The worst crime in the word may be making a government official wet his pants. Read between the lines, and that's the real offense committed by Justin Chilton, a 20-year-old Murfreesboro, Tennessee, resident who responded to post-midnight pounding on the door with a gun in hand, only to find that the intruders were wrong-way cops who were supposed to be somewhere else entirely. For causing his visitors a scare, Chilton and his father, Roger, face several criminal charges. Police in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, tried to get ahead of the story as fast as they could. An early report said that Justin "pulled a gun on two officers who conducted a welfare check at his home early Sunday."
Pulled a gun on police officers going about their business? What a lucky fellow that he was only charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm under 21, possession of a firearm while under the influence, and underage consumption.
It was several days later, after Justin and his father made a fuss, before the news media told us that initial police reports may have been less than truthful. As the Daily News Journal put it, "missing from that report, filed Sunday by Officer Matthew Garrett, was any mention that officers responded to the wrong apartment complex — a claim that MPD has now confirmed is true."
"Missing from that report, filed Sunday by Officer Matthew Garrett, was any mention that officers responded to the wrong apartment complex — a claim that MPD has now confirmed is true."
In fact, officers were sent to respond to an incident at Campus Crossing North. They actually went to Campus Crossing South. And there they hammered on the door of Justin and Roger Chilton. At 3 am.
Note how the February 23 report in The Tennessean reads:
“A gentleman (later identified as Chilton) responded by telling both officers, ‘I advise you two to move away from my door,’” Garrett reported. “We responded by identifying ourselves as police officers telling him we needed to talk to him. He told us to back away from the door.”
Garrett reported that moments into giving Chilton further instructions, Chilton swung the door open “screaming and pointed a handgun at myself and (Premo). Chilton then slammed the door.”
Three days later, the police weren't the only ones telling their story. On February 26, Channel 5 reported:
Roger and Justin Chilton woke to a pounding on their door at 3 a.m. Sunday. Justin - a decorated military policeman who had just returned from Iraq - answered the door holding his gun.
The officers then arrested Justin and his father.
"They held us at gunpoint, slammed us to the ground, stomped my hands and butted me in the back of the head with a shotgun," said Justin.
The officers charged the Chilton's with resisting arrest and aggravated assault for the incident.
See how the story ... err ... transforms once a little more information becomes available?
So, what we have is the police pounding on the wrong door during the wee hours of the morning, and taking offense because the resident responds prepared for trouble. Staring down the barrel of a gun, feeling a warm, wet trickle down their pants legs, and enjoying the dawning realization that they're at the wrong address, Officers Matthew Garrett and Brad Premo decided to handle an embarrassing situation by cooking up bogus charges against the residents.
"Aggravated assault on a police officer" by a fellow who responded to a disturbance at 3 am and had the forbearance to surrender his weapon so he could get stomped?
"Possession of a firearm under 21" because the guy defending his own home had the bad judgment to be 20 years old?
"Possession of a firearm while under the influence, and underage consumption" because he had a few celebratory drinks with his dad in his own apartment?
Roger Chilton was charged with resisting arrest after ... What? Maybe the officers bruised their knuckles on his skull and found that he'd been boozing after hauling him out of his apartment. How dare he allow himself to be dragged across the threshold with a buzz.
That Justin Chilton turns out to be an Iraq veteran and a decorated military policeman just makes the charges against him that much more preposterous. Too young to defend his home? Really? Too bad Uncle Sam didn't know that before packing him off to a war with an M-16.
In fact, Justin was probably the best-qualified gun hand at the scene -- and a man, apparently, with some self-restraint.
Sure, the "underage" laws are on the books. They're stupid laws at the best of times, and totally inappropriate under the circumstances. The right thing to do if you're a police officer at the scene is to apologize for the disturbance, promise to learn to read map, and leave.
Oh, but there's no excuse for causing that warm trickle down the officers' legs.
So remember, if you hear a disturbance at the front door after dark, prepare to defend yourself only if you're sober, over 21 and ready to soothe the ruffled feathers of police officers who haven't quite mastered the whole North/South thing.
Or else, like the Chiltons, get ready to humiliate the cops a second time -- in the press.