Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 6:01 pm News Flash Archive

Mayor Carolyn McAdams announced at this afternoon's city council meeting that Officer Randy Powell has been suspended pending investigation of his actions in the arrest of Jelani Barr on the evening of April 7th.

McAdams stated that Powell's badge and gun were taken pending the outcome of the investigation by Internal Affairs of the Greenwood Police Department.

McAdams stated that she wanted to assure the public that the incident "is not being swept under the rug."

Her disclosure came after this writer spoke to the council about the police misconduct that took place that evening.

Barr was arrested for alleged refusal to obey Powell to leave the scene. Police Chief Ray Moore repeated Powell's allegations as fact in the Greenwood Commonwealth the next day.

Video taken by Barr showed that he had committed no crime and had cooperated fully with police. The video showed that Powell had pursued and arrested Barr, filing a false charge against him for actions that Barr never committed.

The video shows that Barr walked away from the scene 10 seconds after he was first requested to do so.

The video may be seen here: Jelani Barr Arrest Video

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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