Message from the Chief – Officer Complaint – On Thursday, January 19th, 2017, Ofc. Darrell Harvill stopped a motorist for speeding on Harrison Blvd. The female pulled over and was cited for her speed. During the stop, warrants were discovered on the female for unpaid traffic tickets. The female was arrested and taken to jail. She was released shortly thereafter, after meeting with the judge and paying her warrant fees.
The female later complained to a friend about the arrest. The friend reached out to me, Chief Blanchard. As is customary with all complaints, formal or otherwise, we began an investigation into the quality of policing provided. Upon reviewing the body camera footage and event documents, I was able to speak with the motorist, Katherine Bibb-Sachse.
Katherine was upset and not happy with her treatment by Ofc. Harvill. Further, she was not happy with the court and wrecker fees associated with this event. I explained to her our process and why she had been arrested. Katherine would not be satisfied, nor would she accept responsibility for failing to take care of her original speeding ticket, which had become a warrant.
We understand that occasionally some aren’t happy with our efforts. And, some take to Facebook and try to spoil our diligent effort with slanted information. When we are right, I go to bat. When we are wrong, I stop at nothing to make it right and admit our wrong. There’s simply no other policy that works in Law Enforcement, nowadays.
Sadly, Katherine decided to take to Facebook to share her experience. Granted, I understand her position. No one aside from career criminals seem to enjoy being arrested. And, like usual, I was tagged in her post and had to respond. After noticing my response, she removed it. In fact, other dissenting posts were also removed, be it by her or the original poster. Fortunately, I saved my response.
I feel it’s important to share this publicly. The other side of this story needs to be told. It’s unfortunate that some will not accept responsibility and obscure the truth in their own favor. Divisive, negative rhetoric like this about good police officer conduct puts all police officers at risk. Officers today have been targeted, injured and killed because fake news and bias, false narratives. Only after trying two times privately to resolve this matter, do I feel it’s important to make it public.
We have a great department filled with good, hardworking officers and support staff. The last thing I want is for one of them to end up injured or killed because of inaccurate, incomplete information.
Thank you,
– Chief.
Video from Traffic Stop
Phone Call with Chief
Facebook Posts
Copies of the Warrants
As you can see, the warrants were issued on the 11th of January, 2017. They did require an appearance before the judge. Luckily, the judge was in at the time Katherine was arrested. Otherwise, she would have remained in jail overnight.
https://police.aptx.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Bibb-Sachse-Warrants.pdf
Wrecker Time
If you recall, during the phone conversation, Katherine stated the wrecker took over 30 minutes to respond. Not according to our records.
https://police.aptx.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Bibb-Sachse-Wrecker-Times.pdf
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