Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops

Posted by: kwflatbed

By Terri Sanginiti
The News Journal

GEORGETOWN, Del. — A nine-year Millsboro police veteran was suspended Wednesday after his arrest by Georgetown police officers who found him intoxicated and half-dressed in the middle of a street, bowing at cars as they swerved around him.
The off-duty officer, Sgt. Shawn A. Davis, 31, was released on $3,100 bail on charges of offensive touching of an officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and being drunk on the highway.
Millsboro police Chief John K. Murphy II said Wednesday that he was shocked and saddened: "This is obviously out of character for this officer."
According to court records, two Georgetown police officers encountered Davis -- whom they immediately recognized as a Millsboro officer -- in the middle of East Market Street at 1:36 a.m. Wednesday.
"He was on all fours without a shirt, and as cars were coming up to him, he was bowing," Georgetown police Capt. Ralph Holm said. "Cars were swerving around him."
Two uniformed officers tried to talk Davis off the road.
"He was sitting on the ground and jumped up to attack the officer," Holm said. "The officer instinctively reacted by pulling out his handgun. Davis stopped lunging at the officer and continued being verbally abusive."
The two officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Davis' breath, police said in court records. They ordered him to lie down and place his hands behind his back a number of times, but Davis refused.
When two backup officers arrived, they again ordered Davis to the ground, but the Millsboro officer continued to defy them, police said.
One of the officers grabbed his arm and put him face down on the ground and tried to put his hands behind his back.
"He was kicking and fighting with them to prevent them from handcuffing him," Holm said. "One of the officers realized somebody was going to get hurt, so the four officers backed off."
An officer holding a Taser then fired an electrical charge at Davis, who flipped over immediately and put his hands behind his back, Holm said.
Davis was taken to Delaware State Police Troop 4 in Georgetown, charged and released.
The Millsboro chief commended the arresting officers for the "restraint and professionalism they exercised."
"There's an ongoing investigation about what led up to this," said Holm, the Georgetown captain. "I don't know if the officers ever found out from him what he was doing there."
Davis, who served with the Marines in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, has "received numerous merit awards and commendations," including recognition from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Murphy said.
Davis was the officer sent to a domestic incident Oct. 29 at the Millsboro home of former state Rep. John Atkins. The incident led to Atkins' arrest on a charge of offensive touching in an altercation with his wife.
Earlier this year, Atkins resigned after the state House Ethics Committee found his behavior in that incident and a traffic stop in Ocean City, Md., earlier that night had sullied the House's reputation.
The committee recommended Atkins be censured for showing the Ocean City officer his legislative ID card, in what was perceived as an attempt to avoid a drunken driving charge. A preliminary breath test showed Atkins had a blood-alcohol content of almost twice the legal limit, but he was allowed to get a ride home.
As for Davis, Murphy said Wednesday that he would be suspended until an internal investigation is completed.
He would not say whether Davis would be paid in that period.
"We've got a lot of issues to work out," he said.

Wire Services

---

vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2008 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser