Saline man pleads guilty to disorderly conduct after he and his teenage children scuffled with officers
A Saline man pleaded guilty to reduced charges after scuffling with police officers who arrested his son on suspicion of breaking into vehicles.
Timothy Murphy, 41, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for his role in the July 30 confrontation with officers and Huron Valley Ambulance paramedics outside the Saline Police Department.
The misdemeanor offense is punishable by up to 93 days in jail. Prosecutors agreed to drop two felony counts of resisting and obstructing police, court records show.
Police reports said Murphy arrived at the department shortly after officers notified him his 15-year-old son was in custody and was headed to the hospital for an evaluation. The boy complained about feeling ill after he repeatedly struck his head against the patrol car window, causing more than $800 damage to the window and door frame. He was not seriously injured.
The elder Murphy was intoxicated, belligerent, and repeated yelled for his son's release as they loaded him into the ambulance, reports said. His 13-year-old daughter was with him and also became unruly, reports said.
An officer used chemical spray to restrain both of them. Murphy's daughter was taken to juvenile detention and has pleaded guilty to counts of resisting police and disturbing the peace, court records show. Police said she was released to her mother’s custody in Wayne County pending sentencing later this month.
The 15-year-old son remains in custody and is charged with larceny from an auto, resisting police, malicious destruction of police property, and possessing alcohol as a minor. Another teen who was arrested with Murphy in the parking lot outside the apartments in the 200 block of Clark Street faces similar charges.
Court records also indicate Murphy was scheduled to stand trial on assault and domestic violence charges just two days after his recent arrest. He pleaded no contest to domestic violence, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon was dismissed. That case stemmed from a November 2009 arrest by Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies. Further details were not immediately available.
He faces sentencing in both cases on Aug. 30.
James Fifelski, Murphy's attorney, said his client is remorseful for his actions and personally apologized to members of police department and brought cases of soda as a gesture.
“Mr. Murphy was concerned about the welfare of his son when this happened. He was a concerned citizen and parent,” he said.
Police officials said they accepted the apology, but refused the soda.
Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 723-623-2530.
Comments
RJA
Wed, Nov 14, 2012 : 5:03 a.m.
I see a couple CHIPS off the old block. OMG, what a mess. No sentencing until Aug 30th. ??
Dave66
Tue, Aug 17, 2010 : 10:27 p.m.
I don't want the goal of the justice system to be to reform. Or to punish, either. Not really. I want it to be to identify violent people and then to keep them away from the rest of us. In addition to violent people, throw away the thieves, too. I don't care if he's rehabilitated or not. Just keep him away from decent society and I'll be happy. And there is a difference between being "without faults" and THIS unfortunate spectacle. Everyone has faults, sure. But very, VERY few have faults that go this deep. Is pleading "no contest" the same as having the charged thrown out?
Jojobubbajr.
Tue, Aug 17, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
Ok. You do not KNOW this man. Why do you feel the need to pass judgement in the first place? I can tell you the domestic violence charge was about to be thrown out when this went down. He pleaded no contest to get on with his life. Yes he obviously has issues. Must be nice to be without faults. Get back to your perch and see if you can find anyone else in the news that you can make degrading remarks about in an effort to make yourself seem that much more righteous. BTW yes it was the second article--- about the SAME incident. I'm not saying he is the ideal citizen or father but can't you see that this family has had some things go seriously wrong in their lives. Don't they deserve a bit of understanding and compassion from their community? I don't know I just feel sorry for them especially now that everyone is on here passing judgement on them. Will they ever be able to put their lives back in order and become productive members of society? Seems that much more unlikely, huh? Isn't that the goal of the justice system, to reform? Or is it to judge and outcast, forever dooming people to continue making the same mistakes and burdening the rest of the community? How about some humanity? Maybe if we spent the time that we use judging people in these forums volunteering in the community the world would be a much better place.
Dave66
Tue, Aug 17, 2010 : 7:25 a.m.
A couple of things... 1. sheeple gets the prize for Best Comment, and it's the first one! 2. McNulty is right, how much more information do you need that the guy has issues? His kid is drunk, got arrested while breaking into cars, and beat his own head into a police car until he ended up in the hospital. That's not just a failure of parenting, that's Epic Failure. And then he himself shows up drunk, ends up in jail himself and his 13 year old daughter ends up in juvi, too. Wow. What can possibly redeem him? And then you learn he was just days away from a court date for domestic violence? On his Facebook page, he wrote, "After 16 years of marraige its over. My wife left me and the kids last year and moved in with some dude she met online." Is it any wonder the wife left him? But she left the kids with him, so she doesn't get any prize for good parenting, either. I feel really sorry for the kids. Start with the genetic betrayal of their inherited DNA and add in violent drunken behavior, and what chance do they have?
Jimmy McNulty
Tue, Aug 17, 2010 : 6:03 a.m.
@Jojobubbajr: That one article about this person tells so much. BTW, this is the 2nd article about this person. 1) His 15 year-old son was drunk, 2) The drunk 15 year-old was also breaking into cars, resisting arrest, and destroying police property, 3) This fine role-model of a father comes to the police station DRUNK himself, with the obnoxious 13 year-old sister in tow, 4) now we learn that the father was 2 days away from a trial for assault and domestic violence. It does not take much more that this article for the reader to form a strong opinion about this father-of-the-year candidate.
Jojobubbajr.
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 7:52 p.m.
Btw....he walked to the police station
Jojobubbajr.
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 7:51 p.m.
Clearly he is neither? Do you know him? All you need is one article to form such a definitive opinion of someone? Wow. You are so insightful. Must be great to be you, eh?
stonecutter1
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 5:09 p.m.
"He was a concerned parent and citizen"? Seriously? He is clearly neither.
SMAIVE
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 9:52 a.m.
Seriously, what is it with these incidents lately in Saline and surrounding communities? Forget reality tv, it's a regular series of crazy events in this county. Do individuals think "Cops" or "Jersey Shore" set the standards now?
Dante
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 9:35 a.m.
I had the samee question. How did the father get there. Why did he not get arrested for driving drunk.
cinnabar7071
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 8:49 a.m.
So who drove the drunk father to the police station? The under aged daughter or the drunk father himself?
sheeple
Mon, Aug 16, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.
"Police officials said they accepted the apology, but refused the soda." Of course they did. Who ever heard of doughnuts and soda?