Community fights return of cop who kicked man in head

Matthew Albright | The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

DOVER, Del. -- Dover Police Cpl. Thomas Webster IV may have been found not guilty of assault, but he should not be allowed to return to service in the city, residents and activists told the City Council on Monday night.

Doing so would endanger trust between the police department and the city's citizens that the two sides have worked hard to build, they said.

"There's going to be a disconnect, and we're going to have to rebuild trust all over again," the Rev. Rita Paige said. "We don't want our young people to be fearful and afraid of those who are supposed to be protecting them."

Last week, Webster was found not guilty of felony assault in an August 2013 incident in which he kicked 29-year-old Lateef Dickerson in the head as Dickerson appeared to be obeying Webster's and another officer's commands to get on the ground.

The kick, caught on police dashcam video, knocked Dickerson out cold and fractured his jaw. Dickerson had fled from another officer who was breaking up a fight.

Some in Delaware's African-American community say the kick was clearly an excessive use of force, tying it to high-profile incidents elsewhere in the country in which young black men were killed by police officers.

Those incidents were amplified after a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in the summer of 2014. Other incidents have kept the debate and the Black Lives Matter movement growing.

A 12-person jury with two black members found Webster not guilty last week. Webster's attorney had argued that Webster's actions were justified in order to get a suspect into custody.

In a public comment period at Monday night's City Council meeting that lasted more than 45 minutes, several speakers said the verdict was an "injustice."

"I don't believe that our officers are trained to use NFL-style field goal kicks to restrain suspects," said La Mar Gunn, president of the Central Delaware NAACP.

Gunn described the city police department as "mighty fine" and "one of the best in the land," but said the Dover community would lose faith if Webster returned to its ranks.

"There has been no unrest or chaos because people are trusting you to do the right thing," Gunn said, referring to the time since the verdict. "But there is a court of the streets, of which I'm not a member of the jury. And I would be afraid for his safety if he were to be reinstated."

Several speakers directly addressed council members and Mayor Robin Christiansen, saying the community was leaning on them to "do the right thing."

"Just the way you can get rid of that officer, we can vote you in or we can vote you out," Paige said. "That's not a threat; that's a promise."

Dave Gist, an officer with the Fraternal Order of Police, said Webster has been placed on unpaid leave, not fired, and said the department needs to follow state rules for hiring and firing employees.

Gist pointed out that one grand jury had already declined to indict Webster before newly minted Attorney General Matt Denn called a second one. The second one indicted Webster on second-degree assault charges. Gist said that means multiple juries of Webster's peers had found the officer not guilty.

"It's a shame we're taking a criminal matter and turning it into a race matter. It's not about race; it's about crime," Gist said. "We don't prosecute somebody based on a 10-second video."

The council was supposed to vote Monday to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police, but voted unanimously to postpone that vote until next month.

"We've heard from the community tonight, and emotions are running high," said Councilman James Hosfeldt Jr., who made the motion to postpone the vote.

Several of the public speakers called for the council to reconsider that bargaining agreement in light of the controversy.

"We're not going away," Lilian Rogers said. "We are determined to have justice, and we are determined to have fairness, and we are determined to have it from this body."

Follow Matthew Albright on Twitter: @TNJ_malbright