From: John K. Seidts (john@astory.com)
Date: Mon Jan 06 2003 - 22:01:28 PST
Don't know how accurate this is, but I got it from a source. Lessons for
all...
'Felony stop' leaves family traumatized
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
It was the most traumatic experience the Smoak family of North Carolina has
ever had, and it happened yesterday afternoon as they traveled through
Cookeville on their way home from a vacation in Nashville.
Before their ordeal was over, three members of the family had been yanked
out of their car and handcuffed on the side of Interstate 40 in downtown
Cookeville, and their beloved dog, Patton, had been shot to death by a
police officer as they watched.
What was their crime?
There was no crime.
But a passerby with a cell phone apparently assumed a crime had occurred
when a wallet flew from a car on Interstate 40 near Nashville.
That citizen called police and inadvertently set in motion what would make
it the most horrible vacation the James Smoak family of Saluda, North
Carolina, has ever had.
Today, the Smoak children and their parents were still weeping over what
happened to them in Cookeville.
By today, they had also filed complaints with two police agencies, prompting
internal investigations, they had met with Tennessee Highway Patrol Capt.
Randy Hoover, and they were on their way to talk to Cookeville Mayor Charles
Womack.
Because official internal investigations are underway at the Tennessee
Highway Patrol and at the Cookeville Police Dept., the Herald-Citizen was
unable to get details of those two agencies' accounts of the incident.
But the Smoak family willingly told their story to anyone who would listen;
they hope by doing so that something might be done to prevent it from
happening to another family.
James Smoak, 38, who was traveling in the family station wagon with his
wife, Pamela, their 17-year-old son, Brandon, and the family's two pet
bulldogs, Patton and Cassie, had lost his wallet after stopping for gas as
they left Davidson County on Wednesday afternoon.
But he didn't know he lost it. Apparently, he had placed it on top of the
car while pumping gas, and it flew off somewhere on the highway a short time
later.
Not knowing his wallet was lost, he and his family traveled on, heading east
on their way home to North Carolina.
A few cars behind James and Pamela's station wagon, his parents and the two
younger Smoak children were traveling in the elder Smoak's car.
Just a few miles east of Cookeville, James Smoak began to notice that a THP
squad car was following him, though the officer was not pulling him over,
just staying behind him, changing lanes any time Smoak did, moving in and
out of traffic each time Smoak did.
"It was obvious he was looking at me, not at other vehicles, and I'm
thinking I must have done something (in my driving), but I don't know what,"
Smoak said today.
When Smoak reached the 287 exit area in Cookeville, three other police cars
suddenly appeared, and the trooper then turned on blue lights and pulled the
Smoak car over.
"I immediately pulled to the side, and expecting him to come to the window,
I started reaching for my wallet to get my license and it was not there,"
Smoak said.
About that time, he heard the officer broadcast orders over a bullhorn,
telling him to toss the keys out the car window and get out with his hands
up and walk backwards to the rear of the car.
Still not knowing what he was being stopped for, Smoak obeyed, and when he
reached the back of the car, with a gun pointed at Smoak, the trooper
ordered him to get on his knees, face the back of the car and put his head
down.
When he did that, the officer handcuffed him and placed him in the patrol
car. Then the same orders were blared over the bullhorn to "passenger" and
Pamela Smoak got out with her hands up, was ordered to the ground, held at
gunpoint, and handcuffed. Next, Brandon was ordered out and handcuffed in
the same way.
Terrified at what was happening to them for no reason they knew, the family
was also immediately concerned about their two pet dogs being left in the
car there on the highway with the car doors open.
"We kept asking the officers -- there were several officers by now -- to
close the car doors because of our dogs, but they didn't do it," said Pamela
Smoak.
And as the officers worked in the late evening darkness, their weapons drawn
as the Smoaks were being handcuffed, the dog Patton came out of the car and
headed toward one of the Cookeville Police officers who was assisting the
THP.
"That officer had a flashlight on his shotgun, and the dog was going toward
that light and the officer shot him, just blew his head off," said Pamela
Smoak.
"We had begged them to shut the car doors so our dogs wouldn't get out, and
they didn't do that."
As the dog was heading out of the car toward the officer, "we had yelled,
begging them to let us get him, but the officer shot him," she said.
Grieving for their dog and in shock over their apparent arrest for some
unknown crime, the family could only wait. At one point, one state trooper
did tell them they "matched the description" in a robbery that had occurred
in Davidson County, Pamela Smoak said.
The ordeal went on for a time after that, the family terrified and in grief
over the dog.
Finally, after a time, someone in authority figured out that the officers
here had stopped and were holding the very family that someone in Davidson
County had assumed had been robbed, though how that assumption grew to the
authorization for a felony stop, James Smoak cannot understand, he said
today.
"Finally, they asked me my name and I told them my name, date of birth, and
other information, and they talked by radio to someone in Davidson County
and finally realized that a mistake had been made," he said.
"A lady in Davidson County had seen that wallet fly off our car and had seen
money coming out of it and going all over the road, and somehow that became
a felony and they made a felony stop, but no robbery or felony had
happened," Pamela Smoak said.
"Apparently, they had listened to some citizen with a cell phone and let her
play detective down there," said James Smoak.
"Here we are just a family on vacation, and we had to suffer this."
When the officers did discover the mistake, "they said, 'Okay, we're
releasing you and we're sorry,'" Smoak said.
As soon as Brandon was released from the handcuffs, he rushed over to the
dead dog and began to cry, Smoak said.
And that's when one of the most infuriating parts of the ordeal happened,
according to James Smoak.
"I saw one of the THP officers walk over to the city officer who had shot
the dog and grin," he said.
He reported that to the supervising officer, THP Lt. Jerry Andrews, and
Andrews "was very nice, very professional," Smoak said.
"He told me the officer was not laughing, but I know he was," said Smoak.
Smoak's parents had come along behind the other car and had seen all the
commotion and stopped too, and now all three children were crying over their
pet dog, as they were still doing today.
The Smoaks gathered the body of their pet and went to a motel here to spend
the night. But they didn't get much rest, and at one point, James Smoak
became so upset he had to go to the hospital for medical treatment.
They also worked throughout last night to contact all the authorities they
could in order to lodge their complaints about what had happened.
Today, Beth Womack, a THP spokesperson in Nashville, told the H-C that an
Internal Affairs investigation is underway and that every effort will be
made to "find out exactly what happened and why."
"As I understand it, a report was made in Davidson County to our officers
that this car had been seen leaving at a high rate of speed and that a
significant amount of money had come out of the car and someone became
suspicious," she said.
An internal investigation is also underway at the Cookeville Police Dept.,
Capt. Nathan Honeycutt told the H-C today.
James Smoak wonders about the logic of "a robber who would be tossing the
money out of the car."
He also wonders about police procedure that would "take this insinuation
from a citizen" and "turn it into what happened to us."
"Out there after they handcuffed us at gunpoint and put us in the police
cars, they did not ask for ID, and later on, they actually released us just
on my word about my identity, with only the confirmation by radio from an
officer in Davidson County who was looking at my lost wallet and the ID in
it down there," he said. "What if I actually had been a robber and not just
a family man on vacation?"
His children hope they never come to Tennessee for another vacation.
"Poor Patton," said 13-year-old Jeb Smoak. "When he was killed out there, it
was the first time I ever saw my brother, Brandon, cry. Brandon is the
toughest person I've ever met, and he cried."
The other dog, a puppy named Cassie, was "trembling all over" after the
ordeal, Jeb Smoak said.
"She's being real quiet today. She knows we're all grieving."
James Smoak, though still deeply upset today, said he understands that "the
officer will say the dog was coming after him."
But it could all have been prevented, didn't have to happen, he is
convinced.
In addition to telling his family's story to Capt. Randy Hoover, who "was
very nice and very professional," and to a Cookeville Police official last
night and to Mayor Womack today, Smoak also plans to tell his lawyer, he
said.
"And I also want to tell it to the Tennessee Department of Tourism," he
said.
---------------More of the Story from the Cops perspective
Officer who shot dog 'protecting self'
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
The police officer who shot and killed a dog during an incident on
Interstate 40 here on New Year's Day says he felt he had no choice.
He was about to be attacked by the animal, he says.
And the whole episode originated with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, not the
Cookeville Police Dept., city officials stress.
It was the THP officers who made the felony stop of a vehicle in which a
North Carolina family was traveling, and the Cookeville Police Dept. was
merely asked to come out and assist as backup officers.
State troopers involved were David Bush, David Roark, Jeff Phann, and Lt.
Jerry Randolph.
Cookeville Police Officers Eric Hall and Mead McWhorter were dispatched to
the I-40/S. Jefferson area at 5:14 p.m. that day to assist the THP.
That is, the THP asked the city force for help before initiating the stop,
and the officers were sent there not knowing any details of the case.
As it turned out, the James and Pamela Smoak family of Saluda, North
Carolina, say they were victims of a police mistake which began somewhere in
Davidson County where they had stopped to get gas after visiting Nashville
on a vacation.
James Smoak had lost his wallet as he drove off from the gas station in
Davidson County, and someone who saw the wallet fly off the top of his car
became suspicious and called the authorities.
>From that point, someone in some law enforcement agency there apparently
came to believe a robbery had occurred and began a search on the highway for
the car to which the wallet's information led them.
In Cookeville, the car was stopped by the THP, and the family was ordered
out of the vehicle at gunpoint and handcuffed.
And when their pet bulldog, Patton, came out of the car, one officer on the
scene shot and killed the dog. The family was very upset and later filed
complaints with both police agencies.
But the city officers who were sent to the scene to help another agency that
day believe they performed their duties as they should have.
Here is Officer Hall's account of his part in the case:
"I was dispatched to assist THP with a felony stop that they were going to
initiate at I-40 and S. Jefferson. While enroute to the call, I asked
dispatch to find out what felony had been committed and to get a description
of the suspect vehicle.
"Dispatch was not able to give me the information before I arrived on the
scene. Once I was on the scene, I noticed that THP was already in the
process of getting the suspects out of the vehicle.
"I retrieved my issue shotgun and took a position beside Officer McWhorter
who was taking cover on the right side of the lead THP patrol car. Officer
McWhorter and I covered the suspects with long guns while the state troopers
did the hands-on.
"Suddenly, a dog, I believe to be a pit-bull, jumped from the suspect
vehicle, singled me out from the other officers, and charged toward me
growling in an aggressive manner.
"I yelled at the dog to 'get back' but it attempted to circle me to attack,
so I felt that I had no other option but to protect myself.
"I fired once at the dog, instantly putting him down. VHS tape from in
vehicle camera placed into evidence."
Here is Officer McWhorter's account of what happened:
"I responded to I-40 in order to assist THP on a felony stop. On arrival, I
approached from the passenger side of Trooper Bush's unit. I took a position
of cover at the passenger door of his unit. I provided cover from the
location. The suspects were removed from the vehicle.
"As a trooper went forward to cuff the suspects, Officer Hall and I flanked
to the right to maintain cover on the suspects and the uncleared vehicle. I
passed a trooper my handcuffs. He cuffed the last subject.
"A dog exited the vehicle and focused on Officer Hall. The dog rapidly
approached Officer Hall. Officer Hall stepped backwards and yelled get back.
The dog continued toward the officer as he stepped back. Officer Hall shot
the dog at the point that the dog would not retreat.
"When I saw that the threat had been stopped, I resumed cover on the
vehicle. I assisted a trooper in clearing the vehicle. I assisted until I
was released by the senior trooper."
The Smoak family, both in interviews with this newspaper and in formal
complaints they later filed with the two police agencies, said they begged
the officers at the scene to close their car doors so that their two pet
dogs, both bulldogs, would not get out onto the highway.
The Smoaks' 17-year-old son, Brandon, said in his written account:
"All I could do is what they said. After I was handcuffed I realized that
the front passenger door was open. My mom and I was begging to shut the door
to the police officer next to me because we had two dogs in the car.
"One was a puppy, and the other was General Patton, a well trained dog that
was scared and didn't know what was going on. Only if Officer Jeff Phann had
shut the door or if they would have helped us by returning our wallet to us,
instead pointing guns at us and taking a member of the family."
Here is Pamela Smoak's account of asking, after she was in handcuffs, for
the car door to be closed:
"I asked the officer who was standing next to my son, about two feet from
the open door to please shut the door so my dog wouldn't get out. I asked
him several times, and he refused to shut the door.
"My dog then came out of the car and ran towards the officer with the
shotgun and flashlight. We started yelling to please let us get him, don't
shoot, he was only barking at the flashlight and jumping at the light. My
son plays with him using a flashlight.
"This is when my dog was murdered. Anyway, this whole thing was a screw-up.
A felony stop was made but no felony was committed."
Within an hour of the stop, the THP learned that no robbery had occurred and
that James Smoak had merely lost his wallet. The family was released then.
Officials at the Tennessee Highway Patrol station here and at the Dept. of
Safety in Nashville say the whole incident is being reviewed.
An internal investigation is also being made by the Cookeville Police Dept
------------More of the story from the Police Chief
Cookeville Police Chief Bob Terry today issued the following statement
concerning the incident on I-40 involving the Smoak family:
"Rarely do we like to issue statements regarding a situation that's under
investigation.
"But in an attempt to help clarify some of the information that has already
been made public, I would like to share with the citizens of Cookeville what
we currently know about the I-40 incident regarding the Smoak family as they
traveled through here on Jan 1.
"The first thing I would like to address is the fact that the Cookeville
Police Department was called in as back-up by the Tennessee Highway Patrol
on this matter. Based on the information we were provided, our role was
secondary to what the THP termed as a 'felony' stop, a possible car-jacking.
We provided this back-up, and were never in primary control of the scene.
"Unfortunately, during the THP's process of gaining control of the
situation, a very rare thing occurred. The Smoaks had been traveling with
family dogs, and one of them got loose. It appeared to be a pit bull, and as
it exited the car, it clearly approached one of our officers in a
threatening manner. Our officer first tried to call the dog down, but after
it kept approaching aggressively and started to circle him, the officer took
the only action he could to protect himself and gain control of the
situation.
"I know the officer wishes that circumstances could have been different so
he could have prevented shooting the dog. It is never gratifying to have to
put an animal down, especially a family pet, and the officer assures me that
he never displayed any satisfaction in doing so.
"Before the Smoak family left Cookeville, I, along with our Vice-Mayor, met
with them personally to convey our deepest sympathies for their loss and for
their experience. No one wants to experience this kind of thing, and it's
very unfortunate that it occurred. If we had the benefit of hindsight, I'm
sure some - if not all of this - could have been avoided. I believe the
Tennessee Highway Patrol feels the same way.
"Our investigation is underway to determine what, if anything, could have
been done differently. We will also continue to be in contact with this
family. I know it's small consolation to the Smoaks, but we want to learn
from this situation and try to make sure it never happens again."
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