RIGHT TO THE CHIN

The Tory Hardy Timeline

This is this week's Pulse cover story--actually more of a compilation--about the infamous Tory Hardy case. It's very long, and the printed version with the pictures is better, but anyway, here it is...
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Will The Real Story Please Stand Up?
After months of controversy, conflict, and conjecture, only one thing is certain:
Tory Hardy is dead.

One year ago, Tory Hardy was killed following the Bessie Smith Strut. And, as the months have passed, all we are left with are more and more questions and fewer and fewer answers.

What are we to make of the series of events—and the comments about the series of events—that’s followed? The family claims cover-up. The powers-that-be deny those allegations and insist that increased attention to the case has made prosecuting the suspects more difficult. And as of last week, both the judges and the district attorney have pulled themselves off the case, claiming a conflict of interest stemming from their relationship to County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, father of key suspect, Rhuebin Taylor, Jr.

The Chattanooga Police Department, the Mayor’s office, and Hardy family members and spokespeople were contacted for this story, and all declined comment—the result of a gag order imposed last week by Judge Ron Durby.

The following is a timeline of events surrounding the case, compiled from local and national news reports, press conferences and interviews:

June 9, 2003: At around 10:45 p.m.—after the end of the Bessie Smith Strut—Rheubin Taylor, Jr., after allegedly almost hitting a pedestrian with his white 1989 Chevrolet Caprice near the corner of 10th and Foster Streets, is confronted by a group of young men. He then allegedly pulls out a gun that belongs to his father, County Attorney Rheubin Taylor, Sr., causing the crowd to back off. As the crowd again approaches Taylor’s car, Taylor reportedly begins firing into the crowd. Timothy Beasley, who was on foot nearby, fires back at Taylor. Two bystanders are hit in the exchange of gunfire. 15 year-old Ronald Lee Harris, Jr. is shot in the chest but would survive. 20 year-old Tory Hardy is also shot and would be later pronounced dead at Erlanger. Another bystander, Victor Freeman, Jr., is also reportedly shot in the leg and does not seek medical attention.

Upon fleeing the scene, Taylor hits two other cars. According to witnesses, 45 minutes later, he is stopped by police, questioned, and released.

After the incident, Police spokesman Ed Buice says it was not known if the shooting was gang-related and said that police had “no reports of any officers firing during this incident. Weapons were drawn, but to my knowledge no shots were fired by anyone in law enforcement."

No arrests were made nor were any charges filed on the night of the shooting.

June 10, 2003: Sheriff John Cupp says changes will need to be made at future Struts to avoid danger to his officers and the public. Cupp says he saw many in the crowd wearing red or white shirts, and publicly speculates as to the significance of the colors.

Mayor Bob Corker also says that future Struts might need “tweaking,” and that the incident was caused by “criminals firing at each other.” He stresses that the incident happened after the Strut and a block away from it.

June 19, 2003: City Councilman Yusef Hakeem organizes a public meeting to discuss, among other things, “how the police and community react to each other.”

June 23, 2003: The family of Tory Hardy asks for the TBI to conduct an independent investigation. The family also asks that County Attorney Rheubin Taylor step aside during the investigation into his son’s involvement. Rheubin Taylor, Jr., is the main suspect in the case. Wolfe says Chattanooga Police failed to contact the Hardy family until eight days after the shooting. Hardy’s mother, Teri Nicholson, asks why several witnesses—who could have been interviewed—were “told to go home” and that they would be interviewed later. She says not one police officer attended Tory’s wake or funeral.

June 24, 2003: Chattanooga Police Chief Jimmie Dotson attacks those critical of the police and the investigation into the shooting. He says that he is “fed up with certain people in this community using the police department for political gain” and that while he understands “the feelings of the Hardy family,” he says that those who are critical of the police department need to “get out of the way and let us solve this case.” He says, “We are not going to rush to judgment until we know we’ve got the evidence that will stand up in court.”

Police spokesman Ed Buice says he that he is “fed up with the attacks on the integrity of the homicide investigators.” He says, “I have never been around a more compassionate, dedicated group in my life,” and that the citizens “deserve better than to be misled by people seeking to make a name for themselves telling outright lies.” He says “too many people want to stand before the TV cameras” and boil the case down to “nothing more than conflict and fear and blame.” He says, “They are more interested in stimulation than information. They are more interested in drama than objectivity. They are clearly more interested in feelings than they are in facts.”

June 26, 2003: At a “Building Trust” community meeting, Teri Nicholson asks why there has yet to be an arrest in the case, considering police know the identity of the shooter. She asks if there’s been a cover-up in the case. Chief Dotson again denies that there is a cover-up, and says that police would soon make an arrest. He says investigators are still reviewing statements, and want to make sure that they have a case that will hold up in court.

July 9, 2003: Chief Dotson announces that witnesses are being interviewed for a second time to see if they’ll stick to their stories.

August 12, 2003: City Councilman Jack Benson says steps need to be taken to build trust between citizens and police.

August 22, 2003: John Wolfe says that a police report shows that the police are protecting the chief suspect in the case, Rheubin Taylor, Jr.

City Councilman Leamon Pierce says the police should be allowed the necessary time to investigate the case.

“I haven’t heard any outcry from the public and it’s my district,” he says. “I don’t see the reason for a rush to justice. That doesn’t mean you are going to get justice. I don’t feel like we should be pressuring the chief to give us information that is part of the investigation.”

September 19, 2003: The autopsy report of Tory Hardy shows that he was apparently shot at an odd, downward angle. Hardy family members and Wolfe speculate that Hardy was actually shot by a nearby police sniper.

October 6, 2003: Todd Womack, communication officer for Mayor Bob Corker, makes the decision to scrap a guest hosting appearance on WGOW Talk Radio by Police spokesmen Ed Buice and Craig Joel. Buice says that decision to cancel the appearance came from “downtown.” Womack says,”I am the downtown that was referred to," and that he made the decision, and that the mayor and Chief Dotson were not involved. Womack also said “I don't think it's appropriate for police spokespersons to be guest hosting on Talk Radio," while WGOW’s Kevin West says the appearance would have been a good opportunity for the spokesmen to make some points about the police department.

November 5, 2003: Terri Nicholson wants an outside autopsy of her son’s body and additional lab testing of bullet fragments to help determine which gun fired the fatal shot.
In a letter to District Attorney Bill Cox, Nicholson expresses her willingness to cooperate with police, but does not want anyone from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s office, or any Hamilton County Employees, to be involved. She says, “My objection is based on the fact that one of the two suspects in my son’s death is the son of the Hamilton County attorney, and I believe that this situation represents a serious conflict on interest.”

November 14, 2003: The Hardy family asks that another week be allowed to find a doctor to supervise the exhumation of the body. Criminal Court Judge Doug Meyer agrees to put a hearing on the matter off for another week.

November 21, 2004: Rev. Kevin Muhammad, a spokesman for the Hardy family, asks why bullet fragments were not recovered at the original autopsy, why 9-1-1 tapes of the night of the shooting are unavailable, and why Hardy’s internal organs were incinerated. The Hardy family feels that Timothy Beasley, Hardy’s best friend, “is being made the fall guy in this case.” He says Beasley has been in jail since the night of the shooting, and that the arrest stemmed from a previous gun possession case. Nicholson says, “I want to know who killed my son. I don’t want any cover-up. I don’t want my son’s best friend to go down for this.” The family again reiterates their belief that a police sharpshooter might have fired the fatal bullet. The family also wonders “why there was a glitch in the 9-1-1 computer on this particular night,” says Muhammad. “We were told the 9-1-1 tapes were not available, then were told maybe they are but you can’t see them.” Muhammad says he believes the tapes haven’t been released because they allegedly contain racial slurs made by the S.W.A.T. team and others. He says Dr. Kessler’s failure to remove bullet fragments from Hardy’s body—when he did remove fragments from the body of slain Deputy Donald Bond—was either “gross incompetence or willful negligence.”

December 4, 2003: Police Chief Dotson announces that he will be stepping down effective February 1. In an August meeting, Dotson told Mayor Corker that he’d accomplished all his goals in Chattanooga, and would be seeking a position elsewhere.

While State Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Levy says he will perform a second autopsy on Hardy’s body, he says he wants to do it in Nashville. The Hardy family says they want the autopsy to be done in Chattanooga, but Levy says he has special X-Ray equipment in Nashville that he can’t bring to Chattanooga.

December 5, 2003: Both Chief Dotson and Mayor Corker said they would like to see somebody from within the ranks named as Dotson’s replacement.

December 8, 2003: A date of December 12 has been set for the exhumation of Hardy’s body. Wolfe says bullet fragments should have been removed by Dr. Kessler on June 10, and that “we wouldn’t even be here now talking about this if they had been on the ball back then.” Wolfe says the two officers present at the first autopsy did not ask for the fragments. According to an earlier report, TBI tests of clothing, weapons, and projectiles did not conclusively establish which gun killed Mr. Hardy.

December 12, 2003: The second autopsy on Hardy’s body finds five metal fragments, and another that may be metal. The autopsy also finds an exit wound that was missed in the first autopsy. No internal organs were found with the body, and the resulting body cavity was filled with cedar chips. Wolfe says that, apparently, additional fragments were contained in those organs, and that they were incinerated without family permission at the Taylor Funeral Home, whose director is City Councilman John Taylor. The Hardy family watches the autopsy through a window, and speaks with Dr. Levy via telephone as he conducts the procedure. Councilman Taylor and his attorney are present for the autopsy.

It takes two hours for the casket to be brought up from the grave at Lakewood Memory Gardens on Shallowford Road, as the vault had not been properly sealed and was full of water. Dr. Levy is forced to remove Hardy’s body from his casket in the garage area of the forensic center due to the amount of water in the casket. It takes 45 minutes for all of the water to drain out of the casket.

December 29, 2003: Local NAACP President Eddie Holmes says the public needs to have a say in the selection of the next police chief.

January 5, 2004: Chief Dotson fails to be hired as police chief in Nashville.

January 7, 2004: Mayor Corker begins interviewing potential police chief candidates. The main focus is to hire somebody from within the department.

January 13, 2004: Larry Wallace, former TBI director, is Corker’s surprise choice for police chief. Wallace had been hired as a consultant to aid in the selection process.

January 20, 2004: Wallace officially withdraws his name as a candidate for the position, saying that at this point in his life he “didn’t have to deal with” the intense scrutiny and numerous complaints that some members of the City Council expressed about the entire selection process that resulted in his selection.

January 22, 2004: Jimmie Dotson says he will stay on as police chief as long as Mayor Corker needs him to.

January 26, 2004: Councilman Leamon Pierce accuses Mayor Bob Corker of being “out of control” regarding the selection of a new police chief. According to Pierce, politics ousted Dotson from the department. City Council members say they were not notified of the press conference announcing the new police chief.

Mayor Corker says he plans to have a new police chief in place by February 1.

Police Information Officer Ed Buice leaves the department.

January 30, 2004: Mayor Bob Corker announces that Steve Parks is the new police chief replacing Jimmie Dotson.

February 3, 2004: The City Council votes to appoint Steve Parks as the new Chattanooga Police chief. While the mayor and city council members praise Parks, Hardy family members are not happy with the appointment, saying Parks was in charge of an investigation that has produced no arrests. Upon being name chief, Parks assigns a detective to give the Hardy family weekly updates on the case.

February 26, 2004: The family of Tory Hardy seeks phone records from County Attorney Rheubin Taylor and City Councilman John Taylor during the week of the Bessie Smith Strut. John Wolfe says the records could provide vital information to help the case. Wolfe says he received a letter from the city attorney’s office stating the Hardy family would have to pay $1,000 for an edited copy of the 9-1-1 tapes from the night of the shooting. Wolfe says the sum is too much to pay, and the family wants an unedited copy of the tapes.

April 16, 2004: The Chattanooga Police Department names two new public information officers—13-year veterans Sgt. Tom Layne and Officer Tetzel Tillery—to replace Craig Joel. Joel is goes back on patrol full time.

March 1, 2004: Chief Steve Parks says there is a need for more black officers. Ten white officers are promoted, while only one black officer is promoted. Floyd Kilpatrick, leader of Rainbow P.U.S.H., says the appointment of Stanley Maffett to Captain was “damage control” because the department began to attract criticism. Kilpatrick says black officers “are at the bottom of the totem pole in just about every respect.”

March 12, 2004: Chattanooga Police say that Tory Hardy’s 2001 charges for armed robbery were not related to his death following the 2003 Bessie Smith Strut. Hardy’s mother says he was innocent of the charges.

May 5, 2004: Rheubin Taylor, Jr. and Timothy Beasley are arrested and charged in the shooting of Tory Hardy. Taylor and Beasley are charged with criminally negligent homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. Parks says the charges were brought after the evidence was reviewed in numerous meetings with the district attorney. The hearing at General Sessions Court is set for May 12.

May 12, 2004: The preliminary hearing for Rheubin Taylor, Jr. and Timothy Beasley is postponed because the defense attorneys need more time to prepare their case. General Sessions Judge Mike Cater reschedules the date for June 15. At a press conference, John Wolfe says the police have never shown the family the T-shirt Hardy was wearing when he was shot. Wolfe says that the shirt has never been tested and that a bullet hole in the shirt could help determine which gun fired the fatal shot. Wolfe also states that surveillance cameras atop the BellSouth building close to the corner of 10th and Foster Streets may have filmed the shooting, and that BellSouth has declined requests to make tapes available.

In an interview conducted later, local freelance photographer Bill Carson says he requested a copy of the videotape and says four different people identifying themselves as working for the security company in charge of the tape called him and told him four different and conflicting stories about why they couldn’t give him a copy of the tape: the system was down, a tree blocked the view of the camera, there was nothing on the tape and they recycled it, they had switched the entire system over and that tape didn’t exist anymore.

May 17, 2004: Former Police Chief Dotson fails to secure the job as director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. TBI received an anonymous letter criticizing Dotson that “appears to come from the family of Tory Nicholson-Hardy.” The letter accuses Dotson of being “involved in what we think is a big cover up in a murder case.” The letter also contains information that Dotson became very angry when questioned by the family about the Hardy case. The letter is not thought to be a factor in the decision.

June 8, 2004: John Wolfe files four separate civil lawsuits. The first, a federal lawsuit, claims city and county officers failed to provide medical assistance to the victim as he laid on the ground after being shot, and that it took 45 minutes for an ambulance to get to him. A second suit is filed against Erlanger Medical Center, claiming Hardy received inadequate care after being taken to the hospital. The suit asks $2 million in damages. A third lawsuit is filed against Rheubin Taylor, Jr. and Timothy Beasley, defendants in the case, and Friends of the Festival, which the suit claims failed to provide adequate security at the Bessie smith strut. The suit asks for $10 million in damages. The fourth lawsuit is filed against Taylor Funeral Home, claiming that it should have removed inner organs from Hardy’s body, against Dr. Stanton Kessler, claiming the medical examiner should have removed bullet fragments from the body, against Lakewood Memory Gardens, claiming Hardy was buried in a flood-prone part of the cemetery and in a casket that leaked, and against Hamilton County. The fourth lawsuit asks for $5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.

June 14, 2004: The preliminary hearing for Rheubin Taylor, Jr. and Timothy Beasley is once again postponed on the eve of the hearing, however, Taylor and Beasley meet with General Sessions Court Judge Ron Durby at 8:30 a.m. Judge Durby and four judges also recuse themselves from the case.

The Bessie Smith Strut begins at 4:30 p.m. and ends before dark because of safety concerns stemming from the Hardy murder a year earlier. A few blocks away at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, a memorial service and march is conducted in memory of Tory Hardy. Rev. Bernice King speaks at the event.

June 15, 2004: District attorney Bill Cox recused himself from the case, and a gag order was implemented. Stewart Jenkins, attorney for Rheubin Taylor, Jr., says he wants the order to apply toward Hardy family attorney John Wolfe. Stewart says Wolfe discusses the case with the media “daily.” Attorney Hank Hill says it’s more like “hourly.” The preliminary hearing will be on hold until an outside judge takes over the case.

Posted by colrus at June 24, 2004 12:34 AM | TrackBack