Thursday, May 29, 1997
Baird City Council relieve marshal of duties
By BILLY HARRIS / Abilene Reporter-News
BAIRD - The Baird City Council relieved City Marshal Dale Coley
of duties Tuesday night after hearing complaints that he harassed
students and slapped a teen-ager.
Coley, who did not attend the meeting, was unanimously suspended
with pay after council members discussed the case behind closed
doors for nearly 90 minutes. Council members said Coley would
not perform any police functions for the city, effective immediately.
They later huddled another 20 minutes with the city attorney
concerning possible litigation against the city over Coley's suspension.
Before the executive session, the council heard two Baird residents
complain that their children had been harassed by Coley and that
one of them had been slapped during an arrest at the local Allsup's
convenience store.
Pete Mendez said his minor son had been harassed by Coley for
quite some time before the slapping incident, and charged that
Coley has "lost his reasonable thinking to uphold the law"
and is making "irrational decisions that conflict with basic
law enforcement."
Mendez said he was afraid school kids might be hurt if Coley
continues in office.
During the incident at Allsup's, Mendez said he arrived to
find his son had a handcuff clamped very tightly on one wrist,
and Coley refused to loosen or remove it. Mendez said examination
by a physician showed he now has nerve damage in that wrist. He
also said he has photographs of a cut on his son's head allegedly
caused by the slapping.
Public intoxication charges against the youth were later dismissed,
but not before the defendant was placed in county jail and released
on a personal recognizance bond.
Cathy Kerbow told the City Council her whole family has been
harassed by Coley, with three of her children provoked and threatened.
She said her oldest son had been given tickets that were later
thrown out of court or torn up.
She said Coley stopped her younger son, threw his personal
belongings into a ditch, and destroyed an autographed baseball
bat from the Abilene Prairie Dogs. She also said Coley had chased
her daughter for throwing water balloons and had threatened to
shoot her.
She also accused Coley of "staking out" her home
and shining his patrol car's spotlight through the windows. She
said he threatened to arrest her once "for walking out of
my driveway."
In answer to a question from the audience, Mayor Jon Hardwick
said there has been one other complaint against Coley brought
to the City Council in the year that he has been mayor.
Both Mendez and Kerbow commended other local law enforcement
officers for doing a good job.
In other action, the council approved a $746,000 certificate
of obligation at 4.5-percent interest for 40 years for the matching
funds needed to finance the Abilene-to-Baird water line.
Bids also were awarded for construction of the water line from
Clyde to Baird and the Union Hill stand pipe. Aledo Construction
got the line bid and Bulldog Steel was low bidder on the stand
pipe.
Kristi Bell was awarded the management contract for the Baird
swimming pool. It will open Saturday, Bell said.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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