Officer Steven Feinbery Charged with Molesting Child

A Memphis police officer charged with molesting a child is out of jail on bond.

Steven Feinberg paid $40,000 to get out of jail Saturday.

He’s accused of sexually abusing a girl for the last five years.

According to the police report, the Department of Children’s Services got an anonymous tip that Feinberg was sexually abusing this girl.

During a forensic interview, she told police it was true.

“What makes everyone surprised is that it`s a police officer, somebody we trust,” said Dr. Jeffery Freiden, a licensed counselor who treats sex offenders in Shelby County.

Prosecutors have charged the Memphis police officer with molesting the girl since she was 12 years old.

Investigators say he started touching her when she was 12 and by the time she was 14, he started having sex with her.

Police say the victim is now 17 and opened up about this abuse, which she says happened in multiple houses Feinberg has lived in over the years.

The 33-year-old wasn’t at his Cordova home when WREG stopped by on Saturday.

Neighbors say they saw police at his house several times in the last few weeks.

“Kind of unsettling,” said neighbor, Kim Parsley.

Neighbors say he’s married with children.

“We teach our children to trust a police officer, trust people in charge,” said Dr. Freiden. “We have also got to teach our children that when they know something is wrong to come talk to you.”

Dr. Freiden says, if convicted, officer Fienberg could be spending years in prison because of how young the victim was when he allegedly started to abuse her.

“His first contact was at age 12,” said Dr. Freiden. “Usually ‘12’ is a number that State usually looks at as being way over the line.”

The Memphis Police Department has taken Feinberg off the job and Police Director Toney Armstrong says he’s going to ensure justice is served.

Feinberg has been a Memphis police officer since 2007.

If the accusations are true, this means that this sexual abuse started about two years after he joined the force.

He’s due in court Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Officer Timothy Merrill Arrested for Assault, Vandalism

An Arizona police officer was arrested on multiple charges in downtown Nashville on Wednesday night.

Timothy Reed Merrill, age 32, was charged with assault, vandalism and public intoxication.

A police affidavit said Merrill, who was in town for training, had caused issues at Dixieland Delights on Broadway and then allegedly punched the front window of the store. The employee told officers that Merrill had been asked to leave the store because he was harassing a cashier and became disorderly.

He was detained outside a bar along Broadway after security there came to help. The affidavit said Merrill tried to run from a security officer and fell down. While the security officer tried to handcuff him, Merrill allegedly kicked the man in the head.

Once police took him into custody, they smelled alcohol and noticed he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.

Merrill’s bond was set at $8,000.

Officer Frank Phillips Charged with Police Brutality

Usually, after charges of police brutality, police officials take their time reacting while they follow procedure to determine who did what. But this episode in Knoxville, Tenn., was so extreme and well-documented that the local sheriff fired the officer immediately.

Frank Phillips, a Knox County Sheriff’s officer, was fired Sunday night after a series of pictures taken by photographer John Messner were published in the Daily Mail in Britain. They showed an officer identified by the Sheriff’s Office as Phillips grabbing 21-year-old college student Jarod Dotson around the neck and squeezing him until he fell to his knees.

An officer identified by the Sheriff’s office as Frank Phillips is seen choking college student Jarod Dotson while he was being arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest.

WBIR reports that law enforcement responded to a “disturbance” near the University of Tennessee where a house party with about 800 people had reportedly become unruly and spilled out into the street.

According to a police report, Dotson ignored repeated instructions to go inside, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Deputy Brandon Gilliam wrote in the official report that Dotson “began to physically resist officers’ instructions to place his hands behind his back, and at one point grabbed on to an officer’s leg.”

Messner, a freelance photographer who documented the incident, told The Washington Post that Dotson showed no signs of resisting arrest.

Messner’s still pictures, arranged by The Post in the GIF show two officers cuffing Dotson’s hands behind his back when Phillips came over and choked Dotson until he collapsed to his knees. Messner said that as Dotson was being pulled up he was smacked in the back of the head, “a snap-out-of-it kinda smack under the circumstances.”
Jarod Dotson was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest. He was released from jail on a $500 bond Sunday morning.

In a press release on Sunday night, Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones said:

“In my 34 years of law enforcement experience, excessive force has never been tolerated. After an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, I believe excessive force was used in this incident. The investigation will now be turned over to the Knox County Attorney General’s Office to determine any further action.”

Officer Meekos Evans Accused of Sexual Assault

Meekos Evans is out of jail after posting a $10,000 bond. He still is due in court Monday, April 21.

Memphis police officer Meekos Evans, the focus of an internal affairs investigation into an alleged traffic stop sexual assault of a female motorist in Whitehaven in February, was arrested Thursday afternoon.

Officer Evans is facing one charge of sexual battery. He joined the Memphis Police in 2011 and was assigned to the Raines Station.

Officer Evans has been on non-enforcement duty since the complaint against him was made. He is due in Shelby County General Sessions Court on Monday, April 21.

The female victim said she was driving down Raines Road in February and the officer pulled her over. He told her he couldn't see her license plate, took her identification, and told her he would have to give her a citation unless she did something for him.

She said the officer told her to drive behind some apartments. She did and when they got there, she said he told her to get into the back of his patrol car and show her breasts.

The female victim said she didn't want to expose herself but eventually gave in. She said the officer touched her and then he told her to leave. She said her three-year-old son was alone in her car when it happened.

"Unfortunate situation and my heart goes out to the victim," said Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong, who reacted to the arrest.

The police director said Evans has been placed on paid leave and there will be an administrative hearing to determine whether he'll be fired.

"In this particular incident this officer clearly demonstrated that he probably had no business ever wearing a badge in the first place and that's something we'll deal with down the line," Director Armstrong said.

Mayor A C Wharton had not heard about the arrest when FOX13 News caught up with him Thursday evening. The mayor said he's reviewing MPD disciplinary procedures.

Officer Evans was the subject of at least two other internal affairs investigations before the latest incident.

"We are looking at trying to find a way to see if there are factors that would predict when a person might become a bad officer," Mayor Wharton said. "That's a priority for Director Armstrong and still a priority for me."

The victim said she was driving down Raines Road when she was pulled over by Officer Evans. She said she was targeted and now she says she's lost faith in law enforcement.

"No citizen should ever have to fear when you see a police officer behind you, especially a police officer on duty," Director Armstrong said.

Lt Dennis Miller Jr Arrested for Child Rape

The Knox County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant arrested on child rape charges was out on bond Thursday night.

Police say they arrested Dennis Mills Jr., 43, on April 9 and indicted him on a number of charges, including rape of a child and statutory rape by an authority figure.

Mills was arrested without incident following a month-long investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations and Knox County Sheriff's Office.

He was originally being held in the Knox County Detention Facility, but Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones decided to move Mills to the Blount County Jail to avoid any appearance of favoritism. He was being held there on a $250,000 bond.

According to Knox County court records, the girl approached her mother just before midnight on March 3, crying. She told her mother Mills had been forcing her to have sex with him for over a year.

According to court records she also told her mother the defendant told her she would be taken away from her mother if she told and no one would believe her.

TBI was then contacted and the investigation began.

According to his personnel file, Mills was hired by the Knox County Sheriff's Office as a corrections officer in 1994.

He became a certified law enforcement officer in 1996. He was promoted to a patrol lieutenant in 2000.

All reviews were positive until the investigation began on March 4.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office assisted in the investigation and placed him on administrative leave without pay at that point.

KCSO says they terminated Mills Tuesday.

Officer Jimmy DeSpain Arrested for DUI

A Dyersburg police officer was arrested over the weekend on charges related to driving under the influence.

Jimmy DeSpain was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Lauderdale County.

According to a police report, DeSpain was swerving over road lines. He reportedly admitted to law enforcement that he had four or five beers.

The police department placed DeSpain on administrative leave without pay during the course of an investigation.

Officer Christopher Stafford Arrested for DUI

A Metropolitan Nashville Police officer has been decommissioned and placed on administrative assignment following his arrest Wednesday night on DUI and gun charges.

Christopher Stafford, a North Precinct Officers, was off-duty at the time of his arrest. Officers were called to an apartment complex on Edmondson Pike at 6:40 p.m. by an acquaintance of Stafford, who said he appeared to be intoxicated and involved in an argument with another motorist.

Police said the 42-year-old had driven to the apartment complex in a Dodge pickup truck with his young child.

Officers said Stafford smelled of alcohol and field sobriety tests showed he was impaired.

He also had a loaded pistol in his car at the time.

Stafford, a 13-year veteran of the department, was charged with DUI and possession of a handgun while under the influence.

He was released on $6,000 bond.

Officer Cameka Bruce Accused of Punching Nephew

A Chattanooga police officer is accused of punching her nephew when he failed to give her money owed to her for a water bill, an arrest report states.

Cameka Bruce, 35, who has worked for the department since 2008, remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation, according to a news release.

Bruce's nephew, 24-year-old Marcus Berry, told officers Bruce came to his residence on Sarasota Drive in Hixson on Tuesday night to collect money he owed her.

Berry said Bruce became angry when he did not have the full amount of money. She reportedly exited her vehicle and came at him, according to the report. Berry said he was punched.

She is scheduled to appear Monday at Hamilton County General Sessions Court.

Bruce did not comment Wednesday.

Bruce is the third law enforcement officer in Hamilton County to face a domestic assault charge.

In February, Michael Early, a detective with Chattanooga Police Department who investigates property crimes, remains on light duty pending the outcome of his case. He is scheduled to appear in Rutherford County Sessions Court this morning to face accusations that he headbutted his wife.

Angelita McGhee, who works as a corrections officer at Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, was arrested in January after she reportedly pulled a pistol from her holster and took aim at her ex-girlfriend.

Detective Michael Early Arrested for Head Butting His Wife

A Chattanooga police detective is expected to appear before a judge in Rutherford County, Tenn., today to ask to have contact with his wife after he was arrested Sunday for reportedly assaulting her, court records show.

Detective Michael Early, who will mark 20 years with the department in June, posted a $1,500 bond from the Rutherford County Jail after he was accused of hitting his wife, causing a laceration on the bridge of her nose.

Early's wife told an officer that she woke up in the couple's hotel room at the Clarion Inn, 2227 Old Fort Parkway, to find that her husband was gone. She found her husband in a friend's room.

The couple had an argument after Early's wife refused to return to their hotel room. He reportedly pulled her by the hair while trying to take her back to the room, a Murfreesboro police arrest report states. She left and returned to the room. The arguing continued.

Allegedly, at some point, Early head butted his wife. When a Murfreesboro, Tenn., officer questioned Early, he said he did not remember what happened. The report states both appeared to be intoxicated.

Early, 44, investigates robberies at the department.

Since his arrest, Early has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

As part of his bail conditions, Early is not allowed to have any weapons.

Early's next court date is set for March 13 before Rutherford County General Sessions Court Judge Ben Hall McFarlin Jr.

Another Chattanooga police officer was arrested last year for domestic assault.

Brian Smith was arrested on May 23 after his wife accused him of assaulting her during an argument. The case was later dismissed.

Former Officer Edward Holliday Accused of Breaking Into Another Hardware Store

A former police officer accused of breaking into a hardware store is in jail again for allegedly trying to break into another one.

An officer who was on routine patrol says he noticed Edward Holliday pulling on a door handle at the Ace Hardware store on Old Lebanon Road Sunday night.

The officer stopped him and noticed Holliday was wearing rubber gloves and had a hammer in his pocket.

Holliday allegedly told the officer that he was just walking around.

The officer let him go but called for backup, and they followed Holliday in his car. Holliday was later pulled over for a traffic violation and taken into custody.

Holliday was out on bond for breaking into an Ace Hardware store in Mt. Juliet last week.
He is being held at the Nashville Criminal Justice Center on a $50,000 bond.

Holliday has worked as an officer in Lebanon, Mt. Juliet and Nashville.

Former Officer Steven Holliday Arrested for Breaking into Ace Hardware

Mt. Juliet police said a former Mt. Juliet and Lebanon police officer was arrested for breaking into the Mt. Juliet Ace Hardware predawn Thursday.

MJPD spokesperson Sgt. Tyler Chandler confirmed late Thursday evening Steven Holliday was arrested around 3:15 a.m. Thursday when police officers responded to a burglar alarm and found Holliday “leaving the scene in the Courtney’s Family Restaurant parking lot.”

Chandler said this was the third time Ace Hardware has been broken into and “investigators are looking at a possible connection.”

Chandler said Holliday worked as a police officer in Mt. Juliet in the early 1990s and then again in the early 2000s.  He said the last part of Holliday’s employment with the city of Mt. Juliet was in some capacity at City Hall. Chandler said Holliday has also been a Lebanon Police Department employee at one time and his latest law enforcement job was with Metro police.

The investigation is ongoing.

Officer Jason Lowder Accused of Selling Police Issued Vest

A Murfreesboro police officer is accused of selling police-issued bulletproof vests in a Walgreen's parking lot.

Officer Jason Lowder is on administrative leave with pay and has been decommissioned from his duties as an officer pending the investigation into his alleged personal sale of police department property.

According to a police report, another officer saw a man placing a ballistic vest in the trunk of a car in the store's parking lot on Northfield Boulevard. The officer asked the man about the vest, and the man said he bought it from a website.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Murfreesboro Police Department are investigating.

Lowder has been a Murfreesboro officer since 2006, the department said.

Officer Matthew Ashmore Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Child

Memphis police say an officer has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Memphis Police Department said Friday that 26-year-old officer Matthew Ashmore has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of an administrative investigation.

The department says officers received a complaint from someone who had found a cellphone at a business Thursday. While looking through the phone, the person who found it saw images of unknown adult men having sex with girls believed to be between the ages of 2 and 6.

Investigating officers said they discovered the phone belonged to Ashmore.

Online court records show Ashmore is out of jail on $15,000 bond. The records do not show if he has a lawyer.

Officer Ernest Wilson Charged with Domestic Assault

A decommissioned Metro police officer has been charged for shoving his wife.

According to authorities, 43-year-old Ernest Wilson faces a misdemeanor domestic assault charge for shoving his wife into a wall during a dispute at their home last month.

Wilson's wife reported the matter to the police department's domestic violence division, and Wilson was decommissioned pending further investigation.

Wilson is an eight year police department veteran who was last assigned to the north precinct.

Officer Ryan Mendoza Charged with DUI

Ryan Mendoza, Memphis police officer who has been charged with DUI, will go before a judge Wednesday.

Police say Mendoza crashed his truck on Interstate 40 at the Appling exit in East Memphis. Investigators say the truck rolled over after hitting two traffic signs.

According to police, Mendoza refused the sobriety test and was charged. The officer is on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

He has been on the police force since 2007. Mendoza was most recently assigned to the Old Allen Station.

Officer Brian foulks Arrested for Domestic Assault

The attorney for a Knoxville Police Department officer charged with domestic assault disavowed Tuesday any notion of gunplay on the part of his client in the incident.

KPD Officer Brian Foulks, 33, was arrested early Tuesday morning and jailed under traditional 12-hour "cool down" hold placed in cases of alleged domestic violence after an incident at the home of his estranged wife.

In a report on the incident, his estranged wife, Donna Foulks, told Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies that after a verbal altercation between the two at her Macmont Circle residence, he broke the screen on her laptop computer and grabbed a .38-caliber revolver from a dresser drawer and went into the bathroom with it.

"(She) said she thought she heard (him) unloading it in the bathroom before she ran out," the report states. As she was walking down the road, he followed her in his truck.

"(She) said (he) told her the gun was in the truck, but never pointed it in her direction nor said he would use it," the report states.

Attorney T. Scott Jones, who represents Officer Foulks, said his client came to the home he once shared with his 32-year-old estranged wife unarmed and in his private vehicle. He conceded the two argued but said Officer Foulks merely unloaded and disabled the gun to avoid any escalation of an already tense situation and in no way used the weapon as a threat.

"The gun was already there on a dresser," Jones said. "Once tensions escalated between he and his wife, he located the firearm, unloaded it and rendered it inoperable."

Jones said his client returned the unloaded gun to the dresser, where deputies later found it. The pair eventually wound up outside, where the argument resumed, the report stated.

Donna Foulks told deputies her husband later followed her back inside the house and, after yet another argument, broke her cellphone, knocked items off the kitchen counter and kicked a wooden dining room chair.

Donna Foulks ran to a neighbor's house and called deputies.

Jones said the incident spanned hours, and the arguments between the pair were intermittent. The couple separated in December. Officer Foulks, 33, filed for divorce last month but went to the couple's home in hopes of resolving their marital discord, Jones said.

According to Jones, Officer Foulks has been struggling with the stress of being a full-time student at Liberty University and working overtime at KPD to earn extra money.

"Officer Foulks knows there is no excuse for domestic violence," Jones said. "He's going to get counseling related to this unfortunate incident and to deal with the stress he has been under."

KPD has suspended Foulks' police powers and reassigned him to administrative duties pending an investigation by the internal affairs unit. He has been with KPD since 2006 and was the school resource officer for Central High School.

He is set to be arraigned May 15.

Trooper Marvin Norfolk Sr Charged with Child Abuse

A Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper is indicted on child abuse charges. Trooper Marvin Norfolk Sr. is facing charges of child abuse and filing a false police report in a December 2009 criminal investigation conducted by the Tipton County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Children's Services.

The investigation surrounded a December 2009 allegation of physical abuse of a 9 year old family member at the Norfolk's home in Brighton, TN. Police say the child was at the home during a court approved visitation for the Christmas holidays. According to investigators, the child had bruising to the face, back, upper torso, arm, thighs, legs and groin area. The child was treated and released at Baptist Memorial Hospital after the incident.

During the investigation, Marvin Norfolk denied the allegation along with his wife, Dawn Norfolk who was present during the incident. The investigation revealed Marvin Norfolk and his wife lied about their role in the incident. Dawn Norfolk was indicted for filing a false police report.

The couple is scheduled to appear in court March 4th.

Investigation Ongoing for Officer Accused of Forcible Rape of Teen

It's been nearly a month since a high school student accused a Memphis Police Officer of forcibly raping her. No charges have been filed in the case. What's taking so long?

The 17-year old goes to Fairley High School in Whitehaven. She reported the rape to a police officer at the school on February 5th. She said happened off-campus on an earlier day.

Students at Fairley high school say they haven't heard much about the rape accusations since they were first reported a month ago.

“They really aren't saying a lot about it,” said Senior Jeremy Ross. “I think they're just trying to let it go.”

The Memphis Police Department put the officer on “Non-Enforcement” status pending the investigation. An investigation it says is still ongoing. Some of you want to know what's taking so long.

The MPD told Eyewitness News it was waiting on forensic testing. That's done by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The TBI says DNA results take an average of nine weeks to complete in the Memphis lab.

“If you look around at other states,” said TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm. “That’s probably one of the fastest DNA turnaround times that you'll find at any crime lab at any state.”

It can be done faster, however.

“Something that's a very serious nature that needs to be expedited, that's a threat to public safety,” said Helm. “They can always request us to expedite things and of course we will do that for them.”

Eyewitness News asked the Memphis Police Department about this case and if there was any consideration given the fact the accused is a Memphis Police Officer. The department issued a statement saying "This is a complex investigation and will take time. Sex crimes asked for an expedited examination when they submitted the request." The statement went on to say, ”This case is being investigated as any other complaint.”

The Sex Crimes Bureau and the Inspectional Services Bureau, the department that investigates criminal wrongdoing by officers, are working on the case.

Officer Sean O'Brien Recieves Probation for Assaulting 13-year-old

A Chattanooga police officer has learned he will receive probation after a January incident in which he was accused of assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

During the 21/2-hour hearing Friday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court, Judge Bob Moon said that, while Officer Sean O'Brien had a "belligerent" child on his hands, he could not dismiss the simple assault case outright.

There were "no exigent circumstances," Judge Moon said, that would have justified Officer O'Brien's alleged hitting of the teen on Jan. 23 after arresting him on trespassing charges and taking him to the county Juvenile Detention Center.

Charged with simple assault, Officer O'Brien ultimately could have ended up going to trial in the case. Judge Moon's judicial diversion ruling means the officer will not have to admit guilt and his record will be wiped clean after a year-long probationary period, provided he engages in no more illegal behavior.

But Judge Moon also did not take pity on the juvenile, who lied on the witness stand about his criminal record and who, on the night of his arrest, was observed constantly shouting obscenities at Officer O'Brien and inciting bad behavior in other detainees, according to the testimony of more than one officer who was present at the detention center.

"I fear for your future," Judge Moon told the juvenile, noting the teen already had been convicted of theft as a 12-year-old for stealing a Vespa scooter last summer in North Chattanooga.

"I'm afraid you're either on the way to the morgue or the penitentiary," Judge Moon continued.

Looking at the child's mother, he said, "Mom, I think you know that."

The boy's grandmother, also present at the hearing, could be seen either laughing or smirking throughout the entire hearing.

At the detention center, a video camera recorded the alleged assault. On Friday, two officers testified that they could not tell from the video whether Officer O'Brien actually hit the boy, who was handcuffed the entire time and did not receive any injuries.

Officer O'Brien is on administrative leave pending a resolution in the case. It was not immediately known Friday whether the Chattanooga Police Department will allow him to go on active duty again.

Defense attorney Lee Davis argued at the hearing that the incident at most "was not criminal and should have been dealt with at the administrative level."

Officer Sean O'Brien Placed Charged with Assaulting Teen Placed on Judicial Diversion

General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon on Friday placed a Chattanooga Police officer charged with assaulting a handcuffed teen on judicial diversion.

He directed that Officer Sean O'Brien undergo 26 weeks of anger management under the AILS program. He will be on probation for up to one year, but the judge said that could be shortened if he does well on the AILS program.

Officer O'Brien said he had "taken control" of the 13-year-old after he continually cursed him and tried to incite three other teens who were arrested at the same time.

Judge Moon admonished the teen, having him stand up and telling him, "You are on the interstate to either the morgue or the penitentiary unless something changes and changes right now."

Judge Moon said the officer was within a secure facility and the teens were handcuffed and he did not feel the forceful actions he took were necessary.

A video shows the officer put his hand toward the back of the teen's head and then pressed him against a wall with his body.

The teen, Timothy Rawlings, was placed in a Baptist halfway house at Greeneville, Tn., after the Jan. 23 incident and was brought to Chattanooga for the hearing.

He testified first, saying he was laughing and not cursing the officer when he said Officer O'Brien "hit me in the head and grabbed me and threw me against a wall."

On cross-examination by attorney Lee Davis, he admitted he had incidents at Orchard Knob Middle School where he was yelling,screaming,causing fights and had been moved to the Washington Alternative School.

Rawlings also acknowledged he was on probation for stealing a Vespa scooter in North Chattanooga last June.

He denied trespassing at Memorial Hospital the night of his arrest, though several officers said he admitted he had been with a group of teens there.

He said he was at some apartments on Dodson Avenue when some other teens came up. He said he was arrested along with them.

Homicide detective Michael Wenger said Officer O'Brien told him he took the actions because he felt threatened being along with the four teens.

He said he had watched the video numerous times "and it is still not clear if he touched his head or not."

Memorial Hospital security guard Maurice Watson said he was driving near the hospital when he saw four teens in the street. He said he later pursued them after spotting them running.

He said they ran into a parking garage up toward the Mary Ellen Locher Breast Cancer Center, which was closed for the weekend. He said there had been a recent incident of vending machines being tampered with there.

He said he put out a radio message that was also heard by city officers.

Officer O'Brien said he was a state trooper in New Jersey for seven years before moving to Cleveland, Tn., to operate a business there. He said he was hired by the Chattanooga Police Department after the business was sold and he has been there for two and a half years.

He said he was off duty, but was doing an overtime job with the federal Weed and Seed program on Jan. 23. He said he was involved in the apprehension of some of the youths, and he took Rawlings and another teen in his car.

Officer O'Brien said in the car Rawlings was saying, "This is f------- b--- s---. This ain't f------ right."

He said Rawlings continued with the same language after they were inside the Detention Center. He said he first told him it was "no big deal" to try to calm him. He said he later told him to "shut up."

The officer said he finally told Rawlings, "You need to shut the f--- up."

He testified, "You can take control of a situation, or you can let it go and have worse problems."

He said he was concerned for his safety and for the other three teens, and he said it was a tense atmosphere at the center with blood on the floor from a recent fight. He said he then took the actions against Rawlings. He said if he touched his head it was only his hair.

Corey Beals, who was the officer in charge at the detention center, said Rawlings was "belligerent and loud and verbally abusive of the officer. He was calling him obscene names like b----."

He said he did not see the alleged assault, but he said on the tape it appeared the officer was swinging his hand toward the teen's head.

Capt. Susan Blaine praised the work of Officer O'Brien, saying that was the main reason he was chosen to be in the Weed and Seed program. She said, "He does an excellent job."

Judge Moon also told the officer, "Your language needs to be cleaned up. That is unacceptable - especially to a young person."