Mossyrock Police Chief Jeremy Stamper is surrounded by police, deputies and troopers after today's sentencing of Wayne Burdette.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – More than two dozen uniformed law enforcement officers dominated the courtroom gallery, figuratively and then literally standing behind Mossyrock Police Chief Jeremy Stamper today.
They were there to observe the sentencing of Wayne Burdette, a 44-year-old man convicted last week of obstruction and acquitted of a more serious charge of felony harassment.
Wayne Burdette
The charges stemmed from a June traffic stop in which Burdette got out of his truck with his right hand behind his back and advanced on Stamper – after being told to stay put – prompting the officer to draw his pistol and retreat behind his patrol car. Burdette was arguing he wanted to see the radar reading.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher told the judge Burdette willfully and egregiously placed the officer in fear he was going to be shot.
Meagher asked the judge to send Burdette to jail for one year, the maximum amount allowed for the crime of obstruction, saying the judge needed to send a message.
“You and I have a bad day (at work), I go home with a headache,” Meagher said. “This officer has a bad day, he may not go home.”
Meagher had argued unsuccessfully in the trial last week in Lewis County Superior Court that Burdette’s actions and manner amounted to a threat to kill.
Defense attorney Ken Johnson this morning reminded the court Burdette was convicted of a gross misdemeanor, not the other charge and suggested the punishment should fit the crime.
The delay in the speeding ticket getting issued was not extensive, Johnson said.
Normally obstruction would be dealt with in District Court and the outcome might be two days in jail with the balance suspended, he said. His client has already been held for 71 days, he said.
Since the judge agreed to consider writings found in Burdette’s home, Johnson said he needed to explain some background.
Johnson told the judge Burdette has experienced police misconduct first-hand, which colors his view of officers, and has been seeking avenues of redress.
“There is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it,” Johnson said. “Clearly arguing on the side of the road is the wrong way.”
Stamper asked Judge Richard Brosey for a sentence of one year, telling the judge Burdette is a danger.
“This guy is gonna kill one of us, given the first opportunity,” Stamper said.
Burdette took the judge up on his offer to comment.
“This is the third time I’ve been chained and caged,” he said.
“Words just really fail me, because what do you do about incompetence? What rights do you have?” Burdette asked.
Judge Brosey offered a lengthy soliloquy, telling Burdette that whatever may have occurred in the past elsewhere had nothing to do with any officers in Lewis County.
“Just because they choose to wear a uniform doesn’t make them inherently evil or out to get you,” Brosey said.
Brosey told him if he has issues with cops, he needs to take it up in court.
“You got a fair trial, perhaps the fairest I’ve ever seen,” he said. “That doesn’t alter the fact you did in fact obstruct, and you’re darn lucky you’re not dead.”
Brosey gave him 365 days in jail, with credit for time served.
The judge and the defendant exchanged more words after a statement was read about his appeal rights.
“You can say all the pretty legal words you want but it does not make it justice,” Burdette said.
Brosey once again tried to convince Burdette the system works, although it’s not fast or easy. And then the hearing was over.
“We’re done,” Brosey said.
•••
For more background, see “Breaking news: Burdette: Acquitted of felony harassment” from Friday August 19, 2011 at 5:23 p.m., here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
One Question, where is the Dash cam video?
It’s so easy to judge when it’s a stranger you’re talking about. This man was my stepfather, the system has continuously failed him. He needed help, not prison.
OK George, sure thing pal!
Wow, Janet, you are OUT there! I mean WAY OUT.
The cops searched the guys house. What was their reason for that? Did they have probable cause? Getting pulled over for a minor traffic violation is not probable cause for a home search… Even muttering stuff to the cops or about the cops is no reason for a search of someones home. And you can mutter all the stuff you want about cops, and if they bust you for it, you have a nice lawsuit. Just because they wear a badge doesn’t make them special.
By suggesting that I not pay taxes so that my pay doesn’t go to cops who are on duty, yet are not at their appointed posts, THAT is suggesting that I break the law. That is close enough to be conspiracy. THAT is against the law. So you are breaking the law by suggesting that I break the law? Wow. And if a cop is on duty and NOT at his appointed post, then he should NOT be paid for that time when he is not doing what his job entails. Showing up in court, in uniform, to help influence a judge, that is NOT what we pay them for.
The comment “it only takes one bad cop to make them all look bad”… that is not carrying a grudge against cops. It’s the truth about cops. And while you’re at it, you can take that exact same statement, replacing the word “cop” with ANYTHING, and it will still ring true. Why don’t you try it… you might find that the statement works.
As for friends showing up in court, no, they WON’T intimidate a judge, because none of them would be all decked out in uniforms, carrying weapons, sporting fancy badges…. And let me tell you, a pack of 15-20 cops all in uniform IS very intimidating, whereas a group of 45-50 (or more) people gathered around is not quite as much. And that is the mentality of cops today… intimidate, cow, and control the “civilians”, for that is what you are to them… you, me, and everyone else… we are nothing more than “civilians”. We’re not “equals” to them, and that is where people get a lot of their enmity towards cops.
In the case of Burdette, he vocalized those feelings, and got busted for it. He got the extra time that he got simply because of the intimidating presence of all those cops in uniforms in the court room. Anyone else would have gotten much less time behind bars, with the rest being suspended. The cops were there because they did not get their way. Wah.
Did you look at the video from Channel 7 that “small town kid” put on his comment? Where Burdette said Maurice Clemens should have not warned the cops he was going to kill them? Or how he said Clemmons should have worn the best body armor available. Or how he wrote in his journal, “kill cops kids”?
Do you really think that the cops are wrong for standing behind Stamper? With all the evidence they found in Burdettes house that blatantly proves he wants cops dead? Even to kill their children? And he even states which body armor is best to ward off cops bullets! And not just a little evidence but four different journals of it! Tell me, do you really think it was nothing and that the cops shouldnt be afraid of when this guy gets outa prison in less than a year? Do you really think what he did, with a loaded, cocked gun behind his back was harmless? Ha Ha, “sorry offficer, it was all a big joke!!”” “Why does everybody wanna be so mad?”
And if I were in court, and a whole crowd of my friends showed up, they wouldnt be there to intimidate the freakin judge, they wouldnt have ever even begun to think they would, or could! They would have been there to let me know they care for me! Do you believe they were actually there to intimidate? WHY?!!! If they were going to do that Im sure they may have had done it BEFORE the judge reduced the charges…ya think?!!!
And your comment, “it only takes one bad cop to make them all bad!” Wow, that does prove to me exactly where your coming from! I thought I had a grudge for them!
If you dont wanna pay their wages, its simple, dont! That way when they put you in jail for not paying your taxes, you can blame it all on the cops and put it in Sharyns Sirens!
Not all is fair in our system. It has much corruption. To involve the system is like playing russian roulette….good luck! I know, believe me. I have no trust at all in most of it. Its scary but true! imstanding up for human beings. I believe these people were denid protection for themselves and especially their families. They are a prime example of how our system lets us down, just like I was talking about earlier. It just so happens these people happen to be cops, bullshit even happens to them. I can be spiteful and say haha cops, you didnt get your way this time. But I wont cause it was a bad time for them to not get their way! I AM human enough to see that and to care
I care if they take an hour out of their work to do something like this. I pay them to patrol the streets, keeping ALL of us safe from those who go around breaking the law (drug dealers, thieves, robbers, etc…). I do NOT pay them to show up en mass in court just because they want to support one of their own.
If YOU were in court, Janet, and a whole pile of US showed up in court to support you, would that have any influence on the judge as far as the sentence being handed down? Not likely.
As for the charges being reduced from what they should have been, that’s a crock. Just because Stamper wears a uniform does not make him royalty, where any perceived threats or actions against him are prosecuted at a level far greater than if those same actions had been leveled at a “civilian”.
THAT is the problem that a lot of people see with law enforcement, in that what might be only a simple, minor charge against you or I is charged as a major crime in the case of a cop. And then, you rarely see a cop, after doing the same thing, getting anything resembling the same punishment that a “civilian” would get… if they are even prosecuted.
That sows a distrust of law enforcement in general. It only takes one bad cop to make them all look bad. It only takes one bad action to make them all look bad. And by taking time from work to participate in a “show of force and intimidation”, well, I’m not paying them to do that.
Perhaps I should demand a refund?
Like kid said, “they were there to show this evil man that threatning their lives, their families lives, and the lives of anyone who works with the police that this will not be tolerated in Lewis County”
Since the police obviously got the short end of the stick on this, they NEEDED to make a statement. It got your attention huh cdc?
And who cares if they took an hour out of their work to do this, big freaking deal!
And George, “he was given a jail sencence far greater than normally would have been handed out?”
Yeah, maybe. But his charge was reduced far from what it should have been. What is up with that anyhow..PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS?
I will say that the 2 LCSO employees that I see in that picture work in the office downstairs and aren’t on patrol, so they were not endangering public safety by not being in a car driving around answering 911 calls while on duty. I can not speak to the other departments present in the picture. Having just those 2 there is nothing considering how many could have been present from LCSO. A lot of them are friends outside work and even grew up with each other from elementary school – just like you and me (no one in particular) if you grew up here.
Hey kid….small town or whatever.
“team mate” is just that – ‘on the same team’ – what the heck do you think the UNIFORMS were about, dude? It’s like rugby and football and all those other war games… the guys on the teams dress alike so they can tell which one belongs to which team….cause otherwise, they kinda all look alike.
We pay the cops to work, not show up in court to cheerlead or influence a judge, or whatever they were doing. I am not saying all of them were on the clock, but if they are acting as private citizens – then leave the uniforms at home. If they WERE on the clock – knock it off. That isn’t what they get paid for.
That warm and fuzzy feeling they all get from showing up in ‘colors’ does not extend to ALL the taxpayers, and it reminds me of gangs. Maybe it is just a guy thing, because it does NOT promote a sense of safety to me, but rather a sense of intimidation.
All I have to say is watch the link and you tell me……….
http://www.kirotv.com/video/28981577/index.html
Come on, whats right is right! That guy is one lucky s.o.b. I cant believe he got away with that judgement and sentence. With all he did, and what they found at his house, its just incredible! What do you think he is going to be doing for the next year? I fear for the lives of any police that cross his path once he is on the street again! I think he just about had himself worked up to doing something worse than murdering four cops in a coffee shop. And I do believe Stamper is counting his lucky stars that he is alive today, and rightfully so!
Lewis County amazes me! They dont just f over the public, they even do it to their own! There is alot of foul in the system here, people dont even know!
So, even as bad as I dislike certain government offices here, I am open minded and human enough to see that Burdette should be put away for a long time. The court was wrong in their judgement.
And I have a deep respect for those cops that were in the courtroom that day, in uniform, on or off duty! It made me see that there are cops here that are willing to stand for what they feel is right! They had balls enough to stand in front of their department, the court, and the critical public. Too bad there arent more like them around here.
So, I’m angry and carry a grudge? You got all that from me making an observation that all of those cops showing up in court in uniform possibly had an unfair influence on the judge? Or perhaps it was from the observation that if they were all in uniform, they should have been out on the streets of their jurisdictions patrolling and arresting those who have broken the law?
Now, the person who was charged in this case was found guilty of a crime, but not the main crime the cops wanted. He was also given a jail sentence far greater than what would normally have been given out. Perhaps the sentence was greater because the person who felt threatened was carrying a badge?
Regardless of the outcome, a person who committed a very minor crime got a sentence far greater than what he should have gotten, and a whole bunch of cops were off the streets that day in order to show solidarity. If we as private citizens tried something like that, we would be locked up too….
Still… who was out patrolling our streets and protecting us if they were all in court “protecting” one of their own?
George says:
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Makes you wonder…. if all the cops were at the court, who was out doing their job? It’s obvious that they weren’t doing what they were getting paid for… showing up to court in huge numbers to intimidate a judge into giving an excessive sentence for a minor crime is not what we pay these guys to do….
~~~George you sound like you’re an angry man with a grudge……. There is no intimidating the Judge. Burdette is a threat to the officers and the public.
cdc says:
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 6:34 am
I have to agree with George. While showing up in uniform does show solidarity with their team mate, the assumption by the public will be that if they are in uniform, they are on the clock. This may not be the case, but this trial highlighted a cop having a ‘bad day’, and how that impacts the trust level among ‘regular’ citizens.
~~~”TEAM MATE”? WTH, is this about? Trust levels with the public? They were there to show an evil man that threatening their lives, their families lives, and the lives of anyone who works with the police that this will not be tolerated in Lewis County.
Great, a man HAS a gun and advances on an Officer with his hand behind his back, and people still are complaining about officers trying to ensure THEY don’t get killed. Stamper did nothing wrong. He initiated a simple traffic stop. Mossyrock isn’t a speed trap, isn’t some high budget department. It has a small department that provides admirable service.
I sincererly hope he doesn’t hurt anyone in the future.
I have to agree with George. While showing up in uniform does show solidarity with their team mate, the assumption by the public will be that if they are in uniform, they are on the clock. This may not be the case, but this trial highlighted a cop having a ‘bad day’, and how that impacts the trust level among ‘regular’ citizens.
Banding together AGAINST a citizen (no matter how despicable he may be perceived to be) is still going to be viewed as THEM against US.
Wonder if any of them (see?) thought of that when they were slipping on the uniform to come to that court appointment.
Makes you wonder…. if all the cops were at the court, who was out doing their job? It’s obvious that they weren’t doing what they were getting paid for… showing up to court in huge numbers to intimidate a judge into giving an excessive sentence for a minor crime is not what we pay these guys to do….
“Just because they choose to wear a uniform doesn’t make them inherently evil or out to get you,” Brosey said. ” They (cops) will be NOW !!!” It’s time for him to get out of Dodge.