favorite drinking hole, with at least one instance of an officer getting drunk, going home to get into a violent confrontation with his spouse, and resisting police interference; a supervisor with hostage negotiation experience admitting he frequently used the threat of Child Protective Services to bring angry or upset women to heel. Fear of retaliation to civilians had at least one witness admitting on the stand she was afraid of what would happen to her because she was testifying on behalf of Lawhon.

The Lawhon hearing did not conclude Thursday. Lawyers and the arbitrator said they would try to schedule another day before Christmas for more testimony.

Justin Williams is also appealing his suspension. His hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 16 and 17 at city hall. Arbitrator Charles B. Overstreet will conduct that hearing.

The department is currently in a state of flux, with the Tuesday hiring of a new top administrator, Randy Bratton, formerly of Paducah, Ky. The previous police chief, G.M. Cox, has since retired from Corsicana and been hired by Murphy, Texas.

Although Bratton said he wasn’t coming into Corsicana to reform the department, he has repeatedly called himself “an agent of change” in Paducah, where that agency was ravaged by sexual scandals prior to his hiring seven years ago.

City Manager Connie Standridge said it’s been a “stressful” week for the staff involved in the proceedings, and while she wouldn’t classify the testimony as embarrassing, it was revealing.

“I think it’s shown some areas in which we need to improve,” Standridge said.

Bratton’s experience with troubled departments was a selling point, she said.

“One of the reasons he was hired is because of his past accomplishments in bringing departments to a higher level of competence,” Standridge said. She added that the timing of his hiring, which came the night before the hearings began was “just coincidence.”

“There was some discussion about whether he needed to testify in these hearings, and ultimately, he did not.”

No one who has testified in the hearing, or who may be called to testify, may speak to the press until the end of the proceedings, which won’t finish until closings, sometime in the next three weeks. The arbitrator, Don B. Hays, has said he wants to complete the hearing before Christmas.

Lawhon alleges he was put on indefinite suspension because of retaliation from Cox. He also claims he was put on the night shift to force him to retire.

Assistant Chief Ladena Baggett testified that she recommended moving Lawhon, an officer with more than 30 years of experience, onto the night shift last January to give wiser supervision to a group of young officers who were acting out. However, after two controversial situations in May and dual damning internal investigations, Cox chose to punish Lawhon by putting him on indefinite suspension. The suspension is tantamount to termination, and an intermediate step of demotion was skipped.

The testimony on the two incidents have varied slightly but the facts of the May incidents are:

On May 17, several Corsicana Police cars were involved in a high-speed chase which resulted in at least one officer, Williams, striking the suspect with his club. The clear violations of department policy include turning off the patrol car’s video camera during the chase, and having more than two cars involved in the chase. Still disputed is how far the violations went. Williams reported that he only struck the suspect on the shoulder, but Baggett stated in testimony that she was given photos showing bruising on the ribs of the suspect, as well.

On May 18, four Corsicana officers, including Lawhon and Williams, responded to a disturbance at Lake Halbert in which two women, a mother and her adult daughter, got into a fight. The mother, Janet Andrews, was struck two times in the head and had one finger broken by her daughter.

Officers arriving at the scene released the daughter, and held the mother at the scene, then Lawhon ticketed her for public intoxication. Andrews said she hadn’t been drinking but did have a concussion.

Complaints were filed with the department, and after a month-long Internal Affairs investigation by Baggett, both Lawhon and Williams were put on indefinite suspension.

As controversial as the two calls have been, Lawhon was initially only recommended for 16 days of suspension, mostly stemming from his alleged poor supervision of the other officers. However, when it came out that he defied orders and told Williams about the investigation, and then denied it, the punishment was escalated to indefinite suspension.

Lawhon has made his own accusations in this case, however, claiming that the suspension is the result of a personal grievance between him and Cox, whom he said he did not like, nor have any loyalty towards.

He also testified that his move to the night shift was a punishment designed to force him to retire. Lewis Palos was also moved to nights to force him to retire, Lawhon testified. Palos did retire earlier this year, however, he told the Corsicana Daily Sun that it was an economic decision. After more than 40 years on the force, his retirement pay would exceed his salary if he stayed. Palos currently works part-time for the Navarro County Sheriff’s office.

On Thursday, Julann Godbey, a former police department employee, testified that she had a conversation with Capt. Kenneth Kirkwood earlier this year in which she asked him why Lawhon was suspended. Kirkwood allegedly said, “They thought he’d leave quietly, like Lewis did,’” Godbey testified.

She also said she was afraid to testify at the hearing.

“I don’t want to make anyone angry,” she said.

“Who?” Lawhon’s lawyer asked.

“The police department in general; they’re my friends,” Godbey said.

Asked what she thought would happen, she said: “I guess retaliation. Being pulled over when I don’t need to be, I don’t know.”

Under cross-examination, Godbey was asked why she would be afraid of her friends in the department.

“There are a lot of new officers I don’t know,” she answered, explaining that she was testifying on behalf of Lawhon and against Kirkwood.

Lawhon’s lawyer in the case, John Haring, has built a case that Cox had favorites in the department, and that Lawhon did not belong to the club.

Lawhon testified Wednesday that he owns a videotape of Cox leaving an apartment building in 1999 with a woman who was not his wife. Lawhon testified that Cox asked him who made the tape, and he refused to tell, choosing to protect another officer to whom he felt more loyalty.

Cox has not testified in the hearing to explain his decision to terminate Lawhon, and it’s unsure if he will. Haring said he got a subpoena that would force Cox to attend and testify, but it was not delivered to Cox. The city has refused to serve the subpoena. The arbitrator said it would need to be delivered in Collin County and he doesn’t have the authority to order it served.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com