Mariel Williams
editor@mitchellnews.com
Spruce Pine Police Chief Kasey Cook is pleased that the District Attorney will not pursue charges against police officers accused of use of excessive force.
Cook spoke about the results of the investigation at a December Spruce Pine Town Council meeting.
“The two investigations we’ve had for our department … they have been resolved — the district attorney found that officers conducted themselves accordingly and cleared them of any wrongdoing, which I’m very pleased with — that’s been a cloud over our head for a period of time, and I’m glad we can put that behind us and move forward,” Cook said.
In a November release, the District Attorney’s Office stated that the office is limited in what kind of decisions it can make regarding cases like these.
“Regarding the actions of law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office is limited to determining whether a crime was committed and if the State is able to prove the crime through competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not the role of the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether policy was followed or whether any liability exists,” the release said.
The police chief said he is proud of all his officers.
“Some people forget this job’s tough sometimes, and you have to make quick decisions,” he said. “We’re moving forward, and not looking back.”
Cook also spoke about the difficulty involved in retaining police officers at this time.
“I found out … we’re going to lose two officers,” he said. “They both are going to get paid a lot more than I can give them. … Officer Sale and Officer Mace both are leaving.”
Officer Dalton Mace and Officer Michael Sale were both involved in the February use of force incident that the DA’s office investigated, and Sale was involved in the April use of force incident as well.
In a release, the DA’s office noted that Sale completed his law enforcement training in 2015 and worked for five other agencies prior to joining the Spruce Pine department.