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A local woman’s accusation that an off-duty Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputy threatened her in a case of road rage has sparked an internal affairs investigation. She has also sharply criticized the conduct of the Asheville Police Department, which responded to the call.

On July 9, Julie Brown, a Clyde resident, says she was driving home from work when a jeep cut her off at the intersection of Patton Avenue and New Leicester Highway. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to listen to the 911 calls of Brown and the deputy.)

“He just moved over. There was no turn signal or anything and I was already slowing down for the light, so I had to stand on my brakes — I honked my horn, big time, because it scared the heck out of me,” Brown told Xpress. “I came to a stop and he jumped out of his vehicle, came over to mine. I hit the door lock, and he was screaming ‘what are you going to do’ at me. He tried the door handle, he punched on the windows. I couldn’t look at it. I was afraid the glass would break. I reached for my phone and called the police.”

She said the man then left and got back in his vehicle. She continued down the road, calling 911. According to her, the man continued to follow.

“He’s behind me now. I’m really freaking out, I’m scared to stop,” a distraught Brown says in the call. “He tried to pull me out of the truck. Now he’s behind me.”

Dispatchers told Brown to find a public place, and she turned her vehicle into the parking lot of a nearby Shoney’s restaurant, where she was met by Asheville police.

At roughly the same time, the man, an undercover narcotics sheriff’s deputy whose name is being withheld by the Sheriff’s Office, also called 911, saying that “I’ve got a vehicle here giving me the road rage, flipping me off. I don’t know what in the world’s her problem.”

The man adds that “I’m in my personal vehicle. I’ve got my family with me. She wants to act all stupid, so I want to show her how stupid she is when she finds out who I am.”

In the call, the deputy says that “I got over, I didn’t cut her off or nothing, and she gets right on my rear and she lays on the the horn. So I get out of the car to see what her problem is. She’s all cussing and raising Cain, so I’m like, I ain’t even going to deal with you, I’m just going to call.”

Later in the call, when the dispatcher says there aren’t any units nearby, the deputy replies “Well, she’s heading towards home. She lives in Clyde. So you can just cancel that. I’ll just get her tag number down and pay her a visit.”

The Buncombe Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards is looking into the case, Sgt. Randy Smart confirmed, and the investigation is ongoing. Asked if the deputy getting Brown’s tag number and visiting her house would have been professional conduct, he replied “No, it’s not. I’m sure he was just rattled and wasn’t thinking clearly. She lives in Haywood County and we don’t have jurisdiction there.”

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2008/sher ... estigating

Duncan says Buncombe deputy communicated poorly

ASHEVILLE — Sheriff Van Duncan said Friday a Buncombe County deputy accused of road rage is guilty of poor communication with a police dispatcher but that it's too soon to determine whether he violated department policy.

Duncan, in his first comments to the Citizen-Times after the incident, acknowledged that Julie Brown sounded terrified on a recording of a call placed to 911 as she was being followed by the off-duty deputy down Smoky Park Highway.

But he said the officer might have been justified in following the woman and asking police to stop her.

Duncan said the deputy didn't communicate properly when he told a 911 dispatcher he would “pay (Brown) a visit” at her home in Clyde.

The officer probably only meant he could file charges later if she was found to have committed a crime, Duncan said.

“I do understand the concern in how that can be perceived,” he said. “He was letting dispatch know he was breaking contact with that vehicle. I do wish this officer had used different language.”

The Sheriff's Office has an internal investigation under way to determine if the deputy acted inappropriately. The investigation was prompted by a complaint from Brown.

Duncan said his comments Friday should not be considered a defense of the deputy's actions. He will wait for the investigation's outcome before making a judgment, Duncan said.

Brown said she was driving west on Patton Avenue after leaving work on the evening of July 9.

Near the intersection with Leicester Highway, a man in a red Jeep veered across two lanes of traffic and pulled in front of her as they approached a red light, she said. That prompted her to slam on her brakes and lay on her horn, Brown said.

The man then got out of his car and screamed at her as he pounded on her door and window with his fist and attempted to open the locked door, she saidhttp://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs. ... /907250324

Buncombe sheriff to release part of internal probe into road rage incident

ASHEVILLE — Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan on Monday released recordings of an off-duty deputy calmly asking that a patrol car be dispatched to check on a driver he said was being erratic.

The recordings differ from another released last week in which the deputy, after being transferred to a 911 call center, took on a more agitated tone.

In that recording with an emergency dispatcher, the deputy says he wants the woman stopped by police so he could “show her how stupid she is when she finds out who I am.”

He also tells the emergency dispatcher that he would pay the driver a visit at her home in Clyde

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs. ... /907280327

Conks. Shelled out Iraq returnees.

Cap'n Cat wrote:Conks. Shelled out Iraq returnees.

Law enforcement officers being assholes. Not surprised in the least.

Poor leadership, poor hiring practices, and the antiquated system of political Sheriffs in the South. Look to the boss and you will find where attitudes like that are allowed to flourish.

That being said, the other end of the spectrum is the pussy officer who is too scared to confront anyone so he just writes little old ladies for DUS while Rome burns.

I will refrain from commenting on these matters other than to say: It's a tough job - I couldn't do it... and I know that's no excuse...

In my life - my experiences with police officers have always been pretty darn good...

Pay no attention to the bleeding heart hippie as you were