March 11, 1998: Deputy Orval Parker, Monroe County Sheriff Department
Deputy Charged with felony in assault
Monroe News
March 17, 1998
http://www.monroenews.com/
A Monroe County sheriff’s deputy was charged with a felony Monday in connection with an alleged assault on an ex-girlfriend last week.
Orville (O.P.) Parker, 45, a 20-year department Veteran, was arraigned by First District Judge Patricia Costello on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was released on a $500 personal recognizance bond .
The charge stems from an incident last Wednesday afternoon at Deputy Parker’s home, state police investigators said. During an argument with his ex-girlfriend, the officer allegedly pointed a handgun at her, ordering her out of the house.
The woman contacted the state police who forwarded the findings of their investigation to a Washtenaw County special prosecutor assigned to decide if a charge would be authorized.
Sheriff Tillman Crutchfield said Deputy Parker has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges. If convicted of a felony, the officer’s employment with the department would be terminated, he added.
A misdemeanor conviction also could result in his dismissal, the sheriff said, pending the results of an administrative investigation currently under way at the department.
“You realize that between now and your felony pretrial that peace must reign here,” Judge Costello told Deputy Parker.
The officer agreed to surrender any weapons he owns to a family member, and will have no contact with the victim.
A preliminary examination is scheduled for April 24 before First District Judge Terrence Bronson.
Deputy Parker turned himself into Monroe County sheriff’s deputies on Monday, prior to his arraignment.
If convicted of the felonious assault charge, Deputy Parker could face up to four years in prison.
Deputy Waives preliminary examination
Monroe News
April 24, 1998
http://www.monroenews.com/
A Monroe County sheriff’s deputy charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend with a handgun in March, will be arraigned in circuit court next month.
Orval (O.P.) Parker, 45, a 20-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, appeared in 34th District Court in Romulus before Judge Tina Brooks-Green on Wednesday and waived his right to a preliminary examination on the charge against him.
His circuit court arraignment in Monroe has been set for June 16.
Deputy Parker was charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony, in mid-March. The charge stems from an incident on March 11 at his home.
According to the state police investigators, Deputy Parker pointed a handgun at his ex-girlfriend during an argument and ordered her out of the house.
A special prosecutor from Washtenaw County reviewed the state police investigation and authorized the charge against him.
He remains on suspension from the sheriff’s department pending the outcome of the criminal charges. He is free on a $500 personal recognizance bond.
If convicted of the charge Deputy Parker could be sentenced to as many as four years in prison.
County deputy cleared of assault charge
Monroe News
February 17, 2000
http://www.monroenews.com/
A jury Wednesday cleared a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy of charges of pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend during an argument almost two years ago.
Orval (O.P.) Parker, 47, a 22-year veteran of the force, was found innocent of felonious assault and domestic violence charges.
“After 702 days, it’s like the world has been lifted off my shoulders,” Deputy Parker said after the verdict. “I can finally take a breath of fresh air.”
The 12-member jury deliberated a little more than an hour after the three-day trial held in Monroe County Circuit Judge William F. LaVoy’s courtroom.
Visiting Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Melinda Morris was the presiding judge and Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Rolland Sizemore III tried the case. Local officials had excused themselves because they knew Deputy Parker.
Deputy Parker has been on unpaid suspension leave since Renee Harrington, his ex-girlfriend, filed charges against him. She claimed that on March 11, 1998, Deputy Parker pointed a gun at her during an argument in his home.
State police of the Monroe Post investigated the incident and a special prosecutor authorized formal charges.
Deputy Parker testified that he never pointed a gun at Ms. Harrington. He also said on the stand that she told her to get out of his house, but he never held a weapon. The jury believed him.
“He had a remote control and she claimed it was a gun,” said Monroe defense attorney William Godfroy. “We denied it was a gun from day one, from the first moment.”
Mr. Godfroy called eight witnesses while Mr. Sizemore called two. Both Deputy Parker and Ms. Harrington testified in the sometimes-emotional trial.
Deputy Parker said he is relieved his name has been cleared and looks forward to returning to work. He said he believes he should be reinstated.
“I’ve done nothing wrong, I’ve violated no departmental policies,” he said. “I want to get to work with full police powers and serve the citizens of Monroe County.”
In the past two years, Deputy Parker has been working various jobs, but nothing was permanent because “when you’re suspended nobody wants to hire you,” he said.
Now he’s ready to get on with his life.
“I have no animosity toward the County of Monroe,” he said. “I want to forget about it. It’s time to move on.”
Mr. Sizemore was unavailable for comment.
Walking a new beat
Retirements going well for sheriff’s office
Monroe News
Sunday, January 5, 2003
http://www.monroenews.com/
Retirements:
Deputy Orval Parker. Position: Transport officer. Began: May 28, 1977. Retired: November 29, 2002.
Local man to help Iraqi police
Orval Parker will put his knowledge as a former sheriff’s deputy to use training police in Baghdad
Monroe News.com
January 17, 2004
http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2004/01/07/news/news02.txt
Frenchtown Township- After 26 years as a Monroe County sheriff’s deputy, Orval Parker easily could have lived on his pension and ridden off into the sunset on his Harley Davidson.
Instead, the 52-year-old Woodland Beach man is heading to Iraq next month to help train and rebuild the county’s police force.
“It’s a small way that I can be part of the development of a new nation,” Mr. Parker said. “I’d like to use my years of experience to help someone else. It’s not an opportunity you can get every day.”
After months of research and e-mail communications, Mr. Parker has been accepted to participate in a program that will send 1,000 police officers and corrections officers to Iraq to help rebuild the war-torn country’s force.
The U.S. Department of State awarded DynCorp International a $50 million contract to provide 1,000 advisors with 10 of domestic law enforcement, corrections, and judicial experience to help the government of Iraq organize an effective civilian law enforcement.
Those chosen to participate in the program will be paid and must have specialized training in areas such as police training, crime scene investigation, border security, and traffic accident investigations. Mr. Parker said he is eligible because of his experience with the sheriff’s department.
During his 26 years on the force, Mr. Parker worked in the traffic investigations unit, undercover, jail transport, and road patrol. He was selected for the mission based on that experience.
Mr. Parker will head to Virginia, probably in February, where he will receive training. He then will be shipped to Baghdad where he will stay for one year and train the city’s police officers.
What exactly his job will be has not yet been determined. Mr. Parker believes he will work with the Iraqi officers to teach them community policing. It will be a difficult task to gain the trust of the people who no doubt are used to a police force that operated under dictatorship rule.
“People over there are afraid of police officers,” Mr. Parker said. “They want to show the people that police officers aren’t the bad guys. They want to gain the trust of the people.”
The task certainly is formidable, but Mr. Parker said he is ready for the challenge. He also must face the possibility of attack. Suicide bombers and rebels commonly target police officers and Mr. Parker said that certainly is a concern.
“That’s something you have to deal with and I spent a lot of time thinking it over,” Mr. Parker said from his home. “It’s a personal challenge.”
Not only will Mr. Parker be teaching, he also will be learning. Obviously rules and laws vary between the two cultures but the goal is to try to implement a democratic law enforcement system. A criminal act here might not be against the law there.
“We pretty much will be starting from scratch,” Mr. Parker said. “Take for instance domestic violence. Does that even exist over there? I don’t know.”
Although he has a few weeks to decide to pull out, Mr. Parker said he is definitely going. He is an Air Force veteran and wants to participate in the rebuilding of a country that has seen so much devastation.
He will miss his son, Jason, 23, his friends and his motorcycle, which he has enjoyed since his retirement in November 2002. But Mr. Parker, born and raised in Monroe, said the task is a personal challenge for him.
It was 1974 when he was shipped to Okinawa Japan as a law enforcer with the Air Force. Now, 30 years later, he is heading overseas again.
“It’s going to be tense a lot but hopefully that’s where 30 years of experience will come in handy,” he said. “I’m just going to do my job and enjoy myself as much as I can.”
Deputy Orval Parker - March 1993
Transcripts Of Deputy Parker's Department hearing for stalking/abuse of power, March 25 1993.
