WSPD officers appeal judge’s ruling to release committee’s report

Eight current and former Winston-Salem police officers have appealed a ruling handed down by Superior Court Judge Richard Stone last week to release the Silk Plant Forest Citizens Review Committee report in its entirety, which includes thousands of pages of appendices that contain information about police actions during the criminal investigation of the 1995 Silk Plant Forest-Jill Marker assault case.

Seven of the eight officers appealing the judge’s decision are active duty officers, including Capt. Richard E. “Ted” Best. During the criminal investigation, Best served as the supervisor of former Detective Donald R. Williams, the lead investigator in the case.

In his petition to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, J. Michael McGuinness, the lawyer for the police officers, argues that there is no compelling reason for the release of the documents now as opposed to the end of the appeal process.

McGuinness states that the citizens review committee took its time investigating police procedure in the Silk Plant Forest case, and there “should be no rush to judgment at this juncture to disclose the last few pages of this entire matter.”

In December, Judge Stone ordered that testimony given by Donald R. Williams before the Winston-Salem City Council be made public. James Coleman, the lawyer for Kalvin Michael Smith, the man convicted of the crime, has stated that Williams’ testimony could help bolster Smith’s pending federal appeal.