MCINTOSH POLICE CHIEF'S SON FACES 2ND REVIEW OF ACTIONS

The son of McIntosh's police chief already under investigation for
beating and Tasering a driver during a traffic stop in March has
again been placed under review for firing a gun at a motorcycle
during a police chase Sunday, authorities said.

Officer Blaine Barnett, son of Chief Michael Barnett, fired a single
shot into the front tire of a motorcycle being chased by police on
U.S. 43, authorities said.

Capt. Mike Ready, of the McIntosh Police Department, said another
officer had attempted to stop the motorcycle driven by James Wills,
38, of Mobile, after the motorcycle was caught speeding at 80 mph at
about 2:30 p.m.

Wills drove south on U.S. 43 into McIntosh, when he turned around in
a parking lot and sped north on the highway, reaching speeds of 140
mph, Ready said.

Officer Blaine Barnett joined the chase, Ready said, and Wills drove
nearly 5 miles north of the city on U.S. 43 before turning around
again, driving south on the highway.

Barnett parked his vehicle facing north in the southbound lane, Ready
said, and he stood beside the car, holding his handgun in an attempt
to stop the driver.

The motorcycle continued to drive at Barnett, Ready said, and Barnett
fired his gun as the motorcycle reached within a few feet of him.

Ready said the chase continued nearly six miles, despite the shot to
the front tire, before stopping. The bike never wrecked and the
driver was unhurt, Ready said.

Wills was arrested and charged with driving under the influence,
attempting to elude a police officer, reckless endangerment, and
violation of laws prohibiting alcohol in Washington County, authorities said.

Chief Michael Barnett said his department will conduct an internal
review of his son's actions, the results of which will be reviewed by
an "outside agency."

"I don't think it will be a conflict of interest because we will turn
it over to an outside agency for review," Barnett said. "We're doing
our normal procedure. We're going to do it ourselves. We will
evaluate it, we will make a judgment, and then we will ask an outside
agency to make a review."

Barnett said his son will be placed on administrative duty "for a
couple of days" while officials determine which outside agency will
review the investigation.

"That's not saying he's done anything wrong," Barnett said.

There doesn't appear to be any policy in place in Alabama for
mandatory review of cases that involve possible police brutality or
officer-involved shootings, even if family ties could create a
conflict of interest.

Washington County District Attorney Spencer Walker said he would
investigate this case only if he had reason to believe Blaine Barnett
acted illegally or Chief Michael Barnett made a formal request for
review of the internal investigation.

Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Public Safety
Department, said the state only investigates such matters upon
request, either by the police department itself, or a third party
such as the district attorney's office.

No one in Attorney General Troy King's office was available to talk
about either of Barnett's incidents or policies concerning internal
police investigations.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is investigating a March 14
incident in which Blaine Barnett was captured on video tape Tasering
a man during a traffic stop, dragging him out of his truck and beating him.

Chief Michael Barnett said the family of the driver, Ronald Reed,
later filed a complaint with the Police Department. Reed was charged
with reckless endangerment and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Barnett said his son was placed on administrative leave with pay for
one week following the March 14 incident.

But Barnett said that his son, at the time of the incident, was
working for a tri-county task force with law enforcement officers
from Washington, Choctaw and Clarke counties.

Barnett said his son was hired onto the Police Department on the same
day as the Tasering, but he did not officially start the job until March 17.