POLICE OFFICER, HUSBAND ARRESTED

Cocaine Discovered In Their Home Near Shively, Authorities Say

Louisville police officer Ella Scott patrolled the 4th District, looking
for drug dealers, but yesterday it was she and her husband who were
arrested and charged with trafficking in drugs, police said.

Metro Narcotics detectives arrested Scott, 42, and her husband, Charles E.
Scott, 38, early yesterday after serving a search warrant at their home at
3631 Nichols Meadow Circle near Shively and finding three ounces of crack
and powder cocaine in a bedroom closet, a gun, scales and plastic bags, and
$6,100 cash in a night stand, police said.

The Scotts will be arraigned in Jefferson County Circuit Court this morning
on charges of trafficking in cocaine.

Louisville police Chief Greg Smith said yesterday that he has ordered an
internal affairs investigation of Ella Scott, who has been a police officer
for seven years.

"It's embarrassing to us, to our community," Smith said. "It doesn't
represent everyone on this police force. But we have to deal with (this
situation), and we have to do it swiftly and determinedly."

Scott previously worked as a traffic control officer and property room
clerk in charge of the police evidence room.

Smith said he'd seen no evidence to indicate Scott had taken drugs out of
the police evidence room when she worked there. As a property clerk, she
would have been responsible for the safekeeping of drugs and other evidence
confiscated during police investigations.

"There is no suspicion prior to this," Smith said.

According to an affidavit attached to the search warrant, a confidential
informant told police Charles Scott had been selling crack cocaine from his
house.

Besides the items found in the house, police said, investigators also found
a bag of marijuana and a gun case containing a scale, crack cocaine and
eight .38 caliber shells in a car parked in the driveway of the house.

Smith said yesterday that he had not seen any evidence that Officer Scott
had been using drugs on or off duty, and he noted that everyone in the
department, including the chief, is subject to random drug testing.

Information was not available about the last time Ella Scott had been
tested for drugs, he said, but the investigation is ongoing.

Officer Scott had received two letters commending her for her role in
arrests where drugs, weapons and cash were confiscated, according to police
records. She also received two letters of appreciation in 2000 and 2001 for
her assistance in National Night Out, a celebration of efforts by watch
groups to eradicate drugs in urban areas.

No one answered the door at the Scotts' house yesterday afternoon.

Neighbor Heather Bottoms said Ella Scott had been a "role model" for many
neighborhood kids and would talk to them about the dangers of drugs.

"I know she's very, very against" drugs, Bottoms said, adding that she was
"blown away" by the officer's arrest.

Neighbors said Charles Scott has been self-employed in the construction
business.