Black chaplain roughed up and arrested by Fairfield Hills police
by Ellen Aho and Sue Roman
In addition to the doctors and administrators who lived in houses at Fairfield Hills Hospital, some of the single and married staff lived in dormitories. During their time off they could leave campus for shopping and entertainment. Many of them didn’t have cars. On May 12, 1990 the Reverend Melvina Parker, a 38-year-old Black woman who was employed as a chaplain at Fairfield Hills Hospital, was walking up Queen Street to see a matinee at the Edmond Town Hall Theatre. Fairfield Hills police officer Dean Evans was driving on Queen Street and stopped Reverend Parker.
Officer Evans asked Reverend Parker for identification. She declined to show him her identification. They exchanged words. Then Officer Evans twisted Reverend Parker’s arm, threw her to the ground, handcuffed her and kept one knee on her back while he called for assistance.
At the time, the officer was looking for several missing patients, a task which he had authority to carry out off the campus property. However none of those missing patients was a Black female.
Officer Evans’ supervisor, Sgt. Michael Hugyo arrived on the scene and recognized Reverend Parker as a chaplain on campus. Nevertheless, he did not stop the arrest. They charged Parker with interfering with a police officer.
The Newtown Bee first reported the arrest 20 days later. The reporter used neutral and passive words to describe the incident: “Words were exchanged and the matter escalated to the point where the two wound up scuffling on the ground. The incident ended in Reverend Parker’s arrest.” The article did note at the end that “Numerous hospital employees have claimed that the arrest was not justified and was racially motivated. Police have reportedly claimed that the officer’s actions were not racially motivated or unjust, but rather precautionary.”
Parker’s situation seems to have attracted little attention in Newtown. A group of hospital workers organized by the health care workers union rallied in front of the administration building on May 19, 1990 to protest Parker’s arrest, arguing that it was racially motivated. But this protest was held on hospital grounds, not in town, and it earned just a few short sentences of print in that one Newtown Bee article about the incident. The arrest escaped notice even among some of those working at the hospital. There are no other public reports in Newtown about Parker’s case, although it continued to be covered by the Hartford Courant.
The charges against Reverend Parker were dismissed by the state court in June.
In October 1990 Reverend Parker filed a federal lawsuit against the two officers, alleging that her constitutional rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and 14th amendments had been violated. That case was dismissed by stipulation in February 1993, suggesting that it was settled out of court.
Officer Evans asked Reverend Parker for identification. She declined to show him her identification. They exchanged words. Then Officer Evans twisted Reverend Parker’s arm, threw her to the ground, handcuffed her and kept one knee on her back while he called for assistance.
At the time, the officer was looking for several missing patients, a task which he had authority to carry out off the campus property. However none of those missing patients was a Black female.
Officer Evans’ supervisor, Sgt. Michael Hugyo arrived on the scene and recognized Reverend Parker as a chaplain on campus. Nevertheless, he did not stop the arrest. They charged Parker with interfering with a police officer.
The Newtown Bee first reported the arrest 20 days later. The reporter used neutral and passive words to describe the incident: “Words were exchanged and the matter escalated to the point where the two wound up scuffling on the ground. The incident ended in Reverend Parker’s arrest.” The article did note at the end that “Numerous hospital employees have claimed that the arrest was not justified and was racially motivated. Police have reportedly claimed that the officer’s actions were not racially motivated or unjust, but rather precautionary.”
Parker’s situation seems to have attracted little attention in Newtown. A group of hospital workers organized by the health care workers union rallied in front of the administration building on May 19, 1990 to protest Parker’s arrest, arguing that it was racially motivated. But this protest was held on hospital grounds, not in town, and it earned just a few short sentences of print in that one Newtown Bee article about the incident. The arrest escaped notice even among some of those working at the hospital. There are no other public reports in Newtown about Parker’s case, although it continued to be covered by the Hartford Courant.
The charges against Reverend Parker were dismissed by the state court in June.
In October 1990 Reverend Parker filed a federal lawsuit against the two officers, alleging that her constitutional rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and 14th amendments had been violated. That case was dismissed by stipulation in February 1993, suggesting that it was settled out of court.
Sources Used:
(1990, June 1). Minister appears in court--arrest sparks controversy. The Newtown Bee.
Associated Press. (1990, June 4). Case dropped against hospital chaplain. The Hartford Courant.
Lipton, E. (1990, May 19). Protesters charge hospital chaplain beaten. The Hartford Courant.
Leavenworth, J. (1990, October 18). Chaplain suing hospital officers. The Hartford Courant.
Leavenworth, J. (1990, October 18). Chaplain says civil rights violated in suit against state hospital guards. The Hartford Courant.
(1990, June 1). Minister appears in court--arrest sparks controversy. The Newtown Bee.
Associated Press. (1990, June 4). Case dropped against hospital chaplain. The Hartford Courant.
Lipton, E. (1990, May 19). Protesters charge hospital chaplain beaten. The Hartford Courant.
Leavenworth, J. (1990, October 18). Chaplain suing hospital officers. The Hartford Courant.
Leavenworth, J. (1990, October 18). Chaplain says civil rights violated in suit against state hospital guards. The Hartford Courant.
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