Council president comments on arrest of Councilman Smith

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Meeting just one day after one of its members was arrested by federal agents for alleged police brutality, the Greencastle City Council turned to its president, Adam Cohen, to address the situation.

Terry 'T.J.' Smith

During the Council reports and comments portion of Tuesday night's agenda, Council President Cohen issued a statement on the status of Terry ("T.J.") Smith, a Putnam County Sheriff's Department deputy who serves as Fourth Ward city councilman.

Cohen read a statement on behalf of the entire Council, noting that its members had not been able to meet privately to discuss the matter, which took on elephant-in-the-room proportions when City Clerk-Treasurer Lynda Dunbar read the roll call and got no answer after calling T.J. Smith's name.

Smith was arrested Monday morning at his South Locust Street home and faces four counts of deprivation of civil rights relative to four separate incidents in which he allegedly used excessive force in making arrests locally.

"While these charges have nothing to do with his job as a CityCouncil member," Cohen said Tuesday evening of his Council cohort. "It is important to remember that elected officials, government employees and especially those that are granted enforcement powers have an added responsibility to act with the public's best interest in mind."

City officials, Cohen noted, have not received any official reports or official documentation concerning the charges against Smith.

"It would be unfair for the City Council to comment on the allegations at this point," the Council president added. "All we know is what has come from the media.

"Our concern and focus must be to make sure the citizens of Greencastle have the best possible government and that in particular, the citizens of the Fourth Ward know they are represented here tonight and every night."

Cohen stressed that the "decision on who sits in the seat of the Fourth Ward Council chair will have to wait."

"However," Cohen added, "the citizens need to know that all of us here stand ready and willing to serve their needs."

Cohen received support from fellow Council members Mark Hammer, Jinsie Bingham and Phyllis Rokicki in making his statement.

"The city has not communicated with T.J.," Cohen continued. "We are in the process of gathering more information. In the next few weeks, we hope to have more information and a clearer understanding of the appropriate next step."

The only other city official to make comment Tuesday evening was Second Ward Councilman Hammer, who termed Cohen's statement "very well said."

"At this point," added Hammer, who longest-serving member of the City Council, "it's as good a statement as we could possibly have."

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  • Good work, Adam and Council. Personally, I, too, only know what I have seen in media print concerning the arrest of this man. However, I am a resident of the 4th Ward, and I can say that the picture is the only way I know what this man looks like, as he has never seen fit to come to our home and introduce himself as our city council representative---even when he was campaigning for the job.

    -- Posted by cll on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 12:23 AM
  • This looks bad for our county again. We should consider this guy innocent till proven guilty. That's real hard to do for the average person. Stop and think about it. Unless its a high profile case, if a person in found innocent or the charges are dropped its not news. And once a person is arrested, its human nature to feel they are guilty. Right now he trying to figure out how to prove that he is innocent. Not exactly as easy as it sounds. The feds have built a case so he's starting out way behind. My feeling is, he will be found guilty. But to try to save himself, he will throw others under the bus. The only nice thing about it, when the FBI comes to town they are here enough they don't have to ask where to go for lunch.

    -- Posted by duct tape on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 1:32 AM
  • Makes you WONDER,what else is going on behind or in front of the city councils back,typical response for the council,"WE'LL TAKE CARE OF IT"or "WE'LL LOOK INTO IT" and then do NOTHING,attiude,sweep it under the rug,is what will be done,YES SIR,he's a real good representive of the 4th ward,makes you proud! He should be REMOVED for office! Plain and simple! A person in a position of Respect and power should be held to a HIGHER STANDARD,not be a canker sore on the face of the people he SERVES!When the TRUTH comes out,,,this will be VERY UGLY! Makes me proud to be a putnam county citizan!

    -- Posted by obeone on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 12:13 PM
  • Hopefully he can be treated like he is innocent until proven guilty, unlike he treated the victims in these cases. I totally understand using a greater force to overcome the resistance of a suspect during an arrest, but once that person is restrained, you CANNOT attack that person further, or give any kind of retribution for anything they may have done. That is NOT the job of the cop. Just arrest them, take them to jail, and let a judge and jury decide what is fair. There are a few that are surprised that there are only 4 cases against TJ, maybe because that's the only ones who would come forward or have any proof other than their word. or maybe not.

    -- Posted by Sickofthesystem on Wed, Mar 12, 2014, at 7:45 PM
  • One cannot go by the reports of the arresting officers. They make the report read the way they want them to. How can a person be committing a felony in their own home on their own privately owned property. Figure that one out???? I sincerely hope the FBI brings a big broom with them to clean house.

    -- Posted by Agent 007 on Thu, Mar 13, 2014, at 8:32 AM
  • It will be interesting to hear what Sheriff Fenwick has to say about all this What did he know and when? Did he try to hide all this?

    -- Posted by mickhamblen on Fri, Mar 14, 2014, at 5:17 AM
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