05/26/06

PUNTA GORDA -- A Punta Gorda Middle School teacher whose arrest spurred an about 60-person protest last week has been taken out of the classroom until police conclude their investigation.

On May 10, Denise V. Gates was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly resisting an officer after she was pulled over for speeding while on the way to the New Operation Cooper Street building, where she helps tutor children.

Witnesses say the Punta Gorda Police Department used excessive force when one officer used a "leg sweep" to get her to ground after she allegedly resisted the officer and was belligerent and aggressive.

While she was arrested and charged by the PGPD, the State Attorney's Office on Wednesday requested her arraignment be rescheduled since formal charges had not yet been filed against Gates.

"We are waiting for the all the witness statements to be reviewed before making a decision," said Assistant State Attorney Daniel Feinberg after the Wednesday arraignment at the Charlotte County Justice Center.

Her arraignment was rescheduled to next month's docket. Gates' attorney waived her appearance for the Wednesday hearing.

While the SAO and police continue with their investigation, the Charlotte County school district is remaining "neutral."

"We are going to let the investigative dust settle on this before making any decisions," said Assistant Assistant Superintendent for Human Services Doug Whittaker.

Gates, a remedial math teacher at Punta Gorda Middle School, was reassigned and taken out of the classroom, but officials stress she is not on suspension. Whittaker did not disclose her current assignment.

"We needed to remove her instructionally from the classroom until the investigation is complete, but there has been no conclusion of guilt or innocence by the district or any determination she did anything wrong yet," Whittaker said.

According to reports, Gates was traveling south on Cooper Street when she was clocked driving 47 mph in a 30 mph zone in her Nissan Pathfinder. Officer Jason Hilden followed her into the parking lot of the Cooper Street Recreation Center.

In his report, Hilden described Gates as "aggressively" approaching his patrol car. He asked her to return to her vehicle, but Gates reportedly uttered a profanity and said, "You are only stopping me because I am a black woman driving a Nissan Pathfinder."

Gates starting walking into the recreation center with Hilden, who is white, calling after her and asking her to stop, his report stated. Hilden caught up with her inside the center.

Gates reportedly walked toward the officer "aggressively," so he grabbed her right arm and tried to place her under arrest.

Gates resisted and swore at him again, and Hilden warned her he would have to use more force if she continued to resist arrest, the report stated.

Grace Nurse, New Operation Cooper Street's director, reportedly tried to pull Gates away from him and a backup officer, Marty Maddaugh.

Hilden stated he did a "leg sweep," got Gates to the ground and handcuffed her with the help of the other officer.

The PGPD is doing an internal investigation into the matter.

By ALYSSA SCHNUGG

Staff Writer

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