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Police mourn death of officer
A Monetary contribution from officers and the Lakeside community will go
towards a memorial at the Public Safety Center for Lt. Aaron G. Use
By SAMANTHA McKENZIE
Chronide Staff Writer
- "After sitting down to cat
lunch the other day some of the
guys left a tip of about a dollar and
change on the table. The waiter
gave it back to them and told them
to put it towards (Tise's) memori
al," one police officer said Tuesday.
The 11th officer in Winston
Salem's history to die in the line of
duty will be remembered by his fel
low officers and the community
with a memorial at the Public Safe
ty Center on Cherry Street ? one
of the first of its kind.
The tragic death of Lt Aaron
G. Tise, a 24-year veteran with the
Winston-Salem Police Department,
came as a shock to the entire city
last Friday. Four black teenagers
have been arrested and charged in
the death of Tise, a white police
offier.
According to police reports,
Tise was struck by a grader after
responding to a call that people
were operating heavy construction
equipment in the Lakeside area off
New Walkertown Road. Tise^4ied
instantly. Officer Dan Dodder, who
also responded to the call, was
slightly injured.
Officials at the department said
at least $2,300 has been collected
for Use's memorial, two hundred of
which came from the Lakeside
community. Officers said cards and
flowers have come from other com
munities who also share in the loss
of a police officer.
The 46-year-old lieutenant
joined the department in 1968. He
was promoted to the rank of lieu
tenant in 1978 in the Field Services
Bureau. His experience in the force
included vice and narcotics, train
ing, detective and patrol divisions.
Officers who attended Tise's
funeral on Sunday, which was
filled to capacity, described him as
a warm and caring person.
"He was an outstanding person
and he was an outstanding officer,"
said Captain Frank Hoi man, Tise's
supervisor.
"Tise was a true asset to this
community. 1 wish we could find
some more like him." Holman
added that Tise was the kind of
officer who really cared about the
community and its needs. "He did
n't just do his job, he really cared
about the crime and the corruption.
His death was tragic."
Assistant Chief H. R. Tuttle, an
old friend of Tise who worked
closely with him for the past 24
years, said he will be missed dear
?y
j>nl grew up with him and went
to high school with him. He was
about the best worker anybody
could want. He was an individual
who just always had something
good to say."
While it's always tragic to
loose an officer in the line of duty,
Tuttle said Tise was a person that
touched everybody he met.
The mood in the department
since Friday has been quiet and
reserved, he said. "It was like los
ing a family member."
The Rev. John Mendez, con
vener for the Citizens United for
Justice group, said he had met Tise.
"He was really a decent guy.
knew him personally. He
helped us out on the march with
getting the permit," Mendez said.
Was officer's death an accident? Continued from page A1
"Everything I've heard has
been all lies. I was out there and
the people who are saying they are
witnesses were not the people I
saw out there that night," said Cray
Thompson, 30, a Lakeside resi
dent. Thompson said when he
vyalked home to his Harrington
Drive apartment he saw the grader
traveling west and someone was
driving it. He said he could not
identify the driver. But Thompson
said by the time the grader
appeared on East Drive, no one
was operating it.
"No one was in that grader
when it hit that officer. I saw the
officer out of his car. He tried to
jump up and stop the grader but he ,
got hit with the door. That's when
he fell off and hit the ground,"
Thompson said, refuting police
reports that Tise was struck while
trying to exit his vehicle through the
passenger door.
Other residents in the area
agreed with Thompson. They also
said there were at least 10 people
who participated in riding on the
grader: According to North Carolina
statute, a felony murder, e^gn with
out premeditation or intent to kill, is
still classified as first-degree mur
der.
District Attorney Thomas Keith
said first-degree and second-degree
murder charges are possibilities,
with first-degree murder carrying a
sentence of life imprisonment or the
death penalty.
Wanda Crews, mother of Con
rad and Jamarus said, "Everyone
was riding that grader. The whole
community was out there and my
sons and the two others just got
s picked out of the crowd. Those kids
were just joyriding and it turned out
to be a tragic accident," she added.
Crews says her sons were singled
out because of their criminal record.
Patricia Johnson, mother of
Witherspoon, said her son was with
her the entire nighL "1 was the one
who called the police at 1:30 to tell
them that some kids were joyriding
on that grader. My son was in the
house with me and his grandmother.
, We went outside (at least three
times) to see what was going on, but
he was not involved in that," John
son said.
She added that with all the con
fusion that night, it was hard to tell
who initiated the theft of the grader
or who was last seen riding it. All
three mothers of the suspects and
community residents say they are
hoping the charges will be lessened.
Captain Linda Petree said the
incident is still being investigated.
The Crews brothers, Fierson and
Witherspoon, are all being held
without bond and have been
assigned court-appointed attorneys.
A preliminary hearing will be held
July 10.
Need for better race relations Continued from page A1
knew him.
This week, more than a few
thoughtful people are asking: Is
Winston-Salem poised for race
riots? Should the Human Relations
Commission take the forefront on -
race relations issues? Should the
board of education, board of alder
men, and county commissioners
undergo annual sensitivity training?
Local polarization of the races
is exacerbated by the nation's politi
cal and economic scene, but local
politicians also shoulder much of
the responsibility.
"The Board of Education's
recent decision to move ahead with
redisricting plans before the black
members come on board showed a
real lack of judgment and sensitivi
ty," notes Dr. Cindy Farris, a sociol
ogist and dean of students at Salem
College.
Mayor Martha Wood is one of
a growing number of people who
feel that the Human Relations Com
mission should actively monitor
race relations, respond immediately
to race relations crises such as we
now have, and keep diverse groups
"oTthe community talking about
what is on their minds and coordi
rating together.
"The Human Relations Com
mission is a reasonable group to
look to for assistance in diffusing
racial tensions," said Wood. " 1 havp
- said thai for five or six years: Fc^
? +. .1 ? ? ^ ' If"!!,
? some reason thay ve pot wantwFto
deal much with matters of race out
side of housing."
Emery Rand, director of the
Human Relations Commission/says
his office is holding a six-week
series of sessions in which an inter
racial group of ten to sixteen people
meet weekly to discuss race rela
tions.
But asked if he thought the
commission should be at the fore
front of race relations in Winston
Salem, Rand answered, "1 don't
think that responsibility should fall
on one group, because if that group
fails people have a place to point
their fingers. I think the whole com
munity needs to be involved. We
can't be the answer, the cure-all."
Khalid Griggs, the Imam of the
Community Mosque of Winston
Salem, says the commission's pub
lic image is blurry.
"The commission is not as
clearly defined to the public as it
needs to be. In spite of its years of
existence, it's not explicitly known
what the commission's mission is,
beyond housing complaints and
naployment complaints. There has
first be some charge to the com
mission to play a particular rolef
Sue Hendricks, who chairs the
Human Relations Commission, says
the commission is "vitally con
cerned and involved with assuring
that we establish and maintain posi
tive race relations, but we have no
political power. Our only authority
is through influence."
Hendricks defended the com
mission's recent recommendation
against a citizen's police review
board, saying, "We investigated
everything we heard about police
brutality, rumors about black girls
being strip-searched, black males
being strip-searched in front of
search lights, and all the other
stupid rumors going around, and we
never found a person who claimed
it happened to them."
Asked if she felt the commis
sion should actively foster commu
nications between diverse factions
of the community as a preventative
mechanism, Hendricks answered,
"We had the idea up until about a
month ago that everything in our
community was going along about
as well as it could."
Lt. Aaron G. Use v
The black community is extremely
sympathetic that this kind of thing
would happen," he said. "It's his
kind of sensitivity that we wish
others in the police department
would share."
Assistant Chief Oliver Redd
said, "Most people who I've spoken
with have expressed their regrets .
and concern. Everyone is still in :>
shock." J
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