Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/622867
JANUARY 6-12, 2016 UCW 9 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville Police Officer Paul Davis, Jr. and 25-year-old Reginald Butler recently crossed paths. From what Police Chief Harold Medlock recounts, Butler should be glad he's still alive. Davis and his fam- ily are no doubt reflecting on what could have been his last day on the job. Butler had crashed his car, and Davis was one of three officers to respond to the scene of the one-vehicle wreck on Bunce Road. The accident investigation disclosed that Butler became "visibly agitated," according to Lt. David McLau- rin, but he apparently was not hurt. Davis asked him to take a seat in his own car and relax, at which point "But- ler became even more agitated, took off his coat and threw it on the ground," McLaurin added. Davis was speaking with Butler while the other officers were reviewing the accident scene. Then, in a split second, came one of those "decision points" as Police Chief Harold Medlock described it. While Butler and Davis were talking, Butler reached down and pulled up one of his pants' legs. The police report indicated Butler pulled a handgun from his sock. Davis grabbed the man's hand and pistol and pressed them against his leg. Seeing the commotion, the other of- ficers took control of Butler and he was disarmed. The weapon was a 38-caliber snub-nose revolver. Medlock tells Up & Coming Weekly had it not been for training and the officer's presence of mind, the incident could eas- ily have gone differently and Davis would "probably have been justified in shooting Butler" who is black. Davis, a field train- ing officer and a 10-year veteran of the department, is a "squared away profes- sional" according to Medlock. Butler, as it turns out, has a lengthy criminal record. He is in jail and is being held on several charges including three counts of assault with a deadly weapon on government officials and posses- sion of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to police. This was one of sev- eral similar incidents in recent months during which police officers had to confront armed subjects who attempted to assault them, said McLaurin. This is not a Fayetteville problem, but rather one that is being faced by law enforcement officers across the nation. "It worries me to no end," Medlock said. "It's different at the chief's level, worrying about their safety. We're faced with these situations all the time." The other officers involved in this case were Dylan Kettell, a K-9 officer with 11 years' experience and Matthew Smith who's been on the department since 2013. A Close Call for Officer by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS Col. Ron Stephens, commander of Fort Bragg's Womack Army Medical Center will pass command to Col. Lance Raney on Jan. 8. Stephens is leaving this week to serve as Deputy Commander, Army Pacific Regional Health Command. He's been at Wom- ack since May of 2014, when he re- placed Col. Steven Brewster who was relieved of command following the unexpected deaths of two patients and what the Army describes as a loss of confidence by his superiors. "The past is in the past…we are looking to the future," Stephens told his staff of more than 4,000. "We do have some work to do." Stephens said he was comfortable coming to Wom- ack because he knew the organization well. "We have re-established faith, trust and confidence in the staff, leaders around Fort Bragg and the patients whom we serve," he said. "We have placed a relentless focus on safety, which was a key concern." Acknowledging that soldier readiness is priority one, Stephens pointed out the medical center also focuses on research, collaboration with other medical facili- ties, education and training. Womack has the only podiatry residency in the Army healthcare system. Stephens says the region's medi- cal community is facing a constant turnover of clinicians that causes wait times he has worked hard to manage. He spoke of opportunities that pres- ent themselves at other facilities which results in resignations. "We have been short of primary care providers since I got here," Dr. Stephens said. "Constant turnover is a constant problem." Womack has 120,000 patients enrolled in its direct care system… the largest in the Army. Another 30,000 are assigned to civilian care providers. Fort Bragg's pharmacy is the busiest in the Department of Defense. The budget he began with this year was higher than the year before and the year before that, Stephens observed. He declined to criticize the budget process noting that "Budgetary opportunities are based on primary care clinics and number of patients…we never, ever compromise safety and quality of care." He expects that over the next few months with the hiring of additional providers, Womack will be able to add thousands to its enrollment. Stephens said departing Womack Army Medical Cen- ter and the privilege of command "is bitter sweet…I am comfortable that we have the programs and policies and initiatives in place that will allow my successor to hit his stride and Womack Army Medical center will continue to move forward. I wish I could have stayed longer." Col Stephens notes that he was a soldier before he became a doctor. He spent his first 10 years in the Army as an enlisted man, having joined as a member of the Georgia National Guard. He was commissioned after graduating from his college ROTC program. Dr. Stephens has spent the last 20 years as an Army physician, and is grateful for "the community's unwavering support of the Army and Army medicine." Womack to Change Command by JEFF THOMPSON Editor's note: Last week, the Fayetteville Police Department lost one of its own. A young officer took his own life. Police ask that the community keep the family and the department in prayer. Assistant Register of Deeds Receives Order of Long Leaf Pine Cumberland County Senior Assistant Register of Deeds Pam Stultz received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Dec. 18 during her retirement ceremony in the Courthouse. North Carolina Sen. Wesley Meredith presented the order to Stultz on behalf of Gov. Pat McCrory. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is the state's highest civilian honor. Stultz has been employed with the Register of Deeds Office since 1987, fol- lowing four years of employment with the State of North Carolina. In 2011, Stultz received the Charles W. Moore award from the North Carolina Asso- ciation Registers of Deeds. The award is given annually to a register of deeds assistant or deputy in recognition for outstanding service to the association. Cumberland County Register of Deeds Lee Warren also presented Stultz with a ceremonial key to the Deeds vault in recognition of her years of service to the Cumberland County Register of Deeds office. News Digest by JEFF THOMPSON State Sen. Wesley Meredith, right, pres- ents Senior Assistant Register of Deeds Pam Stultz the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Dec. 18. Register of Deeds Lee War- ren is at left. Educators accused of assaulting children Two former Pauline Jones Alternative Middle School educators await trial on charges of assaulting students. Terry Van Drake, 47, faces three counts of child abuse stemming from separate assaults. Danny Pettigrew, 61, faces one charge. Both men are no longer with the school system, according to School Superintendent Frank Till Jr. The charges stem from incidents that occurred in late October and mid-November. A Sheriff's Office investigation was initiated when a parent of one of the children com- plained. Drake served as Pauline Jones' safe school coordinator. In one instance, he al- legedly grabbed a child by the wrist and yanked him from a desk, according to Sgt. Sean Swain of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department. Drake later allegedly grabbed the child by the wrist, pulled him from a chair and forced him to the floor and placing his knee in the child's back. Drake allegedly grabbed another student by the wrist, placed his left hand on the child's back and forced him to the floor, said Swain. He then allegedly picked the child up and forced him into a desk. Two days later, Drake allegedly grabbed another child, jerked him out of his desk and took him to the ground while forcing the youngster's hands behind his back. Pettigrew, who was a teacher, is accused of grabbing