KENNETT, Mo. – A Black school teacher who claimed white police officers abused and assaulted her agreed Friday to a plea deal convicting her of resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.
KENNETT, Mo. – A Black school teacher who claimed white police officers abused and assaulted her agreed Friday to a plea deal convicting her of resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. Under the deal announced late Friday, 24-year-old Heather Ellis avoided a felony conviction for her part in the scuffle at a Wal-Mart store in the southeast Missouri town of Kennett in January 2007. The case drew national attention because it had racial overtones: Ellis is black and the customer she argued with, assistant store manager and police officers are white. Ellis, a Kennett native who now teaches school in Louisiana, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and peace disturbance. Prosecutor Morley Swingle dropped two felony counts of assault on a law officer. Ellis will also be placed on unsupervised probation for a year, must serve four days of shock jail time and must attend at least two hours of anger management class. If she completes probation, her record will be wiped clean. After the hearing, Ellis said it had been worth going to trial even though the plea deal was similar to one she had been offered before. “I still think it’s important my story got out,” she said. Swingle said he was pleased with the agreement and thought the penalty was fair – there was never an intention to seek prison time for Ellis, he said. As for Kennett, Swingle believes the town’s reputation took an unfair hit. “This is not a racist environment,” he told reporters, drawing loud boos from several Black residents standing nearby. Moments later, Dwight Montgomery, a civil rights leader from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Memphis, Tenn., accused Kennett police and other officials of bigotry. “This is a terrible place,” Montgomery said. “There’s a lot of injustice here.” The issue of race was not prominently discussed in the trial, though in his closing statement, Swingle said Ellis and other defense witnesses were trying to portray Kennett, a town of 11,000 that is about 13 percent Black, as “some racist Hooterville.” The case prompted rallies from Ellis’ supporters and opponents. About 100 supporters rallied in Kennett on Monday; about three dozen counter-protesters gathered the same day, some showing swastikas or Confederate flags. The situation arose nearly three years ago with a dispute over cutting in line. Ellis was then a 21-year-old college student home for Christmas break. Around 11 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2007, she and her 15- year-old cousin, David Taylor, went to Wal-Mart to pick up a handful of items. When they got to the checkout line, aisle 13, it was moving slowly, Ellis testified. So she moved over to aisle 14 while Taylor remained in 13, to see which line would move faster. Soon, Taylor motioned for Ellis to come back to his line. But when Ellis moved in front of customer Teresa Kinder, an argument began. Ellis admitted swiping Kinder’s merchandise back four times while she tried to get her goods checked out. An assistant manager and security guard soon arrived. The prosecution contended Ellis was belligerent and verbally abusive to Kinder, called the store staff names. Ellis said Kinder shoved her and the assistant manager was rude. She denied making derogatory statements to store staff. Police walked Ellis and her cousin from the store. Ellis said Kennett officer Albert Fisher grabbed her by the back of the shoulder with such force that he ripped her leather jacket and swung her around. Other officers became involved and forced Ellis against the squad car, she said. Ellis teaches biology at a high school in Louisiana, where she is engaged to a state trooper. She is considering medical school. AP
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