Judge suspended, accused of threatening 'bullet in the head' for cops
A Kentucky judge has been temporarily suspended pending resolution of ethics charges, including claims he made harassing phone calls and threatened a “bullet in the head” for the next police officer who pulled him over.
Judge Steven Combs of Pike County was suspended with pay on Tuesday, report the Associated Press and the Lexington Herald-Leader. The suspension order is here (PDF).
In the statement of charges (PDF), Combs is accused of:
• Making inappropriate phone calls to the Pikeville police in which he allegedly demanded criminal trespass citations for unauthorized parking in a church parking lot, demanded an investigation of automated calls about drinking and driving, and threatened to encourage the ACLU to file suits against the police department.
• During one of the phone calls to police, he allegedly said the next police officer who pulled him over would get a “bullet to the head.” When confronted with the statement, he allegedly said, “I’m elected by the people and not pieces of trash like you.”
• Allegedly making “harassing and contentious” phone calls to Pikeville elected officials, referring to officials as “fish face,” “Dumbo” and “coke head.”
• Allegedly making inappropriate statements about city officials on Topix, including references to “Dumbo Donovan,” “Fishface Jimmy” and “Retarded Reed the little police chief.”
• Allegedly using judicial letterhead to write personal letters to the Pikeville city manager.
• Allegedly leaving voice mails for the Pikeville attorney, who appeared before him in court, calling him a “prick” and a “coward.”
• Allegedly presiding over a case in which he had an oil and gas lease with the defendant. During that time, he allegedly called company officials, accused them of violating the lease and threatened to lock them out of his property. He eventually recused himself, his lawyer told AP.
Combs disagreed with many of the charges and said his calls to police were mischaracterized, according to the Herald-Leader. His answer is here (PDF).
Combs’ lawyer, Steve Ryan, told AP that Combs works hard and “all indications are that he’s a good judge when he’s on the bench.” He said Combs was re-elected in the last election and “citizens of Pike County seem to think he’s doing a good job.”
