CHARLOTTE POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN

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Run-ins with law
part of suspect's past KYTJA WEIR AND GARY L. WRIGHTkweir@charlotteobserver.com function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery

• Kevin Siers | Tribute to fallen officer
• Jeffrey Shelton | Post condolences, memories
• Sean Clark | Post condolences, memories
• Timeline | The suspect's record
• Where children play, and violence looms
• `Our hearts are broken'
• Sympathy offered in varied ways
• Appeals may be ending for '93 killer
• Slain in line of duty

SAYING GOODBYE
Sean Clark
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Thursday.

Jeff Shelton
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Friday.

•All events except burials are at Calvary Church, 5801 Pineville-Matthews Road in Charlotte.
HOW OFFICERS HAVE BEEN KILLED
In the United States in 2005, the latest year for which data was available: •55 law enforcement officers were killed in 53 incidents.
•15 officers were slain during traffic pursuits or traffic stops.
•Eight officers were killed during arrest situations.
•Eight officers were killed when ambushed.
•30 of the 50 officers killed with firearms were wearing body armor when they were fatally wounded.
•28 of the 55 slain officers worked for departments in the South, more than all other regions of the country combined.
The 25-year-old man accused of gunning down two police officers over the weekend is a high school dropout and father of two who had accrued a record of confrontation with police starting at age 16.
His arrest history includes running from police, resisting arrest and bumping an officer in the chest.
But Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, had never been charged with a felony as an adult in North Carolina until Sunday. He now faces two first-degree murder counts.
Officers Jeff Shelton, 35, and Sean Clark, 34, were shot about 11:15 p.m. Saturday at the Timber Ridge apartment complex in east Charlotte during a struggle after they responded to an unrelated domestic disturbance call.
It was the first time in more than a decade that a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was slain in the line of duty.
As the community reels from the news, a possible motive remains unclear. But details emerged Monday about Montgomery.
The N.C. native has been convicted three times for assault -- once on a female and twice on a government official. He's also been convicted three times for resisting an officer and once for larceny.
He has never served a day in an N.C. prison, but he has spent time in the Mecklenburg jail.
Family members have told the Observer that he has been stressed since his mother died in a fire last year. Police and local fire officials said they have not been able to confirm which fire, but said they have no reason to doubt his family.
The Observer contacted some of Montgomery's relatives, but they declined to comment further. However, police have said they are cooperating fully with investigators.
Police also declined to comment directly about Montgomery on Monday, saying they are still investigating and don't want to jeopardize the case.
The Observer has pieced together details about the man through police reports, court records and interviews.
A trail of charges
Montgomery, whose first name is sometimes spelled Demetrius in police records, was born in Mecklenburg County in 1981.He attended South Mecklenburg High but dropped out in 1999 as an 11th grader, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said.
He does not appear to have ties to local gangs. He is not listed in the Police Department's gang database, said Sgt. Donn Belz.
Montgomery has lived at addresses in Pineville and homes around Charlotte. He also appears to have lived in Colorado in 2001 and 2002.
A trail of misdemeanor criminal charges followed his moves, many involving resistance against authorities.
•Before he dropped out of South Meck, Montgomery was arrested in 1998, charged with larceny and resisting a public officer. He was 16. Juvenile records for children under 16 are not public so it's not clear if that was his first run-in with law enforcement.
•In 2004, he was arrested when a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer said he spotted him speeding out of an apartment complex and pulled him over.
In an affidavit, the police officer said Montgomery started yelling out the window as he was pulled over and asked why the officer was harassing him.
When the police officer asked for his driver's license, Montgomery began yelling, got out of the car and rushed toward the officer, according to the affidavit. The officer wrote that Montgomery "came face to face" with him and bumped him in the chest.
The officer told Montgomery to put his hands on the hood of the patrol car.
He recalled Montgomery's words: "You are a small man and I am going to hurt you."
Jail records list Montgomery as 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 180 pounds.
The officer wrote that he felt Montgomery would carry out his threat.
Backup officers were called to the scene. The officer said Montgomery continued to be combative and had to be physically restrained.
Montgomery pleaded guilty to the assault charge. The communicating threats and resisting arrest charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 45 days for assault on a government official.
•Also in 2004, Montgomery was arrested for hitting the mother of his two children. The police report said he punched the woman on the side of the face several times at their northeast Charlotte apartment, leaving red marks and a bloodshot eye. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, which records show he violated in 2005.
The woman has since moved from North Carolina, public records show. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
•Last year, Montgomery was convicted of having an open container of beer on a public street and resisting arrest.
In an affidavit, the arresting officer reported pulling up beside Montgomery after spotting him drinking a bottle of beer while walking. The officer told Montgomery that he could not have an open container in public and directed him to pour the rest of the beer out.
Montgomery, the officer said, drank the rest of the beer.
When informed of his arrest, Montgomery ran, the officer said.
The officer caught up to him a block away. Montgomery was charged with having an open container and resisting an officer. Montgomery pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to three days in jail.
Protective custody
Before his most recent arrest, Montgomery was living with his grandmother in southeast Charlotte near Mint Hill, records show.
That's just over four miles from the apartments where Shelton and Clark were shot Saturday. It's not clear why Montgomery might have been at the complex that night.
Neighbors of his grandmother said he would often ride his bicycle around her neighborhood alone. They also said they never noticed Montgomery hanging out with others.
Montgomery is being held without bond at Mecklenburg County's central jail in uptown, jail records show.
Officials were holding him in protective custody -- both for his safety and the safety of the jail's detention officers, Mecklenburg Sheriff's Office's spokeswoman Julia Rush said.
Detention officers have been checking on Montgomery every 15 minutes. Rush said he's been lying on his mattress or pacing. He is slated to appear in court for his first court appearance today.
CHARLOTTE POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN
Have a Tip?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are still gathering evidence on Saturday's fatal shootings of Officer Sean Clark and Officer Jeff Shelton. They ask anyone who saw the shooting or has information about it to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Staff writers Dánica Coto and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Staff Librarian Marion Paynter contributed.

Courteousy of the Charlotte Observer www.charlotte.com

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I am a NC native and quite disappointed that this Idiot was even on the streets . He must have gone past a series of liberal judges to get the light punishments he received . NC needs to follow VA with the no parole rules and stiffer sentances for crimes . These light punishments give these guys the impression that they can get away with almost anything. Would this guy have acted differently if he had done some real time , who knows ? Good chance he would have been in the Pen. anyway and this would not have happened . I am sure the antis will be in front of the cameras to denounce those awful Guns , but the Judges that put him back on the street are to blame .

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If he had been prosecuted and sentenced according to NC statutes he would still be in prison. Twice convicted of assault on a government official, he wasn't scared of anything. His arraignment was today, he was a total a$#hole. The guy will get the needle, it's all a matter of when. He deserves the same fate of his victims. Seems we are to liberal or progressive or civilized of a society to return the "favor" and I only use that lightly. No I didn't know either officer, but they both had ties to my home town. It seems like a part of this community died 13 years ago when Burnett and Nobles were guned down in a similar situation. Again this has cut deep and I don't think this is where I want to spend my life, I surely wouldn't raise a family here. I hate it for the guy's family, but you don't just go around shooting people in the back of the head. CMPD seems to think they have their man and he acted alone. I support that and hope he gets a seriously speedy trial. Justice will only be served here when this guy is buried, likely in a paupers grave. I just the rest of the gangbangers in Charlotte and surrounding communities know that the bs is over. The tolerance of the community has come to an end. It was residents of the apartment complex that turned this guy in. In closing here, let us never forget the ones who daily put on the badge and gun and leave a family who may never see them again, a wife and children , and in this case a baby, not yet born, who will never know it's father. We seem to forget that even though they have the authority, they also make the sacrifice to try to keep us safe. May not so much individually, but definately as a collective whole if we did not have law men who enforced the law, lawlessness such as this would be much more prevelant. Sorry for taking so much time and space here.

Have a good day.
Matt

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You were not excessive at all , once the dust has settled the local community will have to call out the judges that had returned this predator to the streets . Many people will not think of this angle until it is repeatedly putout into the public domain . I will watch the news for notice of his trial but it may not get much coverage in the news here (DC Metro) . If you can keep the story alive hereon this site .Perhaps you could post a link for the local paper for e-mails/letters to the editor .

Best Regards ,

CS

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The problem is that you can't return an unrehabilitated criminal into society and expect good citizenship from him; an unrehabilitated criminal is still a criminal. He will commit more crimes.

Our justice system is fundamentally flawed because it achieves none of the purposes of criminal justice, which are:

1. Punishment. Our system doesn't really punish; it coddles them in confinement.

2. Restitution. There is very little effort to make criminals pay back the victim for his loss.

3. Deterrence. Our prisons are often more comfortable (emotionally and physically) for the criminals than the environment in which they live. They aren't deterred by our "punishment." They mock it.

4. Rehabilitation. They might get counseling. They might get a lecture and a wagging finger, but they don't change.

A man who steals ought to be whipped. Then he ought to be made to pay back the victim, plus a penalty. If he can't pay it, he'll have to work it off -- put him under the authority and command of the victim until he makes it right.

A man who molests a child ought to be executed. He's not fit to live, and it's not worth the effort to rehabilitate him. Same for rapists, kidnappers, and murderers.

Our current system is totally inhumane. It places human beings in cages, gives them comforts in confinement (like rats), and does nothing to restore them to usefulness, productivity, and moral worth. It just churns them back out into society without fixing their problem, all while claiming to be more "humane" than a whipping. It's absurd. No, it's not merely absurd. It's frankly wicked. :banghead:

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The website for the local paper - The Charlotte Observer - is http://www.charlotte.com

The email for the letter's to the editor is opinion@charlotteobserver.com

Something needs to happen here. People need to understand that this is the kind of people we have running loose on our streets and it's time to stop being afraid, it's time to stop hating just because someone is white or black, it's time to truly come together as a community and fight the gangs, fight the unneccessary killing. Until it all stops though, we should be prepared to protect ourselves. It was proven in this case that even some instances the police can't protect themselves much less the general public. This is all the more reason to buy a weapon, regardless of handgun, shotgun or rifle, and learn how and when to use it. Guns aren't the problem, people are the problem. Until we enforce the laws and abid by the sentencing guidlines this is what happens. I do blame the judges for these senseless murders. If he had been given the maximum time allowed for assault on an officer he would still be locked up. Now we have to have the nerve to demand he recieve justice. The only justice here is his life. If he has a problem with that, he should have thought about it before shooting two men in the back of the head.

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LeagueOf1291 wrote:

The problem is that you can't return an unrehabilitated criminal into society and expect good citizenship from him; an unrehabilitated criminal is still a criminal. He will commit more crimes.

Our justice system is fundamentally flawed because it achieves none of the purposes of criminal justice, which are:

1. Punishment. Our system doesn't really punish; it coddles them in confinement.

2. Restitution. There is very little effort to make criminals pay back the victim for his loss.

3. Deterrence. Our prisons are often more comfortable (emotionally and physically) for the criminals than the environment in which they live. They aren't deterred by our "punishment." They mock it.

4. Rehabilitation. They might get counseling. They might get a lecture and a wagging finger, but they don't change.

A man who steals ought to be whipped. Then he ought to be made to pay back the victim, plus a penalty. If he can't pay it, he'll have to work it off -- put him under the authority and command of the victim until he makes it right.

A man who molests a child ought to be executed. He's not fit to live, and it's not worth the effort to rehabilitate him. Same for rapists, kidnappers, and murderers.

Our current system is totally inhumane. It places human beings in cages, gives them comforts in confinement (like rats), and does nothing to restore them to usefulness, productivity, and moral worth. It just churns them back out into society without fixing their problem, all while claiming to be more "humane" than a whipping. It's absurd. No, it's not merely absurd. It's frankly wicked. :banghead:

Click to expand...

I totally agree with this. After having read it all the way through a few times. What I don't understand is the hate. In the 1960's, white males were either members of the clan or I guess thought to be. Blacks were intimidated and even killed or beat down like dogs. We seem to be looking at a total reversal, though no clan if you will, but gang activity amounts to the same thing. Black's are breed to hate whites. This is not racism, but a statement of fact. If takes a very large amount of hatred for society to shot two police officer in the back of the head, twice each. This is a cowards way of killing, but still full of hate and anger. May some think they have been dealt a raw deal. I believe some have. Further, I believe some, both black, white and now hispanic, choose the path's they take in life. This may lead to success in business, family and civic lives. Still others take a path that leads to gangs, violence and eventually death. This cycle if you will, must be stopped. A truce between the races must be called and the community must be mended. Individuals such as (Rev.)Al Sharpton, (Rev.)Jesse Jackson and others, seem to do nothing more than stir up more hatred between blacks and others. The white supremecists don't have much voice anymore, if any, and are therefore a non-issue. I firmly believe that this situation could have been prevented, by this man's mother, by the leaders of the black community and by society as a whole. We must strive to live together in peace, while knowing that there are those who's seemingly only goal is to disrupt or shatter that peace. This is my only hope, that what was once a great state, a truly great nation, will once again attain greatness. This hope will only be recognized if, by some great miricle, all parties involved come together and make it happen as one. I can only hope that these are the last senseless line of duty deaths, but I know it may well only be the beginning. The killing must stop, the criminals must be put behind bars and justice must be served. Until that happens no one, from the officer on the beat to the baby in the crib is safe. We can not continue to put it off, it is our problem and if not dealt with will result in complete and utter chaos and anarchy across this country. If the criminals are allowed to roam free, as in this case, everyone becomes a target and until the Criminal Justice system wakes up and truly seeks justice once again we will remain in this peril. A plan must be developed and carried out to mend the communities across the country and the gangs pushed out. This is not only a problem for law enforcement, but for every citizen of every state in this country. We all have an active part to play and until we do, this is what we have to expect. These people are not welcome and can not be allowed to thrive on our young people, they can not be allowed to push drugs in our neighborhoods and schools and they can not be allowed to threaten and intimidate those law abiding citizens who live and work to make this country the best d*mn place in the world to be.

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If the Four Horsemen haven't left the barn yetthen they are definately Saddled Up and getting ready to ride . This trend will be very hard to reverse , I am not saying we should not try though .