Updated: Apr 24, 2021
By Dennis Domrzalski and Dan Klein
The sleaze keeps oozing from Mayor Tim Keller's office. A few hours ago we reported that Keller's henchmen had charged a black man with a crime for exercising his constitutional rights of free speech and to carry a gun.
"Back to the plantation!" is the word from Keller's office.
The complaint that plantation owner Keller's administration filed against the guy, Deyontae Williams. It's beyond a joke, and it's stunningly clear that the officer who wrote and filed it was pressured to do so.
Keller's storm troopers have charged Williams with abandonment or cruelty to a child. But the complaint, again, probably written under duress, says that the progressive mob surrounded Williams. Here's a quote from the complaint:
"Soon his open-carrying of the rifle and handgun drew the attention of protesters.The protesters surrounded him and were about 100 in number. They confronted him."
They confronted him and he's being charged!
The complaint states no criminal intent on Williams's part. Intent is the key element of criminal law.
Here's what retired APD sergeant Dan Klein has to say about this:
The dumbest criminal complaint I have ever read.
As a past APD sergeant this criminal complaint should NEVER have been signed and approved by any APD supervisor. The basic elements of criminal intent and an actual crime being committed are completely absent.
The criminal complaint author clearly did not wish to write this complaint. He is literally saying that by Deyontae Williams being legally someplace and was surrounded by a confrontational mob, that Williams is somehow the offender.
Lt. Legendre should have written this complaint himself since he wrote the original report and witnessed what happened. Legendre dumped this onto a low level officer, that is horrendous leadership.
Chief Harold Medina told the Emergency Response Team (ERT) that Williams arrest was made after consultation with a city attorney. Who is this city attorney who clearly does not know, nor understand criminal law? This person must be named and held accountable for this colossal misstep.
To charge someone with a crime you must have the element of intent (intending to shoot, intending to deprive someone of their property etc), this is basic CONSTITUTIONAL police work. This complaint reads like the movie Minority Report, where police officers look into the future and make arrests on what they believe you might do. Adding insult to injury, Williams is a minority. Why do Medina and Mayor Tim Keller continue to violate the rights of young black men? Remember just last month the city settled for $80,000 ($40,000 each) two black men who were wrongly arrested for open carrying firearms on Civic Plaza. Those charges were dropped and taxpayers footed the bill.