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North Carolina cops caused a funeral to unravel when they allegedly used “excessive force” to crash the ceremony and arrest an innocent man in a case of mistaken identity.
The victim was attending his brother Kabem Smith’s funeral in North Carolina when the Lee County Sheriff’s Office stormed the event, believing he was a fugitive tied to the 1995 murder of Rodney Cotten.
But the sheriff’s deputies were wrong.
“There was a lot of confusion, hostility, and deception,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook statement posted on May 16.
Kabem Smith died on May 7 and was survived by his mother and five brothers, including Willard Patridge Jr., according to his obituary.
Law enforcement claimed “multiple separate sources” snitched that Willard Eugene Smith, who is accused of using many aliases, would be at Kabem’s funeral at Liberty Chapel Church under the Willard Partridge name.
Deputies misidentified the innocent victim as Smith and took him into custody when mourners were leaving at the end of the ceremony.
He was eventually freed when deputies realized they had made a mistake.
“One male suspect was transported back to Lee County where a series of steps were taken to identify and confirm the identity of the individual detained,” police said.
“Lee County investigators were able to determine that the individual was the brother of Willard Eugene Smith. That individual was released and taken back to his residence by Lee County Deputies.”
Smith is still at large.
“Our Office is still encouraging anyone to report information regarding the Murder of Rodney Cotton and the suspect’s location,” the statement encouraged. “With the persistence of our citizens and the dedication of our Deputies, we intend to bring closure to the victim’s family and we are committed to the pursuit of justice.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office insisted they did not “disrupt the funeral services.”
“What was meant to be a sacred and solemn moment of farewell for our beloved son, brother, cousin, friend and father was violently interrupted by an aggressive and unjustified action carried out by the Lee County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit,” a family statement posted Wednesday on Facebook wrote.
The family accused law enforcement of using “excessive force against unarmed mourners,” which “inflicted lasting emotional trauma on an already grieving family.”
“Acting on what we have since been informed was a false tip, armed officers stormed our private burial ceremony, threatening grieving family members, including elders and children, with drawn weapons and deploying tear gas,” the family statement added.
The family demanded a “formal public apology” from Sheriff Brian Estes and an independent investigation into the incident.
English (US)