Chesterfield police officer on administrative leave, charged with firearms count
A Chesterfield County police officer was arrested and charged yesterday with brandishing a pistol during a traffic incident on Tuesday.
Frank H. Darnold III, 25, has been placed on administrative leave with pay while criminal and internal affairs investigations are conducted, Chesterfield Police Maj. Dan W. Kelly said.
Police said witnesses reported that Darnold, who was off duty and not in uniform during the incident, displayed a firearm in a confrontation with a motorist in the 11000 block of West Providence Road. Kelly said the incident did not involve a vehicle crash but declined to provide details, citing the pending investigation.
Darnold is scheduled to appear in Chesterfield County General District Court on April 21.
"We hold our officers to a high set of standards, as does the community we serve," Chesterfield Police Chief Thierry Dupuis said in a news release.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
1- We do not know the whole story 2- Now that we do know the story it does not appear he did anything wrong at lest he had an attorney who did his job and investigated the matter before it went further. Also if you remember he was not in the performance of his duty, he was off duty. However a Court of law found him not guilty. It appears that the persons involved were scamming and based on their misinformation, a warrant was obtained due to the statements they made to the magistrate. Yes a warrant must be based on probable cause. A warrant can be based on heresy that has substantial underlying circumstances, that a reasonable person would believe a crime was committed. I would amuse that the persons clamming the brandishing concocted a story of fiction that met this requirement. Due process was served and the officer was cleared based on the evidence put forth at the preliminary hearing. That is the way it supposed to work, however it does not always work that way, sometimes officers concoct statements and innocent persons are sent through the McJustice system. If they are lucky enough they can get their case to a Federal court for review. If not they pay the price of McJustice a rubber stamp Justice system, one size fits all justice occurs. We are all human and humans do make mistakes, some believe the law is like a foot ball game and the only thing that matters in prosecution is Winn Winn at any cost. At least this did not happen here.
How quick one is to judge without basic knowledge of the facts. There are many ways to judge a fool and to declare an out come as fact without an understanding of it’s events is a clear and obvious foolish act.
I am amazed that people are ok with how the warrant was obtained? In the United States, lead prosecutors (In our case the Senior Commonwealth Attorney for Chesterfield County) are supposed to investigate Probable Cause and then that lead prosecutor is tasked with acquiring a warrant of arrest on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth.
By tomorrow morning every thug in Chesterfield county will have gone before a magistrate and swear out warrants to misguided perceptions of a crime and half of our men and women in green will be on administrative leave for bogus accusations. Leave them out to dry but expect them to bleed for you.
Friedrich Nietzsche said it best: “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.“
Basically, he who fights monsters, shall see to it they do not become a monster….
You can not pull out a gun just becasue you are a cop. And indeed, if this other fellow didn’t have a gun the cop is guilty of brandishing.
§ 18.2-282 B. Any police officer in the performance of his duty, in making an arrest under the provisions of this section, shall not be civilly liable in damages for injuries or death resulting to the person being arrested if he had reason to believe that the person being arrested was pointing, holding, or brandishing such firearm or air or gas operated weapon, or object that was similar in appearance, with intent to induce fear in the mind of another.
Otherwise, its a Class 1 misdemeanor, unless he was within 1000 feet of a school and then it’s a Class 6
Something students learn about in Civics class, Renaldo… the Rule of Law: no one is above the law, including the police. Are you suggesting a different set of due process rules for law enforcement officials?
It’s okay… he’ll still be presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty in a court of law. It seems to me like the process prescribed by law is being followed, in this case.
In the case of a Police Officer being charged for Brandishing by a citizen you are wrong. If the Officer was attempting to perform his or her duty and has probable cause to do so the charge if obtained by a citizen is premature. In those cases if the magistrate knows its a cop he should refer the matter to the Chief or Commonwealth not issue a warrant. Then if he was in the wrong a warrant can be obtained.
Renaldo,
Here’s how our system works: [1] if there’s overwhelming evidence of a crime; [2] and if there’s overwhelming evidence pointing to a perp; [3] then a complaint is filed by a local prosecutor before a court on behalf of plaintiff, which could be individual or state, alleging [1] and [2].
The court decides if [1] and [2] are compelling enough to issue an arrest warrant.
They don’t check with the alleged perp’s employer first to see if it’s okay.
What kind of magistrate issues a warrant on a Police Officer for Brandishing a firearm? Why was he charged yet the internal investigation has not even started? Talk about premature, thats the second time ive heard today in the news about a Chesterfield commonwealth dropping the ball.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement