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THE LEADER THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014 ▪ VO L . 1 2 9 , N O. 3 5 ▪ T H E VO I C E O F TIPTON COUNTY S I N C E 1 8 8 6 ▪
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Officers cleared in 2013 shootings By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Tipton County deputies and Covington police officers were cleared this week in two officer-involved shootings from 2013. Hearing evidence in the incidences where 26-year-old Jake Ramsey Maese-Murphy and 69-year-old Natella Ruth Blackwell were fatally shot last fall, the Tipton County Grand Jury agreed with the findings and recommendations of both the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation and the district attorney that the use of deadly force by the officers was justified, proper and necessary to stop the further threat of deadly violence being presented at the time. “There is no question that the deputies acted legally, appropriately and just as they were trained to do when confronted with such a dangerous and unpredictable situation,” said district attorney Mike Dunavant. On Oct. 26, 2013, deputies were conducting a probation
OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS There have been four recent officer-involved shootings in Tipton County. In June 2012, Richard Rykiel was shot and killed by a deputy after charging at him with a knife. A month later, Charles "Scooter" McRaven was killed by deputies after he refused orders to disarm himself. In October 2013, Jake Maese-Murphy was killed by deputies after threatening them first with a knife, then by telling them he had a gun. Eight days later, in November, Natella Ruth Blackwell threatened police with a gun and was shot several times. All officers involved have been cleared. There have been no officerinvolved shootings in 2014.
compliance check on Watkins Road in Drummonds when confronted by Murphy. They were there to make sure Murphy's father, Gerald, was abid-
ing by the rules of his probation when Jake, armed with a knife at the back of the house, confronted and threatened the deputies.
Deputies tased the 26-yearold who responded by removing the probes and running out of the house. Jake was then at the front of the house, telling deputies he had a gun, when he was shot and killed. Marijuana was recovered from a vehicle on the Murphy property and toxicology reports showed Jake had methadone in his system at the time of his death. "It is also clear from the circumstances of the shooting incident that Murphy was a dangerous and violent subject SEE OFFICERS, PAGE A3
ATOKA ROCKS THE BLOCK
HEALTHCARE
Covington chooses ethics over $113K By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com
Two girls pose for a photo at Atoka's Rock the Block '14 event last week.The second annual community gathering in Walker Park featured food, fun and fireworks and was attended by and estimated 3,800 people. Photo by Greg Plunk/gregplunkphotography.com.
SOUTH TIPTON
Injured officer urges motorists to move over By ECHO DAY eday@covingtonleader.com Move over. That's the message Atoka Police Officer Tommy Reinberg is sending to motorists who see officers conducting traffic stops on the side of the road. On June 30, Reinberg's foot was crushed as he and another officer were in the middle of arresting a suspect after a foot pursuit near Main Street and Highway 51. A 71-year-old Dyersburg man drove over Reinberg's left foot, crushing most of the bones. “They say my ankle's broke, my heel's broke in two places, all these bones in the front of my foot are crushed
Atoka officer Tommy Reinberg and wife Sherri look over paperwork at their Drummonds home Tuesday. Reinberg was injured during a traffic stop after a passing motorist ran over his foot. Photo by Echo Day
and leaned over to the side,” Reinberg said Tuesday. “I've got feeling in my toes, I can't move them and my big toe
really hurts if it's touched.” He said he doesn't remember a vehicle, but other officers said he told them he'd
been injured. “I hurt all of a sudden on my foot. They said I yelled, 'I've been hit,' I didn't know there was a car there, I didn't know there was anything there, so for me to say I've been hit, I didn't know how I knew that. The other officer said I actually stayed to cuff him before I rolled off. ” Reinberg's accident could have easily been prevented, Atoka Police Chief Jessie Poole said, had the driver followed the state's Move Over law. Passed in 2006, it requires drivers to move into another lane of traffic when emergency and utility vehicles are stopped along the roadway. The penalty for violating the law is a maximum SEE MOVE, PAGE A3
ALMOST TIME
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Ethics or economics. That was the decision Covington's Finance and Administration committee had to make this week as one health insurance company undercut another – and by a significant amount – after a plan for municipal employees had already been approved. “You have to look at both sides of the coin,” said alderman Tommy Black, providing the argument for ethical actions or a large savings for the city. “That's a lot of money we need for the City of Covington.” After the board accepted a $715,880 bid from Aetna/Coventry last month, Blue Cross Blue Shield submitted a subsequent bid at $602,022, a $113,859 difference. Last week, the mayor brought the bid to the committee for consideration, stating that the large difference urged him share it. Alderwoman Minnie Bommer was the first to argue that it was unethical and unfair for the board to go back on its word and accept a different bid. “I certainly want to save the city money,” said alderwoman Minnie Bommer, “but they should have given us a better bid up front or waited until next year.” Alderman Jere Hadley questioned the bid as well. “I don't know why they didn't put their best foot forward to begin with,” he said. “They didn't get lower rates overnight.” Another of Bommer and the committee's concerns was supporting the local hospital. Under the BCBS plan, employees would save on premiums when compared to the Aetna plan, but would have to use Methodist hospitals instead of SEE ETHICS, PAGE A3
BRANCH CELEBRATES 90 YEARS Joyce Branch recently celebrated entering her ninth decade, A20
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