http://66.225.205.104/LM20101123.mp3
Some of the personnel information of fired CMPD Officer Marcus Jackson has been released. Jackson is accused of crimes against six women that include sexual battery, extortion and kidnapping. Police say he committed these crimes while on duty. A judge decided yesterday that the public should have access to those records immediately. Judge Orders Release Of Jackson Termination Letter The personnel information doesn't say much about Jackson that isn't already known. His termination letter says he was fired because of conduct unbecoming an officer. Then, it goes into some detail on two of the allegations against him. The information includes the dates and number of his suspensions. It shows the rookie police officer racked up two of them before he was fired last December. This contradicts what Police Chief Rodney Monroe said shortly after Jackson's arrest and termination. "I'm aware of one time, one incident that he's been suspended for and that involved speed, operating a vehicle outside of policy," said Monroe. About a month after that statement, WFAE obtained a memo that showed Jackson was suspended a second time in November of 2009 after a domestic dispute. In the memo CMPD's Internal Affairs chief says Officer Jackson should've been charged with a crime in that case. WFAE has asked Monroe and CMPD's public affairs office several times why the chief said Jackson only had one suspension. We asked again last night after the files were made public and are still waiting for a reply. The subject of Jackson's personnel file ended up in Mecklenburg Superior Court yesterday because of a new state law that took effect October 1st. That law makes portions of public employees' personnel records subject to the state's open records laws. Jackson's attorney asked a judge to delay the release of his termination letter until the case is resolved. Here's Public Defender Kevin Tully. "Allowing the disclosure at this time would violate the defendant's constitutional rights to a fair and impartial trial," said Tully. The Charlotte Observer's attorney Jon Buchan argued against the delay. "The public needs to know how our public agencies are managed, how our public employers manage their public employees who are paid by taxpayer dollars and they determined this limited information is what should be released," said Buchan. Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin decided to release Jackson's personnel information right away. He said there are other ways to ensure a fair trial, such as changing the trial's venue, than holding back a public document. September 14, 2009 Internal Affairs Memo November 5, 2009 Internal Affairs Memo