Former University of Michigan police officer faces cocaine possession charge
An arrest warrant has been issued charging a former University of Michigan police officer with cocaine possession, Washtenaw County court records show.
Charles Eugene Beatty III of Ypsilanti is charged with possessing less than 25 grams of cocaine and possessing an open container, records show.
Beatty will be given an opportunity to turn himself in, said Lt. Monica Yesh, who heads the Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team. Beatty could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Beatty was initially taken into custody and released on Jan. 13 after Ypsilanti police stopped his car on Kramer Street at about 10:20 p.m. while he was off-duty, records show.
Officers found an unspecified quantity of cocaine and an open alcoholic beverage inside the car, records show. Criminal charges weren't filed until samples of the drug were analyzed at a Michigan State Police lab.
Beatty's employment ended Feb. 9, University of Michigan police spokeswoman Diane Brown said. He had been placed on unpaid leave the day after the incident, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
If convicted of the drug charge, Beatty faces up to four years in prison.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
trespass
Mon, Jun 14, 2010 : 5:30 a.m.
@jester32b- I don't know your relationship to the DPS but you have previously defended their practice of having only internal investigations of police misconduct. Thus, you do not believe in civilian oversight, however, the state legislature believed it was necessary when they wrote the law that allows universities to have their own police departments (MCL 390.1511). My information on his retirement comes from a source close to officer Beatty and the University refuses to confirm whether or not he retired. Therefore, the fact that you "work closely" with the DPS gives your facts no more credibility than mine unless you are a Unversity official with authentic access to the personnel records (e.g. Asst Gen Counsel David Masson). My comment had little to do with the criminal investigation of Mr. Beatty but rather had to do with what lessons the University should learn from his case. In particular, whether the DPS should have random drug testing, whether or not we would know if there are other officers similarly impaired (assuming that the drugs were for personal use), whether other officers knew about the situation and did nothing. He has been a DPS officer for 17 years. The University is about to implement a policy that all construction contractors require random drug testing of their workers. Don't you think it is at least as important that our police officers be tested? There has to be some lessons to be learned from this situation. Since you work closely with the DPS, if you are telling us there was not even an internal investigation that would be a great disappointment. That would make it even more important that the DPS Oversight Committee should investigate.
jester32b
Sun, Jun 13, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
Trespass, let us focus on the issue, ONE officer out of 55 sworn police officers was cought with cocaine. Does it look bad, absolutely. Is this a problem throughout UofM DPS, I think not. Furthermore, he did not get a "disability retirement or sweet deal" and I know that for a fact because I work very closely with DPS. So when you throw out there, "I heard" get your facts straight to gain any type of credibility. Regarding the Oversite Committee investigating and DPS conducting the investigation you are also wrong again. LAWNET conducted the criminal investigation and DPS had nothing to do with the that. You are confusing criminal investigation and internal investigation. The officer resigned so please get your facts straight before you put them out there. I think your screen name in itself tells a story. Would you like to share those facts? Thanks
Marshall Applewhite
Fri, Jun 11, 2010 : 1:13 a.m.
Come on........there's nothing wrong with doing a little cocaine.
trespass
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 6 p.m.
This was a University Police officer. As such, he could be armed and dangerous if he was under the influence of cocaine. University policy only requires drug testing of officers upon cause. There is no requirement for random drug testing or testing upon officer involved traffic accidents or officer involved shootings (FOIA request for DPS policies). Most police departments have policies for random drug testing. Shouldn't UM have such policies? Shouldn't the DPS Oversight Committee have looked into this case rather than having it all handled by the police department? Was he in uniform when he was arrested? Was he armed? Was this the only time he was in possession of cocaine? Without random drug testing, do we have confidence that other officers have not been in possession of cocaine? There are a lot of questions that we should be demanding answers to from the University Administration. He was on unpaid leave for a week and then (I am told) he was given an early "disability" retirement. Why was he given such a sweetheart deal? His preliminary hearing will be on July 8, 2010 in District Court 14A, 4143 Washtenaw Ave at 1:00 PM. If you want to know more about the case, come watch the hearing.
Chrysta Cherrie
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 5:14 p.m.
This story is about cocaine possession. As there is no mention of crack addiction or firearm possession in the story, comments that address these topics will be removed. If you'd like to discuss how those topics relate to the story, you may email Lee Higgins.
Chrysta Cherrie
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 4:48 p.m.
A comment containing unsubstantiated information and a reply to said comment have been removed.
Lokalisierung
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
"like comparing driving under the influence nicotine to alcohol." I will have to disagree with that since nicotine isn't really a stimulant alone, and does have nearly to the euporic effects cocaine does. I'm not arguing against your point, just pointing that out. Or maybe that's what you meant.
Atticus F.
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 3:26 p.m.
There is a big difference on how cocain and alcohol effect the body, and ones abillity to drive. While cocaine is a drug, it does not effect reflexes and motor skills the way alcohol does. Cocaine is a stimulant that causes euphoria, alcohol is a depressant that effects reaction time. To liken driving under the influence of cocaine to alcohol, is like comparing driving under the influence nicotine to alcohol. Just your average mis-informed drug hysteria (although I do not condone cocaine use, because of it's highly addictive properties).
hard core ann arborite
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 2:52 p.m.
Impaired driving is a real problem. Drug prohibition strikes again and skews the story as well as the case. Clearly the federal controlled substances act and similar laws need to be repealed. (Hey... that could even take the money out of the drug cartels and give them less incentives for smuggling and violence - wouldn't that be good?)
ChunkyPastaSauce
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 2:41 p.m.
"Is "having" cocaine worst than driving under the influence??" If he was under the influence of cocaine while driving its then its equal to drunk driving. If it was in the car but he wasn't using at the time then I would say no its not. In the eyes of the law it is much worse though since it's a felony (not that I agree with it).
Lokalisierung
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : noon
"Is "having" cocaine worst than driving under the influence??" A fair question. In the eyes of the law Cocaine is worse, but really they should both be misdemeanors. What's a little coke in the car? big deal.
bunnyabbot
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 10:41 a.m.
@awakened, it was actually reported in January. The original post: http://www.annarbor.com/news/u-of-m-police-officer-remains-on-leave-after-drug-arrest/
Wolverine3660
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 9:49 a.m.
Very sad to see the name of this former officer in the context of this rather unfortunate story. When I was an undergrad at U-M, I interacted with him a lot as part of the student job I had. Always respected the professionalism he brought to the job. Sad
mb
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 9:47 a.m.
Sorry, however we all know it is a disparity between ethnic groups of people, say no more...
Cash
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 7:46 a.m.
Are UM DPS officers unionized? I'm wondering if contracts between employers and the officers spell out how these situations are handled.
naturally
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 7:11 a.m.
@racerx great point. Is possessing cocaine a worse offense the driving drunk? I think not.
Cash
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 6:11 a.m.
Very sad story, indeed. Time and the courts will decide innocence or guilt. But I wonder why these stories only contain the maximum sentence and not the sentencing range. Rarely, if ever, do we see a max sentence carried out and yet that is what the media reports. As we have seen in another case, even if guilty, the sentence could be 90 days in boot camp, right?
Awakened
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 5:50 a.m.
The article on the Ann Arbor officer also stated she had no prior discipline. This article does not specify. This would be an interesting point as well. The cocaine possession in a car is a felony vs. a misdemeanor and requires a loss of license. Short story. I hope we learn more since this incident is already four months old when we first hear of it.
racerx
Thu, Jun 10, 2010 : 5:19 a.m.
This should be interesting. Though the article doesn't say that cocaine was found in his system, but only in the car, this officer was dismissed without pay. Ann Arbor officer on paid leave for drunk driving. Is "having" cocaine worst than driving under the influence? Why is the policy different between these two police agencies?