Thursday, July 9, 2009

Officer Accused Of Hitting Daughter With Fishing Rod

WSB TV Posted: 11:10 am EDT July 9, 2009 Updated: 11:12 am EDT July 9, 2009

A DeKalb County police lieutenant was arrested after officials said he hit his teenage daughter with a fishing rod, Channel 2 Action News confirmed.

Henry County officials said they responded to a domestic disturbance call at a Stockbridge home late Monday night.

Police said Lt. Willie Durrett, who was wearing his uniform and was on duty at the time, stopped by the house to drop off a birthday present for his son.

Durrett told officials he attempted to talk to his 16-year-old daughter after she disrespected him, but she slammed a door on his arm. He pushed open the door, causing her to fall back. Durrett said when his daughter grabbed a fishing rod, he took it from her and hit her with it.

The teen had lacerations on both arms and her lower back, according to officers on the scene.

Durrett was charged with battery, cruelty to children 1st degree and cruelty to children 2nd degree.

Durrett has been placed on administrative leave, according to Mekka Parish with the DeKalb County Police Department.

43 comments:

Slamin Ethel said...

I have to be honest a child that slams the door on a parents face needs to be smacked.
These are the same kids that we deal with on a daily basis, that just stole two police officers cars at North last week.
JUVENILE'S that are out of control and why you ask, because parents dont enforce corpal punishment enough these days.
These are the same kids that are standing on street corners at night commiting crimes against you and me, only to be set free by some pansy ass juvenile court judge with nothing more than probation.
Hell I remember getting in trouble at school and the teacher taking my tale to the principles office only to be worn out with a large paddle with holes cut it in.
I always wondered what the holes were for and I found out, 1st LESS DRAG AND AIR RESISTANCE FOR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE, AND 2ND IT LEFT A NICE MARK ON MY ASS FOR MOM TO SEE!
As if that was not bad enough then mom took care of business, she didnt call the school to complain like some pansy ass parents, she just assumed if I gotta paddeling then I must have done somthing wrong.
So I say way to go Lt for standing up as a parent.
Rock on Chief O'Brien!

Anonymous said...

Slamin' we must of gone to the same school, mine was Briar Vista in the Emory area.....On the Durrett story, there was some vital information left out on Durrett, the physical condition of his arm that was allegedly hit by the door. I suspect Durrett was fully justified in what he did.
Slamin' I also agree with your views on disciplining children.
Parents are allowed some latitude in corpral punishment, but anything that leaves a welt is a no-no nowadays. Somehow my brother managed to raise both of his kids without having to use any physical punishment and both are great kids, one just finished medical school, the other graduated from college, and has stayed out of trouble and is looking for a good job.
I think much of the problems with kids is the lack of supervision and parenting by the adults. Many of the kids have single parents who are to self-centered and not at home because they are too busy "clubbing" or screwing to be home parenting their child.
Orginizations and religions that have instilled "good" civil values to children and teens are usually shuned or downplayed by our media while sex, drugs, violence and crime are glorified by Hollywood and silicon valley video games.
The Boy Scouts probably did more to keep me on the fairly straight and true and are denied community support and blacklisted by the media because they rightfully resisted a signifigant move by the Gay rights movement to allow known homo-sexual men to be "scout-masters", in close and sometime intimate encounters with the boys. This is called discrimination by our insane media that has far too much control of what we hear and see. Thank God for the internet and blogs like this.
Keep 'em flying guys!

Anonymous said...

He was ON duty, out of jurisdiction to drop off a present? And, I'm sure in a county car? Am I missing something here?

Spare the Rod said...

My parents spanked me with anything that was handy, but these days hitting a child with a fishing rod is going to be viewed by many as child abuse.

Probably not the best decision Durrett ever made.

Do As I Say..Not As I Do? said...

I'm with above poster.....

On duty and out of Jurisdiction?...probably in a county unit.

What is going on? Since when did all of this become acceptable.

I'm beginning to think I should follow the example of these supervisors and start heading up to North Precinct or Dunwoody for lunch.

No reason for me to be limited to an area with limited fine dining.

Heck, it might even be acceptable to head over to Atlanta. Atlanta does share a border with Dekalb.

Anonymous said...

For those of you that are saying "He was in a county car and out of jurisdiction."
Serously..GIVE IT A REST! The Man...another brother of ours..is in serious trouble for discipling his teenager. Back your fellow officers for ONCE for the love of God! I don't know if there has been past issues within his family and so for now I will just say good luck Lt.

I'm Ron Burgundy? said...

"My apartment smells of rich mahogany...I have many leather bound books..."

Anonymous said...

I say Beat your kids now to keep from any other officer beating them later. Fishing rods are NO comparison from grandmother's "pick up the 1st thing NOT bolted to the floor" butt beatings... People pitty pat their children too darn much these days. NO MATTER what age.. you are NEVER grown enough to disrespect your parents.. especuially of you are in THEIR house and not paying any rent or bills...

Anonymous said...

I would love to see how the fellas at the jail reacted seeing an officer in an uniform being booked into jail. I think there needs to be further investigation on why he was handling personal business on county time. Isn't this what the uproar towards Bolton was about? Maybe when i'm on company time, i'll go across town and handle business--i'll make sure not to get arrested in my uniform and make the news.

Does anybody have the mugshot? Now i'm sure some officers are going to rush to defend this guy because he has a badge (and even condemn the prosecutors for dare prosecuting the charges)but this crap has to stop fellas and it needs to stop now.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Did he have permission to leave the county? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Why assume he didn't? I don't know him personally, but maybe that was the only time he could go to the house and he got permission from a supervisor. It's possible, so until you know for sure, don't crucify the guy.

Anonymous said...

First off, read your manual, The watch commander can give you permission to leave the county. He was the watch commander. Secondly he may have been on his LUNCH break. And yes supervisor's have previlges officer' don't. Get over it. This site is turning into a bunch of wimpy whinny sissy.

Anonymous said...

what Lt. asks permission to leave the county? Did he call 300 or 301 at home and ask?

Cerebration said...

Did you all read the story? HE BEAT HIS CHILD WITH A FISHING POLE! That's respectable to you? An adult man in uniform beating a child enough to produce lacerations? And all you cops cheer him on? You're scaring me.

For those of you without a dictionary, this is the definition of laceration:

"a torn and ragged wound"

God help us all if our police think it's acceptable to produce torn and ragged wounds on children.

The reason the children you speak about are so unruly is that they don't have parents involved in their lives at all - not in any kind of loving way at least. Missing fathers, burned out mothers, drugs, violence... the families of these children are broken - and no amount of violence will fix it.

DeKalb Officers said...

We received what appears to be a legitimate comment from Lt. Durrett explaining his actions. We will not publish this comment unless it can be verified.
If this comment was in fact posted by Lt.Durrett, contact us from an email address we can replay to. You can contact us directly at: dekalbofficers@gmail.com.

Anonymous said...

My father would have done worse than that to me and I know a lot of other guy's my age were in the same situation. I say wrong place and time thats all. Kid's have no respect these days. Spare the "rod" and spoil the child.

Anonymous said...

According to the article, the daughter slammed the door on the Lt's arm, then she tried to hit him with the fishing pole.

I have a few thoughts. First, don't star something you can't finish. Second, if you can't take it, don't dish it out. Third, last time I checked GA Law allowed for corporal punishment.

Let's let IA and Henry County do their jobs... said...

Corporal Punishment WITHIN reason.

Hitting with a fishing pole and causing "lacerations on both arms and her lower back"?

Come on, I know he has a badge and we all want to help our fellow officer, but sometimes we have to let the chips fall.

I'm sure that Chief O'Brien will treat him fairly. If he lost it and was wrong, he will be dealt with.

If he's being railroaded, let's come to his aid and defense.

Police Officer or not if he crossed the line, he should be penalized like the suspects we arrest on a daily basis.

Unknown said...

To those of you who stand with Lt.Durrett and believe he acted as a parent who cared enough to discipline his child.. Thank You. To all others (whether you don't like him personally or are against such discipline), learn to be objective and if you must judge know the facts (and I don't mean the news report). (1)The narrow end of a fishing rod could hardly inflict "lacerations" (2)Hypothetically, let's imagine this wasn't his daughter,that it was a 16 yr. old female who just assaulted a police officier (door slam on arm) who was out of control (kicking and swinging)- how would you have dealt with her in that instance?? And would she had not been arrested?? Reality, she was his daughter, he would not ruin her future with an arrest, he did what any parent would and should do.. Previous to the incident he removed her from a vehicle that had a male driver she is known for associating with guys over 18-- She was going downward with her life.. If no action was taken by either parent she may have well put her life in danger.. possible date rape, pregnancy or involvement with criminal activity. The minimal hurt from her father's discipline would be nothing compared to the alternatives. She was at one time a sweet girl who loved and adored her dad and in a short time has become increasingly rebellious, defiant and addicted to drugs. Maybe the discipline would have not caused her to change her behavior over night but it would have certainly caused her to think twice about her actions. He has done no wrong-- not to his child nor in the eyes of God. I speak not only as a daughter of a retired NYPD but also as the mother of his youngest child. He is a good and loving father who has his children's best interest at heart. Those who are in agreement with me-- Show your Support!

Unknown said...

I wanted to add: To those(officers)who wanted to make an issue about him being out-of-county while on-duty-- Wrong or Right- He was delivering a present to HIS SON on his birthday! Not trying to sneak in some "On-duty Booty" as I know for a fact that some of you do and have been written up for! "Self-righteousness is close to Pettiness" :)

Anonymous said...

As I've quoted before..this blog is starting to become more like the liberal biased media that we all understand as officer's ....put out your hate and venomous comments....you people call yourselves brothers....even the moderator has hit below the belt on issues (hence the Post on Rancifer being punched). That post was way out of line and the moderator needs to stand up and apologize for their callous comments.

Don't go jump to conclusions or even make assumptions unless you're privy to the facts....sooner or later everyone faces their own Brutus.

It sickens me to even think that some of the officer's making post on this site are even fellow officer's....this place is so full of hypocrites....you guys really need to look at yourselves in the mirror.....before you start to judge others maybe you should start with yourself....

Lt. Durrett needs to have the support of his brother officer's ...Don't go soaking up all the reports you hear in the media or even all the rumors floating around this dept....since when do we fail to properly investigate a crime before making an arrest...only an idiot would do that..but then again it's obvious we have many of those....

Anonymous said...

We support you Willie D!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Lo Flyer - THANKS for making the comment that your brother managed to raise great kids without physical punishment. It CAN be done! For those who think it can't, how about educating yourselves a little. Take a parenting class, and learn how to deal with your own anger. Oh, and there's always a visit to a mental health care professional or church for help. I suppose you think it's OK to hit animals too? Violence perpetuates violence - stop the cycle. I was under the impression that most of you understood that. I am profoundly disappointed to read all the comments supporting his act.

Unknown said...

Discipline is not about violence, it is tough love. A spanking from a parent who loves you is better than sitting in jail because your behavior is out of control. WAKE UP!! We live in a hostile world.. War is full of what you call violence yet without it our country would have not been freed, police wouldn't be able to establish order... I know the child in question.. Her father was saving her life -- Would she be better off in the system?? In a women's prison?? Do you have any clue what happens in prison?? Should she continue to be allowed to associate with the "friends" that have turned her to drugs?? Yes there are non-violent methods in child-raising.. Both parents used many of them... This young lady isn't a victim.. she talked about being "gangsta" and engaged in drugs.. She could have eventually been the one to rob your home, steal your car, point a gun at you.. As corporal punishment decreased thanks to people like you..Crime has increased. Not every parent gives birth to easy-going children... Maybe one day when you hear on the news that a 16 year old just shot her mother or father or even their baby brother.. perhaps then you wouldn't be so sympathetic..

Anonymous said...

Right, violence perpetuates violence. Durrett should have just stood there and let his little "gangsta" daughter kick his butt.

Get a freaking clue! What was he supposed to do? Wave his hand like a Jedi and tell her "you don't want to do this!" This is the real world! Stuff like that doesn't work! If someone is attacking you, you don't talk them out of attacking you. You have to use at least as much force as they're using on you!

Name the time and place an I'll let you try to subdue me without putting a scratch on me! But if you DO scratch me, you have to quit your job and let me press charges against you!

Anonymous said...

Quick point. Loflyer how long ago was that, that your brother raised his kids without hitting them. I'm sure it wasnt this generation. And if he didn't have to good for him. All kids are not the same. Some kids can be reached just by talking to them and some can't. If we believed that then all criminal acts would be sentenced the same.
Secondly, you guys are making an issue about the LT being out of Dekalb County without permission. I recall when a SGT from North was in a trailer park seeing a woman and half the posts was talking about the person who reported it saying how he could not be trusted. Then some went on to say how much of a good man the SGT was. I have no argument with that, cause I know the SGT and he is a good man.
The LT was going to drop off a gift, not engage in criminal activity, his daughter tried to show him that she was boss and it backfired, and all some of you can do is dog this LT out.
LT, keep your head up and I hope it works out for you. I bet most of the posters don't have kids. As a father of three if one of mines try and hit me with a fishing pole I would have done the same.
Henry County wanted to prove a point and they did.

Anonymous said...

You can physically discipline your children without leaving lacerations on their body. Using a fishing rod was stupid and unnecessary. If she tried to strike him with the fishing rod, he could have disarmed her (I would hope) and move on from there...he did not need to use it on her.

Anonymous said...

To: " Let's let IA and Henry County do their jobs..."

Well said. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Maria, again the issue is he left the county on county time in a county owned car. He was supposed to be policing not delivering birthday presents. I would still be in outrage if he was found doing charity work on county time. More importanty, it is an embarassment to DKPD to have an uniformed officer booked into the Henry County Jail and of course, you knew that was going to make the news. There are plenty of holidays and occasions we had to work and wanted to be with our families but when are on duty, we are on duty. No ifs, ands or buts.

I agree that we should let Henry County Justice System and Internal Affairs do their jobs but at the end of the day, the department has suffered enough embarassment. The officers should be sick of it and the citizens are especially tired of it. Police officers are paid to enforce the law for their respective jurisdicitons and if they break the laws, they should be held accountable. No special treatment and that goes for you Pearlene Williams.

To Henry County, if Durrett's case is one of prosecuting, then prosecute to the fullest. Don't let politics or potential to make news headlines sway your decision.

Unknown said...

I clearly understand the whole out of county issue.. However, he wasn't arrested for that.. The more relevant issue is the actual arrest which far outweighs not being in county... I'm a New Yorker, my dad was a New York City cop/detective -- No matter what borough you worked in as a NYPD (Queens,Bronx,Manhattan etc..) The police of NYC stand up for each other and are supportive of each other no matter what. No one is perfect.. What is sad is that some of you who are DKPD, instead of giving Lt.Durrett the benefit of the doubt, you have chosen to speak out against him. A lot of Southerners like to talk negatively about us up North,especially New York, at least we have a police force that understand loyalty, teamwork and brotherhood. Regardless of your personal opinion, you should act as one and stick to what is important-- Don't you have enough opposition from the real criminals out there? Yet- you are quick to oppose one another!?! If there is any embarassment in this whole situation,It is how you as a brotherhood of police would readily point the finger at each other!!

Anonymous said...

New Yorker,

First off...as was said earlier, IA and Henry County will do their jobs...let them.

Now, that being said......

If NYPD is willing to let their own officers break the law, I've lost all respect for NYPD.

We don't excuse breaking the law just because one carries a badge.

Exactly the reverse should be happening. We should expect officers sworn to uphold the law to do just that - Uphold the law and Obey it!

Being caught up in a situation like this should be the exception. Lately it seems like, Dekalb officers getting in trouble has become the norm.

How can we enforce the law if we are not expected to obey it ourselves?

Why do we keep ending up in the news? Have officers been taking their cue from Bolton - I'm special..I should be treated different.

Officers should be doing things better because he or she is a police officer. It is not the other way around. Officers are not above they laws they are sworn to uphold.

In this case, IA and Henry County will investigate and do what is necessary. If he is guilty, he should be held to a higher standard. He IS a police officer!

You spoke of loyalty. Loyalty is a two way street. It is earned and it can be lost. Breaking the law and bringing public disgrace to the department is a quick way to lose it.

Part of Loyalty is also being there and responding when you are needed. He's an Lt, but Lt's have backed me up before. How can he back his officers from Henry County? That doesn't seem to loyal to me.

We have plenty of opposition out there. We don't need it coming from within.

Just my random thoughts.

Anonymous said...

As I remember NYPD was shaken to the core with corruption. I am embarrassed at times with DKPD but because when I see officers do stupid things that they know are not morally correct and even illegal they are NOT punished accordingly. If a regular citizen had been arrested for the same thing you would be praising the officer for it. If being part of a brotherhood means covering up scandels and corruption and "looking the other way" then thanks for the compliment Maria....

Unknown said...

Apparently, I've hit a sore spot and the real spirit of the message I was trying to send was lost. Lt.Durrett isn't involved in corruption nor did he break the law by disciplining his child in the manner that he did. This is a clear example of someone who is getting a bad rap for doing something with good intent. If you feel that he was wrong for one or both incidents then that is your belief and I'm not going to attempt to change that. In conclusion, He's a good officer, he does his job, he works for DKPD and has another job so he can support and give to his children, he's a good father and if you got to really know him he's a great friend;If you needed his support he would certainly be there. This is not a "bad cop" situation, he's a good cop in a bad situation-- Yes, he should have DKPD's support, being out of county is the least of his problems. He was written up for it and got bumped to another unit to pencil-push-- What more do you want?? As far as the case of his daughter, he will have to face a judge who should be the only one making a judgment on him-- not his fellow officers.. Yeah, I know, everyone likes to play God, that why Jesus once said, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone"--- Put your stones away "Anonymous"

Unknown said...

Look at the two Atlanta Officers recently cleared by DFACS and the DA in Paulding County. All is not always as it appears We have an obligation to discipline our children I hope all works out for him at least he was not suspended without pay as were the two in Atlanta

Anonymous said...

Okay, now how many of us were ever disciplined with a hickory switch? You were sent outside to pick it off of the tree yourself, bring it back to your parent, and they then whipped you with it like an old mule. Exactly how thick is a fish pole again? The ones that I've seen and used where not that thick at all. Since Henry County is no where near the ocean, I guess it's safe to say that it wasn't a fishing pole that was used for deep sea fishing, so it really couldn't have been any thicker than the hickory switch that we were whipped with as a child. How is this any different? Oh because that piece of wood was now been using to fish with and we call it a pole? To me, it's not abuse, it's parenting. Maybe if we considered reimplementing discipline, as opposed to time out, which has yet to work, then maybe we would see less violent teens and go back to the way that things used to be. Lets consider, there is more to this story than is listed. How many children actually file a police report against their parent? Sounds like an enraged ex that was behind that one to me......

Anonymous said...

Maria, I admire you standing by your man! We have all seen or participated in a personal errand in a county "official business" vehicle, usually the justification is "I used my personal vehicle for county business" so this is pay back. That works fine until the employee is involved in an incident or accident like happened with Durrett.
The issue with violation of county policy is minor to the charges by Henry County. The resolution of the Henry County charges will determine hoe DeKalb will pursue or drop the vehicle policy violation.
Maria I hope your husband has a good lawyer actively defending him. I am sure many of us would be glad to contribute to a legal defence fund.
I have little confidence in any case involving DFACS and adult/juvenile altercations. Perhaps it is time for Maria to get her side of the story out

Anonymous said...

Speak for yourself LOflyer......I will not contribute a single dime. Press on Henry County PD!!!

Sandra said...

You have no idea what the real story is here. Before passing judgement it would be helpful to remind yourselves that there's always more to a story than reported by the AJC and Fox 5 News.

I am a long time close and personal friend of Lt. Durrett. I know him and I know his daughter. He loves his daughter, always has always will. This is an unfortunate situation for the entire family.

Try to imagine yourselves in the situation while you're passing judgement on Durrett, especially you fellow officers. So easy to condemn someone else.

So much for Brotherhood and the Blue Line. If you knew all the facts you would be more compassionate and understanding.

Sandra said...

While you're passing judgement on this family situation, remember that the child's mother was in the room and witnessed the entire scenario.

The real truth is in the details.

Anonymous said...

He should have NEVER been in Henry County ON DUTY to begin with.....HELLLLOOOO....

Anonymous said...

Would you people complaining about him leaving the county on duty give it a rest already?? Lots of people in the public sector get permission from their boss to run home during their lunch break to run a quick errand. Do you know if he had permission or not?? I'll tell you right now that I DO NOT KNOW, so I will not presume to know the answer! Stop assuming you know everything and automatically assuming the worst! You aren't Nostradamus and you don't have a crystal ball. You don't know everything so stop acting like you do.

This is why it's hard to find people who want to go into law enforcement. You're all so quick to crucify a man in uniform.

People wanting to sound more intelligent than they are like to cry things like, "He's innocent until proven guilty" when it comes to seventeen time repeat offenders. But when it comes to a cop accused of anything, he's guilty, period, there's no need for an investigation, there's no reason to get his side of the story, and he needs to be suspended without pay until he can be fired!! Way to show your appreciation!

I wouldn't say I know Durrett. I know of him. I've seen him put his life on the line on the job in defense of the public. You'd think that would at least earn him the benefit of doubt that is so easily given to the worthless repeat offenders in this county. But I guess not.

Anonymous said...

We swore to protect and serve, no matter what jurisdiction we chose to work for. We have to be completely non-biased at every call we respond to. That being said, it should not matter if the person is an officer or not (Maria). The child may have been disorderly and that could have been delt with without breaking the childs skin. We all deal with our own teenage children. I have never had to break my teenagers skin to punish them. If this incident happened on Candler Rd with unknown people, how would you have reacted?
I'm sure it was a difficult decision for the Henry Officers to make by arresting a fellow officer. That being said, I'm sure they had more than just little scratches to base that arrest on. If Lt. did as the report says, he should have to suffer the concequences of his actions.

Unknown said...

It's in God's hands now... I trust whatever happens to him, it's what should be. I believe everything happens for a reason... LT.Durrett will need to discover why; Some of us walk thru life with victim mentalities thereby stunting our own growth and never learning the hard truths about ourselves. I myself still face those hard truths and once I surrender to them,I can then move on...