Police, family of dead man will not meet

LITTLE ROCK — One of three daughters of a Pope County man who died of injuries suffered during an arrest by Russellville police in 2005 said Friday that the family was unsuccessful in getting a closed meeting with the officers as part of a tentative settlement of a federal lawsuit.

The family of Bobby Joe Rylee reached a tentative $562,500 agreement with five current or former Russellville officers last week. The settlement also included a public apology by the officers and information about measures theRussellville Police Department has taken to prevent another such death.

“Contained within the [proposed] settlement was our simple request for a closed meeting with all parties involved so that we could address the officers as a form of closure,” Christie Tanner, one of Rylee’s daughters, said in a statement. “To our dismay, that request was denied.”

Tanner and one of her sisters, Suzy Turnbow, noted that the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation of her father’s death is continuing. The FBI forwarded information from its investigation of the case to the department’s Civil Rights Division in late 2006.

In a separate statement Friday, Turnbow urged anyone who saw her father’s arrest but hasn’t come forward to call the Justice Department in Washington.

Turnbow said her family is working for legislation to mandate specific sentences when police use excessive force.

“Our family’s goal is to prevent future tragedies for other families,” she said.

Rylee, 61, of Russellville was arrested July 15, 2006, after police responded to a call from a gasoline station clerk who said a woman in Rylee’s truck asked the clerk to call police because Rylee was driving while agitated and armed with a knife.

Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons declined to charge any officers, saying they were justified in the force used to arrest Rylee. Police said Rylee had fought and stabbed one officer in the arm with a ballpoint pen.

Police took Rylee to the Pope County jail. Hours later, he was taken to a hospital. He died five days later. An autopsy determined he died from blunt-force injuries with complications, including a broken neck and a spinal-cord injury.

Defendants in the lawsuit were Lee Goemmer, Bobby Stevens, Keith Spears, Todd Winesburg and Terry Cobb. All but Winesburg are still Russellville officers.

Rylee’s other daughter, Sandy Krout, has not issued a statement.