ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
On Friday the Roanoke Legal Defense Fund will conduct the first in a series of meetings to solicit information about possible police misconduct in the Roanoke Valley.
The organization was formed last month with the help of Harold Barnes, a Norfolk lawyer who is representing a Roanoke County man accusing several Roanoke police officers of excessive force.
Barnes will talk with individuals and document any allegations between 2 and 6 p.m. Friday at the Melrose Branch Library, 2607 Salem Turnpike N.W.
An internal police investigation showed that officers acted properly when they arrested Barnes' client, Steven Leftwich, after a fight that followed an early morning traffic stop in February. Several officers and Leftwich were injured during the fight.
Barnes said he is conducting his own investigation and has filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department.
Soon after he announced he was representing Leftwich, Barnes began meeting with black ministers and helped generate support for the Roanoke Legal Defense Fund.
The group is based in the black community and hopes to tackle concerns such as fair housing and employment opportunities. But its first priority is to document any police abuses in the Roanoke Valley, according to the Rev. Delmar Jackson II, who is a member of its executive committee and pastor of the Abundant Grace Assembly in Northwest Roanoke.
The group is focusing on the Leftwich incident, he said. It has heard about other incidents, but has no concrete evidence.
"If we find that the rumors are untrue, that stuff drops," Jackson said. "We are not here to nitpick or to badger our police department. We are here to investigate any wrongdoing that may have been here."
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB