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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Mementos have been added to a memorial for Ricky L. Moore at the site where he was shot and killed by rookie Dayton police Officer Jack Brooks last Saturday night.DAYTON — Complaints about Dayton police Officer Jack Brooks date back to his training days at the Police Academy.
"Officer Brooks apparently had issues in the Police Academy with regard to losing equipment, not reporting it and then making up an implausible story to explain it when confronted," Fifth District Commander Lt. Michael J. Wilhelm wrote in a memo to Police Chief Richard S. Biehl in which Wilhelm recommended Brooks, a rookie on probation, not be hired permanently by the department.
On Saturday, July 18, Brooks shot and killed 35-year-old Ricky L. Moore, a felon who had been committed to a state mental hospital and was wanted on a felony drug warrant. Biehl, in a press conference Monday, said Moore has a lengthy history of contact with police that includes violence and drug offenses.
Brooks graduated from the police academy on Nov. 5, 2007. During his probationary period, he has been the subject of 10 internal investigations. Biehl said investigators are re-examining some of the complaints previously made against Brooks.
Saturday's shooting occurred months after Second District Commander Lt. Michael M. Martin recommended that Brooks, 22, be fired.
"It seems to be a defense mechanism for Officer Brooks to lie when confronted about a negative question on his performance," Martin wrote in a memo to Major Michael Brown, patrol operations superintendent.
Officers have reported incidents where Brooks had to be called several times on the radio before he responded, and that he watched another officer struggle with a suspect, but did not step in to help until asked.
But an investigation found some reports of serious misconduct by Brooks were not true, Biehl said.
"We gave him a fresh opportunity," Biehl said Wednesday.
On April 7, Brooks was transferred to the Fifth District under the command of Lt. Michael J. Wilhelm.
"I assumed that the transfer was an effort to be fair to Officer Brooks and have him evaluated by a different district in order to get a second opinion as to his suitability to be a Dayton police officer," Wilhelm wrote in his memo to Biehl.
Wilhelm assigned Brooks to work 30 days with a veteran officer. Brooks then moved to nights and worked alone.
Two days into the new assignment, Brooks failed to call in a report by the end of his work shift. When questioned, he said he forgot to file it.
Wilhelm also noted that Brooks was reluctant to frisk people before questioning them. After two weeks of reminders, Brooks began doing the pat-downs without being told, according to the memo.
On April 30, another officer saw Brooks at Marion's Piazza on Shroyer Road an hour after going off duty. Brooks' shirt was unbuttoned and untucked, and he was not wearing his gun or vest, according to Wilhelm's memo. When the officer later told Brooks that he had violated department regulations, Brooks allegedly said, "I'm not trying to win a fashion show."
Police launched an internal investigation July 1 after Brooks asked another officer if he had any extra ammunition, according to Wilhelm's memo. Brooks told another officer he had been out shooting at his wife's grandfather's property in Lebanon on June 8 and he had used one magazine of his police ammunition. Brooks told an investigator he discovered his empty magazine on June 24, but did not advise anyone until July 1.
The investigation determined that Brooks worked every day with an empty magazine between June 8 and July 1.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2362 or josmith@DaytonDailyNews.com.
