Criminal Case Against Maryland Police Captian Troublesome
...Nelson's husband told police that last month she held her service weapon to his head and forced him to sign a contract to sell their house. Nelson is charged with three counts each of felony assault and second-degree assault... Capt. Tara Nelson is just one of two female captains on the Howard County police force. She also is commander of the criminal investigation bureau... Nelson allegedly ran over her husband's motorcycle two times and then tried to run him over... Nelson told police that her husband has mental problems... she was released from jail on her on recognizance...If this had happend to anyone else, they would not have been released. It does not matter if domestic violence is committed by a man or a woman
especially a 20 year police veteran. It is a crime. But, Obviously in Woodstock, Mayland domestic violence training is on the low end of priority enforcement. Dometic violence incidents among police families is higher than we as a society might think. And most of the time police spouses are afraid to come forward, press charges or follow through on a criminal case. On a personal note, if I had a dollar for every time my father told fellow officers who would respond to domestic violence calls at my home, my mother was stressed out, looney, had a problem upstairs in the head, I would be a wealthy woman. Instead, I am now a motherless woman, because time after time, my mother would call the police and no one believed her because my father was a violent crimes detective. As in so many situations that occur each day across America in police homes. The last and only time officers would respond to a call for help would be when I placed a call to the squad that my father had killed my mother and then himself. Please email the reporters at the end of these articles and express your outrage of this case. Susan Murphy Milano is the author of "Moving Out, Moving On" when a relationship goes wrong and "Defending Our Lives" getting away from domestic violence & staying safe. Susan ran an National Organization that included assitance and direct sevices to families and police officer families in domestic violence.
WOODSTOCK, Md. -- The criminal case against a Howard County police captain has been dropped, and she is expected to return to work on Tuesday.
Capt. Tara Nelson was charged last month with multiple counts of assault after she was accused of trying to run over her husband with her car during an argument outside their home in Woodstock.
Nelson's husband refused to testify at a preliminary hearing last week. Prosecutors said he also contradicted his prior statements to police, stating that his wife did not attempt to hit him and he never feared for his life -- leaving the prosecution without a case.
Nelson's lawyer said Nelson still faces an internal investigation.
ARTICLE FROM LAST MONTH WITH UNIQUE INFO:
Capt. Tara Nelson was charged last month with multiple counts of assault after she was accused of trying to run over her husband with her car during an argument outside their home in Woodstock.
Nelson's husband refused to testify at a preliminary hearing last week. Prosecutors said he also contradicted his prior statements to police, stating that his wife did not attempt to hit him and he never feared for his life -- leaving the prosecution without a case.
Nelson's lawyer said Nelson still faces an internal investigation.
ARTICLE FROM LAST MONTH WITH UNIQUE INFO:
Howard police officer is charged in assault;
Baltimore & Region
The Baltimore Sun
October 18, 2005 Tuesday
Laura Barnhardt And Hanah Cho, Sun Reporters
A high-ranking Howard County police commander has been charged in Baltimore County with trying to run over her husband with a car Sunday, authorities said yesterday.
Baltimore & Region
The Baltimore Sun
October 18, 2005 Tuesday
Laura Barnhardt And Hanah Cho, Sun Reporters
A high-ranking Howard County police commander has been charged in Baltimore County with trying to run over her husband with a car Sunday, authorities said yesterday.
Capt. Tara D. Nelson, 43, ran the Criminal Investigations Bureau, which investigates homicides, assaults and robberies. She has been placed on leave, and her police powers have been suspended, police said.
Nelson, of Woodstock, is accused of running into the motorcycles of her husband and one of his friends and trying to hit the two men with her Lexus during an argument with her husband Sunday afternoon, according to charging documents filed in District Court in Catonsville.
She is charged with three counts of first-degree assault and three counts of second-degree assault, court records show.
Neither man was injured, the court papers show. Baltimore County police said that Nelson told them she was upset when she found receipts from a restaurant and a hotel that she said were further evidence of her husband's infidelity. Police said that she told them she was trying to destroy the Lexus, which was a gift from her husband, and his motorcycle, according to the court documents.
Police also wrote in the court papers that Nelson said she did not know where her husband and his friend were standing when she hit a tree in her yard and the motorcycle.
Nelson's husband also told Baltimore County police that she had held her service weapon to his head to get him to sign papers to sell their house about a month ago. He told police he did not report the incident because he didn't "want her arrested," the court documents state.
After her initial appearance in District Court, the police commander was released on her own recognizance and ordered not to have unlawful contact with those involved in the incident, court records show.
Nelson, an African-American, was the first minority woman to become a captain in the Howard County Police Department.
During her 20-year tenure, Nelson has served as a lieutenant in charge of the department's education and training division. She has worked in patrol, media and community relations, criminal investigations, management services and information management, Howard County police said.
