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Title: Skater charged with assault on officer
Source:
The Dallas Morning News
URL Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon ... 31706dnmetskater.304e63a6.html
Published: Mar 16, 2006
Author: ROBERT THARP
Post Date: 2006-03-18 02:02:18 by Starwind
Keywords: charged, assault, officer
Views: 3609
Comments: 228
Witnesses denied she was aggressor; internal investigation continuing 09:38 PM CST on Thursday, March 16, 2006 By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News A Dallas Roller Derby skater was indicted Thursday on a felony charge of assaulting a Dallas police officer stemming from a January incident in which she and several witnesses say the officer was the aggressor and used excessive force. Reports related to the indictment charge that Michelle Metzinger, 25, was belligerent and fought with Officer Ceaphus Gordon after the officer asked to see her identification because, he said, she had been roller skating recklessly through traffic on Elm Street in Deep Ellum. Michelle Metzinger According to Officer Gordon's report, Ms. Metzinger tried to gouge his eye with her fingers when he tried to handcuff and arrest her on a charge of public intoxication. The officer then tried to force Ms. Metzinger to the sidewalk using a "straight arm bar take down," but instead, she "rolled from the police car to the ground," his report says. Ms. Metzinger continued scratching and kicking the officer on the ground, the report says. Officer Gordon described his injuries as three 1/8th-inch scratches near his right eye and scratches and bruises on his chin. He described Ms. Metzinger's injury as a "small laceration that required a stitch," although his report indicates that she spent five hours at Parkland Memorial Hospital before she was taken to jail. Kevin Clancy, Ms. Metzinger's attorney, said he was disappointed that he was not allowed to present evidence to the grand jury that would have offered a different account of what happened. Eight witnesses to the arrest have filed affidavits saying that Ms. Metzinger was not intoxicated and that she did not resist the officer. The witnesses state that after Ms. Metzinger was forced to the ground, Officer Gordon put his knee on her back or neck while he was handcuffing her, which is not described in the officer's reports. "I think it's a travesty that this poor girl was charged with this," Mr. Clancy said. "I really do think that the grand jury did not look at the evidence." A separate investigation into the incident by Dallas police internal affairs is ongoing. Mr. Clancy said Dallas police have so far not interviewed any of the witnesses. Officer Gordon has had 27 complaints filed against him in his 14-year career, most of which were ruled "unfounded" or "inconclusive." Of those inconclusive complaints, at least two involved allegations of excessive force. E-mail rtharp@dallasnews.com
Poster Comment: ------ see also: (Dallas) Police Deny Excessive Force In Bloody Arrest (black cop, white girl) 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 65.
#48. To: Starwind, christine, zipporah, bluegrass (#0)
No woman with thighs as delicious and juicy as hers should ever be slammed to the ground unless one intends to make love to her. When I saw the pix (OMG) I was immediately sympathetic to this poor girl!
Now why am I not surprised HOUNDDAWG .. ;) Maybe that's what the officer was trying to do... just wrestle her to the ground? ;P
i was thinking of re-doing the enhanced photos to show more details of Michelle holding the leaflets and Ceaphus Gordon's knee on her neck and back - should i post them here or on the first forum? ruthie
ruthie XXXXXX oops - the reply just crossed over with my re-post (i thought the first one failed because my internet crashed - sorry!) - i'll work on them 2nite ruthie
ok, here's the enhanced images again. i added the EXIF date & time at the top
and notes that i thought might be relevant. the photos were enhanced using
irfanview and psp7. the last picture comes from http://www.helpmichelle.org and had no EXIF
data. i don't know if there are any other pictures available that can be tied in
with these. even the first picture is interesting - Michelle standing with
both hands on the car, looking in the direction of a witness across the road.
she is using her right skate to steady herself and seems in a relaxed state. we
can't see her left hand because of the wing mirror but i suspect it is holding
her ACD promotional leaflets (more on these later). Also on the front of the
police car is what looks like a folder or document holder - presumably belonging
to the police. The passenger's car door is fully open. in this shot, we do not
see any police. the time is 00:30:59...
(click to enlarge)
(Click to enlarge)
the time is 1 minute 24 seconds later. the police car door is shut. the driver
can only see Officer Gordon's head. note the cycle is not parked at the front of
the car - there may have been no police witnesses to what happened during the
last 1 minute & 24 seconds... michelle is holding the ACD leaflets in her
left hand which is above her head. Officer Gordon is using both hands to cuff
her right hand. his right foot is outstretched for balance. his left knee is
pressed against Michelle's left cheek and her neck, twisting her head to the
right and forcing it against the ground. there are at least 4 witnesses - the
photographer, the 2 men on the road, the man holding the red flag.
this picture was found on the http://www.helpmichelle.org site.
there was no EXIF data so i don't know which camera it came from. it gives a
different angle to the last one and shows the driver of the police car using a
radio and looking through the passenger door window. however, the height of the
door sill prevents the driver from seeing what is happening on the ground. we
can clearly see Michelle's left fingers clutching on to the ACD leaflets,
protecting them from harm. Officer Gordon is only using his left hand to hold
Michelle's right wrist. his right hand is by his right hip. we can clearly see
his left knee and shin are pressing down on Michelle at the position of her head
and neck. in neither this frame (which may be a few seconds before the last one)
nor the previous frame does he appear to be anything but in complete control -
he does not appear to be recovering his balance or disentangling himself from a
fall.
(Click to enlarge)
31 seconds later... Michelle has lost hold of her ACD leaflets which are
strewn on the ground. Officer Gordon has turned her over face down and is
kneeling with his right knee on her back. he is holding the cuffs in his right
hand, and his left hand is pressing her down at the position of her neck. we can
see in this shot that the bulk of his weight is taken by the right knee and left
hand. there is no blood evident in this picture, it is possible that this is the
point when her chin was cut on the ground.
(Click to enlarge)
the later pictures show a distressed Michelle, bleeding profusely from her
wound, a policeman wearing a cycle helmet who is not apparently present at the
time of the "assault", and various witnesses incuding Michelle's fellow skater.
i can post the enhanced versions if people want but the last 4 are the most
important imho. ruthie
This guy is a loose cannon; a squirrel; an asshole. He needs to be fired yesterday and I hope Michelle gets rich off of this. I will turn out for the March if I am off since I live in Dallas and I will make it apparent that us ex- Dallas PD officers who were the GOOD cops when we were there, are absolutely in HER favor on this!!!! I'm with you Michelle.
yes, this isn't about being anti-police though some people (other forums) have jumped on this case to promote their own views. my uncle is a retired policeman and he always treated people fairly and had to deal with some very sad distressing things. he is disgusted when people in the police bring the service down by acting badly :( ruthie
#66. To: All (#65)
Michelle wrote me saying to thank everyone for the support :) if anyone has any comments/thoughts/ideas that might help her please share it and i'll see its passed on to her... ruthie
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#54. To: HOUNDDAWG (#48)
No woman with thighs as delicious and juicy as hers should ever be slammed to the ground unless one intends to make love to her. When I saw the pix (OMG) I was immediately sympathetic to this poor girl!
#57. To: All (#54)
XXXXXX
#58. To: All (#57)
i was thinking of re-doing the enhanced photos to show more details of Michelle holding the leaflets and Ceaphus Gordon's knee on her neck and back - should i post them here or on the first forum?
XXXXXX
#59. To: All (#58)
#60. To: All (#59)
#61. To: All (#60)
#62. To: All (#61)
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#64. To: ruthie (#62)
#65. To: IndieTX (#64)
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Replies to Comment # 65.
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End Trace Mode for Comment # 65.