Friday, September 17, 2010

Newark Officer pleads guilty!


A decorated Newark police detective whose background was highlighted in a petition the ACLU filed earlier this month seeking federal oversight of the department, pleaded guilty today to beating a handcuffed prisoner four years ago.

Vernon Parker, 37, of West Orange, faces eight years in prison for fracturing Shannon Taylor’s eye socket and shattering his jaw during a 2006 assault at the Franklin Street lockup, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino said.

Parker, an 11-year veteran of the force, also pleaded guilty in a separate, unrelated incident, to endangerment for disciplining his teenage stepdaughter, Laurino said. And in a third case, he was convicted in July of physically abusing the girl, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.

"We are pleased with the resolution of this case," Assistant Prosecutor John Anderson said. "We hope it sends a clear message that this office will investigate and prosecute wrongdoing by police officers when appropriate."

Parker was one of 11 Newark police officers facing criminal charges who were identified in the New Jersey American Civil Liberties Union’s petition. The petition, which calls for a federal monitor to oversee the state’s largest police department, cited 407 lawsuits and allegations of misconduct, and claimed the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau was incapable of disciplining officers.
According to the petition, only one of 261 "serious" internal affairs complaints were substantiated over a two-year period.
Detective Hubert Henderson, a police spokesman, would not disclose Parker’s Internal Affairs record, but said the plea deal likely means the end of his career.

"Since he has plead guilty, the department is now going to move through our disciplinary process to terminate him," Henderson said. "We’re not going to delve into his disciplinary record, but we are going to go through the process we need to go through to move for termination."

Parker had been suspended without pay since he was indicted on assault and misconduct charges in 2008, Henderson said. Parker is being held at the Essex County jail. He will be sentenced Oct. 22.

Appearing before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wiger in Newark today, Parker admitted he beat a handcuffed Taylor after arresting him on a municipal warrant on Sept. 19, 2006. Anderson, the assistant prosecutor, said Parker ignored police protocol when he drove Taylor around the city for an hour in an unmarked police cruiser and arrested six other people before returning to the lock-up.

Once inside the Franklin Street facility, Taylor, 43, asked to file a complaint with Parker’s supervisor, Anderson said. Instead of taking Taylor to see a ranking officer, Parker dragged Taylor into a storage room and beat him unconscious, Anderson said.
In addition to a fractured eye socket and broken jaw, Taylor suffered other injuries to his face, Anderson said, adding that at least eight other people "heard" the assault. Taylor was taken to University Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries, Anderson said.

As part of a plea deal, the prosecutor’s office dismissed assault and misconduct charges against Officer Kyle Bowman and Sgt. Marilouise Bailey, whom Anderson said were with Parker the night of the incident but did not take part in the assault.
Bowman and Bailey were suspended after the incident and then placed on administrative leave, police said.

Anthony Fusco Jr., who represented all three officers, called yesterday’s guilty plea a "sad day" for Parker, who received a medal of excellence from then-Mayor Sharpe James after he was shot during a 2006 gun battle three years earlier.

"I’ve known Vernon a long time, and with the exception of these two episodes, he was one productive officer. I feel terrible about it," Fusco said. "By him pleading guilty, the state agreed to dismiss charges against the other officers. It’s a sad day for Vernon. The other officers are happy and relieved."

21 comments:

Lisa M. said...

Individuals and stories like these hurt the reputation to the police force and those that are a part of it. It is a shame that we are guilty due to association, but it does show great strides that there are investigations within the force that put the bad seeds away.

Anonymous said...

Being a police officer is hard and they do go through alot that mold them into the person they become after joining the force. So its not hard to belive that Officer Vernon has been awarded with excellent performances, which was probably early on in his career. Not saying his actions were right, just saying that it might not have been a grudge he was holding against the inmate; it can be that he needs counseling and/or therapy.

QL9715

Juliana Samini said...

The Police is to enforcr the laws governing the people,the police is part of the people for whom the laws has been made therefore if any citizen breaks the law he or she should be punished accordingly regardless of his or her social status. No one is above the law,its sad because such incidents tanishes the immage of law enforcement agencies.

Anonymous said...

SN3559
MR. PARKER GOT WHAT HE DESERVED. ONE EPISODE IS ENOUGH THAT HE SHOULD HAVE SEEK HELP IN AREAS WHERE HE FELT VULNERABLE. I AM DEEPLY SAD FOR HIS FAMILY BECAUSE NOW HE HAS LOST EVERYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE PROVIDED FOR HIS FAMILY. THIS WAS BAD JUDGELMENT ON HIS PART AND NOW, NOT ONLY PARKER WILL PAY THE PRICE BUT HIS FAMILY ALSO.

Anonymous said...

We can say that Mr.Parker got what he deserved. But we have to understand that after he was gun down he was problably mentaly confuse,i'm not saying that Mr. Parkerthis should use thi as an scuse couse damege to others.
JE>7974

Anonymous said...

This is a strong example of when police officers let power go to ones head. No one on earth that is human or any other species should be subjected of getting bluntly beatened. Just because you are a police officer does not mean that one should go around beating people just because you wont get caught. People should learn the saying what is done in the dark comes to the light.
LC9671

*Sasha* said...

Wow!! That's crazy I think Mr.Parker was really crying out for help, He probably was under a great deal of stress & emotionally disturb. Not that his behavior should be justified for he's action bcoz it doesn't. He really needed to invest into a Anger Management Class, since he didn't that's the result for his misconduct behavior. In life you learn from your mistakes, that's what he'll be doing looking @ the 4 walls & wishing he could turn the clock back & redo it over the proper way.

Anonymous said...

He deserves to be punished for the crimes he committed. But the others who got off on a dismissal. Was the code of silence used in the beginning? I think as soon as the others knew they would be held accountable for it! They made sure they protected themselves. But this is how justice works... RSI-3774

Anonymous said...

Mr. Parker not only diplayed this behavior at work but at home aswell. I believe that this has been done before and Taylor was probably the only one to come forward and fight for justice. I hope this is an example for ALL police officers that are doing the samethings or worst. If we can't trust the ones who are suppose to protect and serve for us, who can we trust? SB-8642

Anonymous said...

It is very sad how one bad apple makes the rest of us look bad. The law is the law and no one (not even the police, prosecutors, judges, etc) is above the law.
Parker definitely needed help and it seems that he didn't know he needed the help. Others around him should've seen the signs but did not call him on it.
Police do have a "bad habit" of protecting ourselves because we feel like its us against them but you have to make a conscious decision to do the right thing. If you see something wrong you have to call them out on it. You may be called a "rat" or "not a team player" but you will sleep at night!
REMEBER WE TOOK AN OATH!
A sad day for his family and his victims!

Anonymous said...

The job of a police officer is to enforce the law, not physically though. There is no need to beat a person that is incarcerated and also beat his stepdaughter. This ex-officer has some anger issues that needs to be dealt with. It seems like he is taking his problems are work to his home or vise-versa and he should do that.
-EM3583

Anonymous said...

I.D.8527
I think that this is just absolutely CRAZY. The fact that you would beat somebody until the point that you fracture their eye socket....?Something is obviously wrong with you! This is unacceptable behavior.And it infuriates me that people in these positions just think that they can do what they want to people.It honestly hurt my heart to know that he beat this man the way that he did and thought that it was OKAY.Parker deserves everything that is coming to him.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what made him come out and admit that he was wrong. It takes alot for someone to admit their wrong doings especially when there is a harsh consequence that follows it. This police officer obviously was stressed and had some type of problems going on. This also reveals how police officers administration try to hide things and let these officers off the hook. This will definitely send a strong signal to those that hide this officer's crimes. SJC 1687

Anonymous said...

Parker has anger issues that he needs to address. He's violent and should suffer the consequences for he's actions. What he did was wrong and he knew that he just wanted to see if he could get away with it. Close but no cigar. Im thinking he probabley did this before but this time he got caught. T.C.3006

Gera said...

Good! Cops think they can get away with a lot of crap. Then he beat his daughter? That's crazy. He deserve what he got. He beat that man unconsious. Lord knows what else he have done. Good he was stopped and brought to justice.

Anonymous said...

this is really scary ..these are the people supposed to be protecting us....lb9816

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, when you give some individuals positions of authoritarian power they sometimes abuse their power. In this case it’s a police officer but it could easily be a supervisor on the assembly line or your boss at the flower shop.
Policing any community is a difficult job. Many police officers start their careers with the greatest of intentions. Afterwards they become overwhelmed with the effects of crime. For example, you bring someone for committing an offense and before you complete the paperwork. The felon posted bail and is back out on the street. To repeat, as a police officer going to court is a common event. You show up for trail with fifteen cases on the docket ready to go before the judge. What happens now? The prosecutor steps up and knocks out ten of those cases by pleas. Frustration and anger immediately take over.
In addition, to police walking the beat or patrolling the streets inside a patrol vehicle they also have to sit at a desk. The computer they sit behind is very much different from the computer you are accustoming to at work. These programs have names like child abduction, rape, assaults, aggravated assaults, attempted murder, murder, and juvenile crimes. Imagine how rewarding everyday must be for a police officer.
Yes, I read the article too. Our communities in Newark are sometimes under siege. The people sworn to protect us can become the people that harm us the most. I am just not willing to condemn everyone. At some point, Mr. Parker became a marginal man with one foot over the line. You cannot predict how your child will turn out and you can never know what to expect when putting on a uniform. It is important to remember that while many of us choose to be exposed to violence through the comfort of our remote controls. There are individuals that choose to confront real violence every day so you will not have too.

Anonymous said...

This is the reason why community policing is not working in Newark, Parker was an abusive officer and it eventually caught up to him and bit him where it hurts.

AR 758197433

Anonymous said...

He got what he deserved.
Swright

Anonymous said...

again our police officers should be evaluated by a psychiatrist more often.that line of work can drive one insane .both the power they now posses & the violence they constantly witness.
5719

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see that he will no longer be out on the street to hurt anyone else especially not a family member. Now he will see what it feels like on the other end. I hope someone gives him the same treatment as soon as he walks through the door. I don't know why those in law enforcement think that they can get away with the things they do.

Arbubaker-1221
CJI-102