On November 2, 2011, at 3:30 in the afternoon, Jefferson County Constable David Whitlock, while shopping in a Lousiville, Kentucky Walmart where he worked off-duty as a retail security officer, received a call on his cellphone regarding a possible shoplifter. Constable Whitlock apprached the suspect, Tammy Lee Jamian, aka Tammy Ortiz, as she sat in her car in the parking lot. When Whitlock reached the vehicle, the suspect started to drive away. Her car ran over Whitlock's foot, so he shot her in the arm and hand.
In Kentucky, constables are elected under the state constitution which gives them arrest powers in the enforcement of traffic laws. They also serve certain types of warrants. Whitlock, who in 2000 and 2002 had himself been charged in a couple of theft cases, has been criticized for carrying a gun due to his lack of firearms training. In Kentucky, constables are not required to undergo special law enforcement instruction. Whitlock, claims, however, to have taken 122 hours of deadly force classes. According to a Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputry, Whitlock failed the shooting portion of the course and was sent home.
In a newspaper interview following the Walmart shooting, Whitlock told the reporter he spends 20 to 25 hours a week writing citations for illegal parking in fire lanes and handicapped spots. He also patrols the city making sure addresses are visible on buildings as required by law. (This guy is a real superhero.)
Tammy Lee Jamian, who has an arrest record for burglary, theft, and prostitution, claims she was not shoplifting in the store, and that Constable Whitlock, when he confronted her in the parking lot, did not identify himself as a police officer. She took off because she thought she was being mugged. Referring to Whitlock, Jamian's attorney told a reporter that "This cowboy shot an unarmed woman for shoplifting. He didn't know if she was Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde or Sister Teresa. (I can't imagine Sister Teresa shoplifting in Walmart--or even driving a car.) He just shot her."
Tammy Lee Jamian was not the first Walmart shoplifting suspect to be shot by the police this year. At 5:30 PM on July 21, officers with the Federal Way, Washington Police waited in the Walmart parking lot to intercept the suspected thief. When Jedidah Walters came out of the store thirty-five minutes later, he saw the police and ran about thirty yards before reaching for a gun in his ankle holster. The pursuing officers fired several shots, killing the 29-year-old on the spot.
UPDATE
On November 11, Louisville Councilman Rick Blackwell called for the state legislature to remove Whitlock as a Jefferson County Constable. According to the councilman, Whitlock has violated three state laws: deputizing staff members, failing to file monthly reports to the county clerk, and using oscillating blue lights on his car.
In Kentucky, constables are elected under the state constitution which gives them arrest powers in the enforcement of traffic laws. They also serve certain types of warrants. Whitlock, who in 2000 and 2002 had himself been charged in a couple of theft cases, has been criticized for carrying a gun due to his lack of firearms training. In Kentucky, constables are not required to undergo special law enforcement instruction. Whitlock, claims, however, to have taken 122 hours of deadly force classes. According to a Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputry, Whitlock failed the shooting portion of the course and was sent home.
In a newspaper interview following the Walmart shooting, Whitlock told the reporter he spends 20 to 25 hours a week writing citations for illegal parking in fire lanes and handicapped spots. He also patrols the city making sure addresses are visible on buildings as required by law. (This guy is a real superhero.)
Tammy Lee Jamian, who has an arrest record for burglary, theft, and prostitution, claims she was not shoplifting in the store, and that Constable Whitlock, when he confronted her in the parking lot, did not identify himself as a police officer. She took off because she thought she was being mugged. Referring to Whitlock, Jamian's attorney told a reporter that "This cowboy shot an unarmed woman for shoplifting. He didn't know if she was Bonnie from Bonnie and Clyde or Sister Teresa. (I can't imagine Sister Teresa shoplifting in Walmart--or even driving a car.) He just shot her."
Tammy Lee Jamian was not the first Walmart shoplifting suspect to be shot by the police this year. At 5:30 PM on July 21, officers with the Federal Way, Washington Police waited in the Walmart parking lot to intercept the suspected thief. When Jedidah Walters came out of the store thirty-five minutes later, he saw the police and ran about thirty yards before reaching for a gun in his ankle holster. The pursuing officers fired several shots, killing the 29-year-old on the spot.
UPDATE
On November 11, Louisville Councilman Rick Blackwell called for the state legislature to remove Whitlock as a Jefferson County Constable. According to the councilman, Whitlock has violated three state laws: deputizing staff members, failing to file monthly reports to the county clerk, and using oscillating blue lights on his car.
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