Alexander police chief insults Native Americans, blames police budget shortages on others

City of Alexander Police Chief Horace Walters made several remarks directed at aldermen Jack Shoemaker and Juanita Wilson during the February 11 city council meeting. One insulted the Native American heritage of Shoemaker and Wilson.

Walters described a visit Shoemaker made to city hall days prior to the meeting. According to Walters, after stopping at the chief's office, Shoemaker went into the courtroom; where the council meetings are held.

"He came in here and started dancing and made strange sounds," Walters said. "That makes me leery, acting like a crazy man."

Walters also made a comment about Shoemaker "throwing feathers" around.

Days after the meeting Wilson said. "Native Americans don't throw feathers around. The feather is sacred."

Shoemaker denied behaving as the chief described at first. However, when called out by Walters he did admit to some of what the chief had described.

Shoemaker, who is a Native American Shaman,  was  performing a ritual known as a "cleansing."

City Treasurer JoAn Churchill says Shoemaker invited her to witness the ritual.

"Jack had a little bit of water in a cup, and he sprinkled a little in each corner as he recited his cleansing prayer," she said.

Also during the February 11 council meeting Walters made claims that aldermen Shoemaker and Wilson have been publicly accusing him of "spending recklessly."

"But, I'm here to refute that," he said. "This police department here has always been the scapegoat in an attempt to have you not look in other places where the problem really is occurring. I suggest we get a forensic accounting firm and look at the paychecks to see how the money is being handled here."

Walters has been police chief since about mid-2010. Except for alderman Farren Wadley, the remaining six members of the city council took office January 1 this year. One seat is vacant due to a resignation.

According to Churchill, who was city bookkeeper at the time, the 2012 budget allowed payroll for five full-time officers plus the chief. During the year he asked and received permission, from the previous council, to eventually increase the number of officers to eight.

The chief also claimed Wilson had called city hall and told a secretary to tell him to "tell those lazy (expletive deleted) officers to get off their (expletive deleted) and direct traffic around the train track."

Wilson immediately responded "That's a lie, I don't talk like that and everyone knows that."

Newly appointed mayor Michelle Hobbs may have opened the door to multi-ethnic religious practices being held in city hall when she allowed Alderman Patti Hamel to say a prayer at the start of council meetings, beginning in January. At the start of the December meeting Hobbs also called for a moment of silence for the shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.