.
July 29, 1997
Prosecuting Attorney Greg Bridges
Newton County Courthouse
Neosho, Missouri 64850
Mr. Ronald Doerge
Newton County Sheriff's Office
Neosho, Missouri 64850
Dear Mr. Bridges and Mr. Doerge:
I was informed Friday, July 25, 1997, that the Newton
County Sheriff's Department is reluctant to investigate my
complaint that Granby Police Chief Chief George Chandler
falsely arrested, and assaulted me while still handcuffed on
Thursday, July 24, 1997 at approximately 7:00 p.m. I have
also been informed by the Missouri Attorney General's Office
that if a prosecutor declines to prosecute, that for all
practical effect the perpetrator of a crime cannot be held
to account criminally for his crimes. Victims of crimes are
for large part not allowed to individually prosecute
criminals, it is a function usurped by the state.
I strongly disagree with both notions. As I look at it,
it is the duty of both your respective offices to
investigate, and if warranted, to prosecute criminals
regardless of whether they are `law-enforcement' officials
or not. To fail to do so says that the police are above the
law and sets the precident that any person, if he has
control of both police and prosecutorial power, can commit
crimes against his enemies with impunity. Suffice it to say
that it might not be pleasant for the rulers of the ancien
regime if their victims were to come into power and apply
such doctrines promiscously.
Getting to the point of the matter, I want to file charges
against Granby Police Chief George Chandler for felonious
restraint, RSMo 565.120, false arrest and imprisonment.
Felonious restraint is a Class C felony, and looking at the
case law I am quite certain that if properly investigated
and vigorously prosecuted, that Granby Police Chief Chandler
can be sent to prison where he belongs.
There is a good deal of evidence and witnesses available
for this investigation. While Chandler and Granby police
officer Keller were careful to look around for witnesses
before Chandler proceeded to beat me while still in
handcuffs, and I did not notice anybody other than myself,
Chandler, and Keller inside the Granby Police Station when
Chandler was further roughing me up, still, I am informed
that the sound of Chandler and me yelling, and the
overturning of a file cabinent was pretty loud to anyone who
might choose to listen. Also, officer Keller might decide
to come clean, as I do not recall him striking me, and he
acted several times like he was scared that Chandler might
decide to kill me and he did not want to be charged as an
accessory to murder.
Also, there was a Sony microcassette audio tape recorder
that Chandler or one of his police knocked out of my hand
when Chandler arrested me for `disturbing the peace.' My
brother, Mike Lindstedt says that one of those Granby
policemen picked up the tape recorder off of the floor.
Perhaps you can impound as evidence both the tape recorder
and audio cassette, as I am uneasy at the thought of
recovering my property myself from the Granby Police
Department after what happened.
There is also a statement that I wrote and signed for
Deputy Richard Leavens on Thurday night at the Newton County
Jail which I shall pick up upon my return from family
business in South Dakota next week. Deputy Leavens acted in
a professional manner and perhaps saved my life by his
presence. My brother thinks that it is a good idea to leave
for a week while tensions cool down and I agree. Please
feel free to use this statement in your investigation, if
you investigate. I wish for a copy of this statement.
I shall be filing a federal civil rights lawsuit over this
matter. I would prefer that the responsible authorities
handle the state criminal matter.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely yours,
Martin Lindstedt,.
Note:.On the morning of July 25, 1998, when I was released on bond, me and my brother Mike demanded to see Doerge and to file a criminal complaint against Chandler and Keller. His chief deputy, Chris Jennings, said that Doerge had a policy of refusing to file charges against police officers within Newton County. Thus there was no purpose of asking for an investigation because none would be forthcoming.
Two weeks later, I ask Jennings again as to what happened to my letter and what Doerge would do about it. Jennings said that Chandler and the Granby Police Department were being investigated -- but at the request of the City of Granby. When asked about why Chandler was being investigated when the Granby City Hall asked, but not when I asked, Jennings said that the Granby City Hall's request was far more important than a mere citizen's request.
I concluded that this 'investigation' was to be a mere cover-up for the Granby Police State. When Chandler and Keller got caught in early September wiretapping the Shitty Hall criminals, I knew that it was instead an effort to blame all the criminality on Chandler and Keller. And so it turned out. Chandler and Keller took the entire blame for setting up a piglice state, when it really was the Shitty Hall criminals who brought these piglice criminals to Granby.
Neither Doege nor Bridges ever did anything about this letter. Later, in April 1998, Doerge professed that he had never gotten this letter. In any case, later Doerge sent me another letter professing the bullshit that "No man is above the law, etc., etc. Doerge did not do something useful, such as fire his chief deputy Chris Jennings, who had proclaimed Doerge's real, as opposed to professed, policies.
