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ENGSTROMLAW,PLLC

CONTACT

ElliotEngstrom
EngstromLaw,PLLC
(336)3658570
info@engstomlawnc.com
www.engstromlawnc.com

FORIMMEDIATERELEASE

RecordsShedLightonBelmontPolice
Misconduct

PortionsofInvestigativeReportMadePublicbyCourtOrder
FollowingLitigationinGastonCounty

Aug.29,2016

Greensboro Ellen Deitz Tucker and Dan Deitz, plaintiffs in the matter of
Deitz v. Belmont, have made publictheportionsof aninvestigativereportinto
the Belmont Police Department that they received pursuant to court order
earlier this month. Thedecisiontopublishtherecords comesafterthesiblings
decisionnot toappealanorderdisclosingsome,butnotall,ofareportdetailing
misconduct that led to the termination of the citys former police chief. The
publicportionsofthereportmaybeviewedatthislink.

In thesummer of2015,TuckerandDeitzfiledapublicrecordsrequestwiththe
City of Belmont seeking access to an investigative report detailing police
misconduct. The siblings made the request after completing their own private
investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 2012deathof their sister
Donna Deitzas aninnocentbystanderin apolicepursuit.Findingevidencethat
the Belmont Police Departments claims about that event were false, they
begantoquestiontheoverallintegrityofthedepartment.

TheCitysattorney deniedthepublicrecordsrequest,leadingTuckerandDeitz
to file suitunderNorthCarolinaspublicrecords law. The suit was initially filed
bytheCivitasInstituteandthencontinuedbyEngstromLaw,PLLC.

The released portions of the report shed light on recent problems within the
police department. Investigators found that the department was a fractured
organization withacorrosive work environment inwhichemployeeshavebeen

ENGSTROMLAWinfo@engstromlawnc.comwww.engstromlawnc.com

drawn into two camps, which are constantly in opposition based on personal
loyalties.The reportfurtherstatesthat[p]oliciesandproceduralguidelinesare
routinely ignored or circumvented. It stands to reason that these are some of
theproblemsthatledtheCitytoterminateitsformerpolicechief.

For Tucker, the report confirms suspicions that she has long held about
disfunctionwithinthedepartmentoverthelastseveralyears.

It was because we feared the Belmont Police Department was dysfunctional


thatwe pushedthecityto releasethe report, Tucker said. Inanyresponsible
law enforcement agency, an honest appraisal of mistakes is essentialto both
effectiveness and publicsafety.TheDeitzfamilysentirestatementisavailable
atthislink.

Perhaps the most alarming detail in the released pages involves a Vice and
Narcotic Asset Recovery notebook. The missing notebook, from 2002,
references criminal case files, drug purchases, and confidential informants
information.Investigatorsrecommendedthatthenotebookbekeptconfidential
andneveragainremovedfromasecurelocation.

I applaud Mrs. Tucker and Mr. Deitz for having the courage to bring this
lawsuit, Principal Attorney Elliot Engstrom, who represented the siblings
throughout thelitigation,said.Ourpublic recordslawsare meaninglessifthey
arenotenforced.

Neither the plaintiffs northedefendant Cityof Belmonthave chosen to appeal


JudgeArchiesorder,makingitthefinalactioninthecase.

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ENGSTROMLAWinfo@engstromlawnc.comwww.engstromlawnc.com

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