Former HPD Detective Offers Comment On Cold Case Stories

I noted that the story changed between this issue and the Sept. 16, 2015, issue where it was stated that the “case” was found in the evidence room. Now, in the Sept. 23, 2015, edition merely “forensic evidence” was found and the “case,” as stated before, was found somewhere else.

As I stated before, the case was thoroughly investigated and submitted to the county attorney where it was reviewed in detail and promptly turned down. I stand by this comment. The attorney who reviewed this case was Blaine Rhoton.

I am not surprised that the county attorney would not find anything on the case. His office is unaffectionately known to local law enforcement as the “Black Hole” where complete cases are submitted and never seen again. For (Holbrook Police Chief Mark) Jackson to state that there was nothing in the case file from the county attorney is misleading, as this is par for the course. Officers receive notifications on the cases, at best fifty percent of the time.

At one point in the same article Jackson states, “Why it was left unfinished” when he spoke about the case when it was found in the evidence room, or in the file room, or in the bathroom, or wherever he will say it was found the next time he talks. Later in the report he stated, “Dixon was thorough in his investigation.” Which is it? Why can’t this man get his story straight?

Then the story turns to unrelated things and Jackson is allowed to rant about the Holbrook Police Department. When you go on to read the rest of Jackson’s story it is apparent that he accepts no responsibility for his actions and inactions pertaining to the department. When I read about his concerns about the police department I could not believe his mendacious comments. Is there no fact checker here? He wants the readers to believe that he was the savior for the department. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If he had all these concerns why did he not make changes sooner? Why did he give me above average evaluations (which the two preceding chiefs did as well along with my being Officer of the Year in 2005 for my dedication to the children’s issues)? Why did he tell me that he wanted “New blood” in investigations as his only justification for moving me out?

As to the statement about morale being low in 2009 may be the only truthful thing in the story. We also had high expectations of him and most of the officers supported him even though at the time he had only 13 years experience. Then within a year his true colors came out. Morale began its deepest plummet that the department experienced in my 21 years there. This was because of Jackson, not in spite of him.

Concerning my investigations Jackson states, “I would ask for updates and got little back from him.” Chief Jackson, do you have any idea of how inept this makes you look? I can’t believe you are saying these things.

Furthermore, there is nothing farther from the truth about what Jackson states. He rarely asked about the cases I was investigating. I would try to go to him but he was rarely around.

I thought I was alone in thinking how inept the chief was until I spoke with other supervisors and they were having the same problems with him as I was. He rarely communicated with supervisors. It was as if he was afraid of them.

Jackson stated that I “was spending a great deal of time on ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) cases that had nothing to do with cases here in Holbrook.” How would he know? How much is “a great deal of time”? He also stated that I “was called upon as a witness in cases that occurred throughout the country, at times travelling to other states to take part in trials.” This is a flat out lie! First of all, Jackson is clueless when it comes to any investigations let alone ICAC investigations. I did travel out of state on occasion for ICAC training not trials. It is amazing that he would say this especially when he was the one that signed the training requests. Furthermore, the training was funded by a grant and did not cost the city a single penny. The grant also provided equipment which was used to investigate Internet crimes against children cases, which, by the way, Mark Jackson told me was a luxury and was not needed in Holbrook. I wonder how many perpetrators are now getting away with trading unlawful images of children, which are usually homemade.

He wants the public to believe that there was something sinister going on when I password protected my files. This was, and still should be a common practice. I always password protected my cases. It was hard enough to keep information from being leaked when the police department had their own reporting system. Now under the current reporting system it is almost impossible to protect the integrity of an investigation. Chief Jackson also hopes that you will believe that there is something wrong with shredding paperwork. Watch out all you bad people who shred papers!

Jackson stated that he had had enough when I was shredding papers and he waited until I went to lunch to change the lock on the door. And then he wonders why some cases were not turned over to another investigator.

I was the one that finally had enough of the ridiculousness of the current administration. I had more than 20 years in with the department. I was there because I wanted to be there. I was there because I truly cared about the citizens of Holbrook. It was because of Jackson’s ineptness and the extremely hostile work environment that I decided to retire. I think you as citizens are wise enough to read these issues and make your own decision and to realize that he is bad for this city. This is why I decided to retire. You can also read the articles mentioned above and understand that his words are evidence of his previous behavior.

I will not stand by while the chief makes a mockery of the victimization of the children in this case with his bloviating about what a great guy he is. He is using the blood of innocent children to propagate his agenda of absurdity.

I also want to say a few things about the story itself and the lack of media trustworthiness. The reporter that covered this story should be ashamed. In the first article she stated that “The investigator was not immediately available for comment.” (Editor’s note: the Sept. 23 article stated, “The detective who handled the case left the department two years ago, so there were no immediate answers as to why this case was left unfinished.”) She didn’t even attempt to call me until the article was already in print and the newspapers were distributed. Furthermore, her fixation for the police department administration shows her bias. In the second issue she dedicated almost the entire first three-fourths of the story to Mark Jackson just ranting and she gave my response only as a mere side note. This will be the last time that I respond to the asinine comments of the chief of police or to this reporter. They can go ahead and say whatever they want, but the truth will prevail.

I leave you with these words from Proverbs 21:28, “A false witness will perish, but the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.”

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Tim Dixon is a retired Holbrook Police Department detective, and investigated the case in question.