Font Resize
For the first time since he was acquitted on charges of kidnapping two small children from his neighbor's home, David James Bell stood before reporters and told his story.
The setting was the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City on Monday afternoon, and in the chilly wind, the news conference turned a bit theatrical.
His defense attorneys chimed in often, calling on Bell to talk about various details and accusing investigators with the South Salt Lake City Police Department of a second-rate performance in the case. And, they said, a lawsuit will be filed later this month against Bell's neighbors, who beat him so badly he nearly died.
There are so many elements to this case: Was the assault a hate crime (Bell and his partner are gay)? Was it a parent's visceral fear for her children, fueled by a night of drinking? And did the police and prosecution ignore evidence that may have exonerated Bell much earlier?
According to Bell, here's how it came down early in the morning on July 4, 2008:
He'd joined in his neighbor's late night party, chatting, singing and having a drink. He'd walked back home to refill his glass, only to find two of the neighbors' young children in his yard, asking for Kool-Aid.
Bell said he gave them a soft drink, at which point the children's mother came charging at him, slapping him and screaming. Then more neighbors poured over, Bell said, breaking in doors and windows, beating him, slashing him with
Police were called; the neighbors told them Bell had lured the children into his home, and that was it for the investigation, he said.
And, he and his attorneys said, South Salt Lake police spoke only briefly with people who were in Bell's home at the time -- taking names and listening for a few minutes. Nor, said Megan Dunyon -- who was sleeping in Bell's home when the violence began -- did any investigator return her call asking for a chance to tell the other side of the story.
After the news conference, I spoke with Bruce Bayley, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Weber State University.
While cautioning that he was not speaking about the Bell case directly, Bayley said investigators are trained to talk to any relevant witness as soon as possible.
"If this didn't happen ... it would be an anomaly, not standard operating procedure," he said.
Besides, Bayley said, police officers "don't want a poor investigation," since that likely would cause prosecutors to lose their case against a defendant. "Nothing positive would come out of it."
Still, he said, investigators often have a number of cases they're working on, and might have to wait awhile to speak to people who were there.
But, "If they did do something wrong, the agency needs to be aware and [investigators] retrained or reassigned," said Bayley, who also works with the state's Police Operating and Standards Training (POST.)
South Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Snyder said Monday that he stands by the investigation.
Bell believes what happened to him was a hate crime. (Conversely, at his trial, a prosecutor said the defense had "played the Polynesian card" because of the neighbors' ethnicity.)
Bell wants those who beat him charged, convicted, imprisoned and given counseling.
"As long as the people who attacked me are free," he said, "I am not."
It will be up to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office to decide whether charges will be filed against the neighbors. Last week, prosecutor Alicia Cook edged open that door, saying the office would take another look.
I, and many others, will be watching.
