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JPD officer suspended over car in cemetery


A Jackson police officer has been suspended pending investigation of a complaint that he repeatedly parked his patrol car in a cemetery while off duty. A supervisor found the officer there talking with a woman in her car, officials said on Friday.

Jackson police officer Ken Stone has been suspended for 10 days, pending investigation of the complaint filed against him. He could not be reached for comment.

Capt. Thom Corley with the police department said Stone was suspended after the department received complaints from people who live in the area of Ridgecrest Cemetery that a marked police unit was repeatedly seen in the cemetery for a period of time and that the residents were concerned.

“They provided us with the vehicle number. And a captain went out there to check up on it,” Corley said.

“Ken Stone was off duty when located, but he was in uniform in a marked vehicle,” Corley said. “The captain drafted a statement of charges including violation of policy and violation of conduct.”

Stone is charged with violating a department policy in regards to vehicles that are signed over to employees who have take-home privileges.

“With take-home vehicles, you are to drive back and forth to work and that’s all,” Corley said.

The car had been spotted in the cemetery for at least a couple of weeks. The captain discovered the incident on April 11, Corley said.

Chief Gill Kendrick held a hearing on those departmental charges Monday and administered the 10-day suspension Thursday, Corley said. Stone’s vehicle privileges are restricted for at least 90 days.

When the captain located the marked white Chevy Impala in the cemetery, it was empty, Corley said. Stone was in another car with a woman who is not an employee of the police department, he said. “They were in her private vehicle talking,” he said.

Stone, who has been with the department almost 15 years, is assigned to the traffic division.