JC Bailey victem of police brutality *pics inside*

A desire for answers, a perceived lack of justice and lingering concerns over the alleged actions of several Bardstown Police Department officers and a Nelson County Sheriff’s deputy resulted in a vigil Thursday at the corner of Fifth and Broadway in Bardstown.
Two months to the day after Joseph Carl Bailey Jr. and another man allegedly stole a TV from the Bardstown Wal-Mart, his friends, family and a Louisville-based activist group are still questioning why he was so scratched up and bloodied after his arrest. The most telling evidence, those protesting claim, are photos taken at the Nelson County Jail after Bailey, whom is known to most as “J.C.,” was treated at Flaget Memorial Hospital. About a dozen people held enlarged copies of his arrest photo and chanted about justice Thursday.
“It looks to me like he was beaten, and pretty severely,” Frank T. Douglas, a Bardstown activist, said earlier this week. “The stories these officers give about that night don’t really add up to me. There are a lot of inconsistencies.” Douglas is the Bardstown director of the Justice Resource Center, the group responsible for organizing Thursday’s gathering.
When J.C. Bailey and his accomplice allegedly left Wal-Mart about 5:05 a.m. with the TV in a shopping cart, it was placed in a car that belonged to his mother. A civilian called police and followed the men, giving updates on their whereabouts, police reports show. Authorities tracked the car down and it stopped on Ashberry Drive just off KY 245. The passenger, the still unnamed accomplice in the alleged theft, fled on foot and has never been located. J.C. Bailey was stopped on foot as he ran and after what police describe as a great degree of difficulty, was handcuffed. Due to his facial lacerations, Nelson County EMS was called to the scene and Bailey was treated at Flaget with Tylenol and had his wounds cleaned prior to being booked at the jail.
Bailey was on probation at the time of the incident. He is now in the Marion County Jail and was unable to comment. J.C. Bailey was charged with a misdemeanor for the theft of the 27-inch Samsung Slim Fit TV.
No one has ever disputed the TV was stolen by J.C. Bailey. His father, Joseph Carl “Joe” Bailey Sr., said his son is no angel, but he has many questions about why his son appeared to be scratched and cut in so many places on his face and head.
“They (police) claim he fell when they were chasing him,” Joe Bailey said. “How did he hit his whole face on both sides in one fall?”
Joe Bailey said to literally add insult to injury, he recently received an $838.25 bill in the mail from Nelson County EMS. Another issue Joe Bailey said he has with the police reports he has received and conversations he has had with city officials is why did an officer use the butt of a shotgun to hold his son on the ground during the purported scuffle.
“I was a corrections officer,” Joe Bailey said. “I’ve never heard of a situation where you take a loaded weapon and put it on someone like that. What if the gun had gone off and hurt or killed a policeman? My son would have been charged with a crime he didn’t even commit.”
Nelson County Sheriff Mike Newton said he had one deputy at the scene that night and the matter is still under review. No formal meeting has taken place with Newton and those complaining on J.C. Bailey’s behalf.
Bardstown Police Chief Charles Marksbury said the issue was under review, but referred all questions to Thomas A. Donan, attorney for the city of Bardstown.
Donan said the entire matter is under an ongoing review. He said although no sworn, notarized complaint has even been filed on behalf of J.C. Bailey, there was a letter from Douglas filed with the city recently.
“So far, we have found nothing in the case that would necessitate action against the officers,” Donan said.
Several city officials met recently with Douglas, the Rev. Louis Coleman, founder of the Justice Resource Center, and Joe Bailey. No resolutions came from the talk, Douglas said. The group rallied to draw attention to its cause. The next logical step, since no answers have been given to the group’s satisfaction, is to file a lawsuit, Douglas said.

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