UPDATE: Dover PD releases video of alleged officer incident
The dash cam recording that led to the indictment of Dover Police officer Corporal Thomas Webster on Monday is now public.
Almost two years since the incident, Dover Police released the graphic video that shows Webster kicking Lateef Dickerson as he begins to comply to his commands.
“Once we realized the video was a matter of public record we decided in the sake of transparency to release the video,” says Lieutenant Jason Pires with the Dover Police Department.
Police say a federal judge ruled that the dash cam video was no longer confidential back on April 27th. At that time, Corporal Webster had been back full-time with Dover police for almost a year, but police say they had no idea that his case was being re-investigated.
They originally placed him on paid administrative leave in November of 2013 after reviewing the video and handed it over to the Delaware Attorney General’s Office. In March of 2014, a grand jury made the decision not to indict Webster. Then the United States Attorney’s Office reviewed it and found no civil rights violation.
Afterwards, Dover Police say they completed their own investigation and found that Webster’s actions were outside of their policy. They say they took the appropriate action, but Webster was back on full time by June 2014 until he was indicted on the incident this week.
“It is our hope that by release of this video that the entire city realizes the actions we have taken are in the interest of public safety as well as the transparency that is expected of us,” says Mayor Robin Christiansen.
Why the police department decided to release the video is clear.
However, what is still unclear, is why Webster was not fired for an incident police admit was outside of policy.
When Lieutenant Pires was asked about the reasoning, on Thursday, he said, “We did everything we could, we investigated the complaint, we did our due diligence as a police department. We can’t discuss any of the internal affairs matters it’s protected by the Police Bill of Rights but we did what we’re supposed to do.”
Webster is currently on unpaid administrative leave as the legal process plays out, which police say will determine his future with the department.
He will appear in Kent County Circuit Court on May 28th for a case review.
Webster and the city of Dover are also facing a civil lawsuit with the ACLU of Delaware.
After hearing about the video release, Kathleen MacRae, executive director, said to 47 ABC in a statement, “We believe that the video demonstrates the need for large-scale reform of the Dover Police Department, specifically improvements to their use of force and internal affairs practices, and supervision of their officers. The people of Dover have a right to know about this incident and deserve a dialogue with law enforcement about how they can create a safe and equitable Dover community for all.”
The President of the Dover Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15, David Gist, also released the following statement:
“The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15 takes great pride in protecting and serving the Dover community and does not take that responsibility lightly. We continue to support Thomas Webster and his family, but understand why his actions were outside of department policy. The Dover Police Department took appropriate administrative action upon completion of its investigation. A grand jury failed to indict Webster in March of 2014. The United States Attorney’s Office decided that Webster did not violate the subject’s civil rights. The decision by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office to take the case before a second grand jury over a year after the initial grand jury presentment, without new evidence is puzzling; however we will allow the justice system to work appropriately. We will not have any further comment at this time.”
Dover Police say they also warned city leaders, store owners, and schools about the release of the video on Thursday as a pre-caution, not because of any threats.
“It’s obviously a concern with the lawlessness we’ve seen across the country, so that was the message, that there’s a video that could come out that could be controversial, that is controversial.”
