A Knoxville police officer acted appropriately last weekend when he arrested a University of Tennessee football player, a review of the incident concluded Tuesday.
Officer Sam Henard charged offensive lineman Anthony Parker with disorderly conduct at 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Parker was released from jail after arranging for his $500 bond to be posted by a bail bonding company. Parker is slated to be arraigned Feb. 6 in Knox County General Sessions Court.
Parker’s arrest prompted several calls to Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV raising questions about the way Henard handled the incident.
One of those calls, Owen said, came Saturday afternoon from UT coach Phillip Fulmer. Owen said a comment attributed to him in Tuesday’s News Sentinel stating the chief had not been contacted by anybody from UT about the arrest was a misunderstanding of the question put to him.
Fulmer asked the chief to review the arrest because of questions raised with him about the incident, Owen said.
“There was absolutely no attempt to influence the case, only a request to review the arrest, which we did,” Owen said Tuesday.
The chief said he would react the same way no matter who was charged if citizens raise questions about an incident.
“I handled this case the same as I would any other,” Owen said.
KPD Capt. David Rausch. at Owen’s request, reviewed witnesses’ statements, statements from the involved officers and audio and video recordings from the officers’ in-cruiser cameras.
“The evidence shows that the officers acted appropriately and in accordance to the law,” states a release from KPD.
“Any citizen that fails to follow the direction of an officer is subject to arrest. The actions of Mr. Parker and his failure to comply with the officers’ demands is what resulted in his arrest.”
Owen said he briefed Henard on Tuesday about the findings of the review.
Henard is a courtesy officer at Sutters Mill Apartments. Apartment complexes regularly offer law enforcement officers a rental discount if the officer will help maintain security at the property.
A Sutters Mill Apartments employee woke Henard on Saturday morning about a disturbance in the parking lot, police said. Court records show Henard ordered Parker to stop yelling and to leave the area. Parker and several friends had been visiting some female residents of the apartments, an employee of Sutters Mill Apartments said.
Parker started to comply with Henard’s order, but then resumed his yelling and waving his arms, records show. Parker also tried to entice other men in a vehicle to join him in parking lot, records state.
Henard made the arrest on Parker, but other officers had to be called to transport the football player to jail and to file paperwork on the incident.
Don Jacobs may be reached at 865-342-6345.
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Comments » 73
TommyJack writes:
Can you say, "digging up a snake to kill it"?
UT_Tim writes:
"Any citizen that fails to follow the direction of an officer is subject to arrest," states a release from KPD.
'The actions of Mr. Parker and his failure to comply with the officers' demands is what resulted in his arrest.'
Food for thought
TommyJack writes:
So be it. Move out.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
What an indepth investigation. I had a "grassy knoll" theory all ready to go and, dang. I was prepared to introduce global warming as a defense. I had Tngeoff and TommyJack all lined up as witnesses, with a small retainer fee, of course. Dang.
Getting harder to spin anything. My coup de grace was to blame Tdtn for singlehandedly derailing recruiting. Dang. Nothing is aa it seems. No tooth fairy! Dang. Next Mother Goose, tomorrow Santa Claus. Nothing is sacred.
They'll probably say Red Riding Hood seduced the wolf. Beat Bama.
txsvol#372416 writes:
Times Free Press article said that the officer was off duty, but was 'courtesy' security for the apartment complex, and asleep at 12:30 am, when there was a lot of noise. tngeoff confirms that he lives in the apartment, and there was a lot of noise. The KPD officer asked everybody to leave, and while Parker got into his car, he returned to have a loud confrontatioon with the officer, which led to his arrest. Probably CPF wanted to know whether the guy was in uniform, his pajamas, or dressed somewhere in-between. Still, Parker should have left the scene. The odor of marijuana was in the air, according to the report. SAVol
ctownvol writes:
pd-She really was asking for it. This coming straight from the wolf's mouth. He's my second cousin twice removed. And anytime tngeoff or tommyjack can't be a witness... sign me up!
TommyJack writes:
PD: I'm here to serve. Pro Bono or free. Which ever is less. :)
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Is a "police officer" ever wrong when a case is reviewed? Only if there was someone with a video camera.
Should a paid officer use the power of his badge that the public entrusts him with to enforce the rules as he sees them on another job? It is one thing to make an arrest off duty as a bystander, but it seems to be wrong to act as cop to help your second private employer so you can get money. I hope the kid beats this.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Maybe the officer should have "cop" tattoed across his forehead so everyone will know he is one even in his pajamas or underwear.
rabidvol1998 writes:
The more I read the less I know. Just publish the arrest report and let us all read it and make up our own mind.
Somebody report, we'll decide.
smokey90 writes:
"Any citizen that fails to follow the direction of an officer is subject to arrest," is not a true statement. A citizen must break a statutory law before arrested. Besides this was an off duty officer, which poses questions concerning the arrest.
Nonetheless KPD did not give the arrest much investigation. I would like to know what witnesses complained about.
agentorange writes:
for all you who think cut leaving had anything to do with anything. this is from today:
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Two Duke University football players face misdemeanor charges for a weekend incident at a Durham nightclub.
Officers reported seeing football player Eron Riley hit another person at Club 9 early Saturday morning. After officers arrested him for fighting, a police report said a "rowdy" crowd of at least 75 people gathered.
The report said officers repeatedly asked the crowd to scatter before arresting football player Austin Kelly for failure to disperse and for resisting and obstructing officers.
Riley is a junior wide receiver with the Blue Devils. Kelly is freshman wide receiver.
cdldoc#211897 writes:
Can someone define "courtesy security"? Can I do cop stuff if I declare myself Courtesy Security? Am I Courtesy Security if I act like a cop for a reduction in my rent? Who appoints Courtesy Security? I need to find them so I can get a rent reduction.
GoVol writes:
Coach PF - make the team run further this time....keep trying until they get the message. good luck!
waterskier3#226480 writes:
txvol..... don't put facts or quotes on here... people will say they are lies all lies..... everyone will say the TFP has it out for UT football also just like espn... its coming :)
where there's smoke there's UT football players.... pass the bong man!!!!! spring practice is coming up :)
GreerVol22 writes:
Treat the entire team to "All you can eat ribs" at Calhouns, and then immediately make them run to Ayers Hall. Last one there loses their scholarship. Curahee!!!
GreerVol22 writes:
That's a Band of Brothers reference for all you hippies.
smokey90 writes:
Just because a officer makes a charge does not make it true until a court decides. Remember Johnson was charge with a felony, which was drastically dropped at court. That must have been embarrassing for the officer in that case.
BobbyGraham writes:
Was this guy like Dwight Shrute from The Office? Maybe he was a volunteer Sherrif's Deputy.
budrhon writes:
We must comply or be assimilated - Borg Police have spoken,lol
bigbluevol writes:
Geoff - isn't it possible that he could have called in order to find out the details? I mean, he could have wanted to gather all the information before he issued his all so important statement. You don't know that Fulmer had others call and Fulmer didn't deny that he called. That denial was issued by the police. Accusing Fulmer of interfering with a police investigation or instigating one without facts is tantamount to the same level of conspiracy theory that you were so upset about in regards to people being angry at the cops.
TommyJack writes:
Geoff: You burnin another spleef?
rabidvol1998 writes:
Coach makes it clear he treats the "kids" like they are their own. If one of our kids was arrested under similar circumstances we would call also. If we were able to get the chief, that's who we would want to talk to.
Just conjecture, but Fulmer was a lot faster to speak on the other issues, which were more serious, I'm gussing there is a difference in what is being reported and what AP says happened. Sounds like enough witnesses to get it straight though.
P.S. Recruiting is trending up, but I guess that was the only direction it could.
bigbluevol writes:
Geoff- I'm not trying to personally attack you, so I apologize if that came across as harsh.
TommyJack writes:
Geoff: He's still with Les Miles.
mwm1955#226723 writes:
KPD what farse has been forever
ctownvol writes:
bigblue- Don't worry 'bout ol geoff. He's not the kind to take it personal. Pretty good guy. At least that's how I got him figured.
thesavageorange writes:
TommyJack ,geoff is right.Hey geoff, since you travel so much, if you see that ole dragon flying around give him a fritter , and tell him he's needed.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Tngeoff -I've never heard of an odd ogg getting himself in a situation like this. Had this officer kicked a little gravel, ogg would have rolled forward and devoured him. I can see the headline now - "Ogg Offs Officer". Its a beautiful thing the ogg was not there.
Man, can you see an ogg eyeing a sleepy Phil. Or carrying a hungry ogg into Ralph's don-nut shop with the fritter counter open. Beat Bama.
ctownvol writes:
geoff- You're welcome. Yes. That is indeed what we want. And god bless us... one in all.
Beat Bama.
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
Do you all realize that this site (meaning the posters) are a bunch of attention seekers and attention givers? Some of the attention seekers have even made a name for themselves (almost to "rock star" proportions. I picture in my mind a VolsXtra reader who has never posted the first message but reads the site daily who knows all about the musings of TDTN, TJ, PDHuff, Waterskier, TnGeoff VolCR et al as if they were actors on a stage. Even I, a somewhat regular poster, feel like I'm watching "Days of Our Lives" on this forum.
LOL I am not insenuating anything or placing judgement. I'm just making an observation about the "culture" of this forum.
Example: At first I though PDHuff was a jerk. After reading many of his posts, I'm not sure I still don't think he's a jerk...but at least I can say he's a FUNNY jerk. I respect a good sense of humor.
TnGeoff, as I have said many times, seems genuine. passionate about UT football. That's admirable. I do hear a voice of reason even if he does seem to slam to the extreme at times.
I have seen some reason from TommyJack and a few others too. TDTN is just getting his kicks from the attention, but I can tell he's probably not a bad guy.
VolCR, (and maybe a few others) are the only ones I have yet to find something positive to say about. VolCR is the perfect illustration for why women "used to be seen and not heard" in the company of men. PMS anyone?
ctownvol writes:
or else you may wind up a horny toad...
Beat Bama! Get recruits! Go vols! RTYAB! Hold on to the fritter!
Beware of Big Dan! And stay out of the Woolworths!
TommyJack writes:
vol_in_LSU: Sometimes you got to laugh to keep from cryin. Culturally speaking.
pms151 writes:
vol_in_lsu_land
PMS
You rang? Here I am . What I think is that most all of us in here want one thing..Tennessee on top. We all disagree on how to get it. Sure there are alliances in here as there are wanna be "rock stars" looking for groupies in any part of life. Many of us are so passionate that we have been banned numerous times because of it. But I submit to all of you [minus a few who come here only to start a fight] that we are all brothers and sisters in the same family. Soldiers of the Big Orange, if you will. And that's why we all agree that it is ok to disagree.
Ironcity writes:
Why mention that Fulmer was one of the people asking for an investigation. I think its an example of how KPD is trying to embarress the team and the coach. I think its no ones business as to who requested the follow-up. I didn't see the names of any of the others who requested the follow up.
pms151 writes:
I think that Fulmer was doing the right thing by inquiring about this. Anyone who has had to deal with kids in minor trouble like this knows that is instinct to follow up on it. If my kid came home and told me what just happened to him in his own words I wouldn't hesitate to make that call to get the other perspective. Would any of you? Fulmer is tasked with that responsibility by the parents of these kids and he lived up to it.
pms151 writes:
Thanks tngeoff. But f I still ain't your groupie pal. LOL
ctownvol writes:
great link geoff.
Hot damn! It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!
Holy moly! These boys are a hit! I love it! Have a good one guys. I'm out. The wife is yelling at me...Again!
Beat Bama!!!!!!!!!
invisiblekid writes:
I just can't wait to see more details on this story as it develops.
invisiblekid writes:
Vol_in_LSU_Land, guess I'll have to crank up my posting efforts to make your All-Star team next year. Just kidding, it is a strange organism this GoVols forum.
badgeman writes:
So it seems most of you want to blame the police every time a UT player gets in trouble..if Mr.Parker had gone inside or left like the rest of the people did, it would have been over and none of you would have even known about it. If an officer is called to a disturbance, it is our job to solve the problem. If you tell people to leave or quiet down or whatever, and they refuse, what else can we do but arrest? If there was no recourse to disobeying the police, then why do we have police or laws for that matter? And by the way, KPD officers have had run-ins with UT players hundreds of times and rarely arrest them. The public just doesnt find out about those times. The only ones you hear about are the arrests, and that only occurs probably 1% of the time. We arent a bunch of hotheads arresting every player we deal with, believe me, or there would be an arrest almost daily.
dave1#220678 writes:
TJ....now we have yelled at and waived the fritter in a parking lot...who knew that was illegal?.....waiting anxiously for what we come up with next for the fritter....
badgeman writes:
Dupree, I'd like to see you put on the uniform and do the job. You'd probably run like a schoolgirl if you had to actually lay hands on somebody. And by the way, most "Barney" police officers probably are more educated than you.
ctownvol writes:
invisiblekid-Let me know what you think we should do to make the team. I want in too.
invisiblekid writes:
ctown, I am thinking face painting and no less than 600 word dissertations on all things Orange as a start. Also looking for my own catch phrase a la "pound the fritter". A classic like that doesn't come every day.
Thanks Geoff and everyone, we may squabble but in the end we all bleed Orange, well almost everyone.
Badgeman, I don't speak for anyone but myself on this but your efforts are appreciated. I know if I had to worry about a potential meth head on every call taking shots at me I'd be a little uptight. There are exceptions to every rule but most cops I have met and know are doing it for the right reasons.
pms151 writes:
badgeman, I have got to say this: In all due respect to you as an officer of the peace, many of us from Knoxville find it hard to believe anything said by the employees of the city or county. Just by reading the KNS articles and posts about county and city government there is no accountability. So why should we believe the KPD or KNS for that matter) ? I don't live there anymore, but things don't seem to have changed in the last 20 years since I graduated. I know this is the wrong forum for this and that I will probably get fragged for posting, but just think about it. This is a national forum for Vol fans, not just a local thing. It's not cop against us it is UT football.
ctownvol writes:
invisible- I'll go ahead and get started on my dissertation. I'll let ya know when it's ready for proofreading. I've already got the face paint and I will certainly work on some catch phrases. I actually was part of the bifurcating conversation the night it originated... maybe that counts? I'll check with geoff and see on that. Keep the faith brother. We'll get there!
pms151 writes:
Good night guys Happy Hour is over for me. Time for Round Ball.
badgeman writes:
pms151,
Most local cops are Vol fans, too. And remember, there is a big difference between a politician or elected official and a police officer. I have big problems with our local government too, and I am a peon just as you and everyone else when it comes to distrusting our county government (and remember, the city, who KPD works for, hasnt had the issues lately, it is the county government). I didnt mean to start a political or legal discussion, I just posted because most of the comments I read are wrong and it's hard to sit by while people trash your profession without knowing the facts or knowing what we do every day. Believe me, most cops hate dirty cops more than anyone. Blaming us for these recent arrests is misguided - like I stated before, we could've arrested UT players many more times than we have, I promise you. If you people got to see some of the stuff we see, you might not be as big supporters of the team as you are. Although I know all big time programs have these same problems, but their local media may not be as good as ours at finding it out.
vol_in_lsu_land writes:
I'll reiterate that my "observation" wasn't meant to be a judgement, just my analytical self making a comment.
Thanks for welcoming me to the "dysfunctional" family Geoff LOL!!!! I'll be sure to take my Prozac to keep it between the ditches.
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