Finally. WFAE has gotten to the bottom of a Marcus Jackson suspension while he was employed by CMPD.

Jackson’s September suspension came after CMPD Internal Affairs determined that Jackson claimed on an official accident report that another CMPD officer was traveling 45mph prior to a crash. In fact, the officer was going 75mph.

Jackson was given a 2-day suspension but the punishment was itself suspended provided Jackson did not commit another infraction within a year, WFAE reports. How this squares with reports that Jackson was caught by Mint Hill police trying to break into his ex-wife’s apartment is unclear. In fact, this new information raises more questions about CMPD’s actions regarding Jackson than it answers.

We now know that:

  • Jackson was not suspended for a minor infraction, like speeding. He was suspended for what is technically a misdemeanor.
  • Jackson did not immediately serve any of this false police report suspension.
  • If Jackson did serve any suspension time, then a second, post-September infraction must have taken place.

What was that second infraction? Was it the Mint Hill incident? Something else?

Update: First, a programming note. I’ll talk to Pete Kaliner on WBT at 3pm about this latest development. Now let’s put this new info in a wider — and disturbing — context.

There are two possibilities given what WFAE has uncovered. One, CMPD routinely does not punish rookie cops, with a few weeks under their belts, who file willfully inaccurate police reports. I frankly find that hard to believe, but would love to hear from current or former LEOs on that topic. The second option, that Marcus Jackson received some sort of special treatment by CMPD on this matter. Again, I have no direct evidence one way or the other, but those are surely the only two options.

And neither one puts Chief Rodney Monroe and CMPD brass in a good position.

I also think the WFAE report puts some of the things CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano told WBT the other day in a new light. Tufano said he saw Jackson’s personnel file and he could only recall a single suspension, an odd way of putting things when this is the crux of the matter. But it makes sense if the September suspended suspension for the false police report was later triggered by a second infraction. One suspension, two infractions in other words.

Still unknown, the nature of any second infraction, if there was one, and if following any second infraction, anyone at CMPD wanted to terminate Jackson from the force. The timeline of that matter is obviously important if firing Jackson would have prevented him from committing any of the sexual assaults he is charged with committing while on the job for CMPD.