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Serving Police Officer charged amid 'attempted murder'

EVOCITY, ID - According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, it has charged one of its' officers with reckless endangerment amid what has been described as an attempted murder of a civillian.

Sergeant John Tassiter, who was investigated previously for allegedly assaulting state senator Richard Pumpkin, has now been charged with reckless endangerment after he, off duty, apparently attempted to run over a black man who threw a bag at his car, and then, as Tassiter allegedly tried to escape the situation, climbed on and punched the car. Tassiter also, shown on bodycamera footage of the incident, stated "kill the nigger" to police after the man ran away, according to prosecution documents. Tassiter is also accused of two other counts of using racism online, including allegedly saying "ok nigger" on social media website 4Chan. 

At this time, the MCSO is refusing to release body camera footage and audio interviews of Tassiter, in direct contravention of Idaho's Freedom of Information Act, as it has no lawfully justifiable reason to do so.

Speaking on behalf of the Sheriff's Office, Detective Sergeant Craddock of the Internal Affairs Bureau said, "We have decided to press charges against Sergeant John Tassiter for his actions whilst off-duty on 01/12/19 at 2214 [UTC]. Following my conversation with the Assistant District Attorney, Jamie Norton, this morning, we have agreed that the incident does not warrant attempted homicide and instead will push for reckless endangerment charges." Sheriff Mondays himself did not provide comment. 

It is clear that this case raises questions about the conduct of our police force; Tassiter was previously investigated but acquitted of any misconduct, and was apparently also racist at that time too to the suspect, a black man (Richard Pumpkin). It begs the question that, if Tassiter's conduct was known, why did the Sheriff's Office allow him to remain an active duty police officer - and why, exactly, is the office's Internal Affairs Bureau trying it's hardest to prevent disclosure of evidence, even if it means breaking the law?

Sergeant John Tassiter remains suspended from duty at the Marion County Sheriff's Office and has been approached for comment at the time of reporting.

The Marion County Sheriff has ordered an investigation into the actions of Sergeant John Tassiter, badge number 017, and while the investigation has concluded, the case is still ongoing. Many may feel the case should have been concluded with our investigation, however please remember that investigations are almost always the prelude to action, which would be part of the case. 

In terms of the body-worn camera footage, the department has all intentions to cooperate and release the footage once the case is definitively closed. 

The Sheriff would like to remind the public that no member of the department is permitted to comment on an ongoing case without explicit written permission from the Sheriff or the Lead Public Information Officer, whether the investigation itself has concluded or not, per departmental policy.