Friday, April 4, 2014

Fleeing a Stalker in Uniform: The Sherri Watson Story




A resident of Santaquin, Utah, issues a warning about the local police.


Genola, Utah –

Chad Black professes to be terrified by Sherri Watson, his neighbor in Genola, Utah. A June 2011 stalking petition filed by Black claims that he considers the 48-year-old mother to be a threat and observes that “Sheriff deputies advised me to avoid” Mrs. Watson “at all costs.”

Why, then, did this supposedly intimidated man park in directly in front of the driveway to the Watson family’s home on March 29 of this year, after repeatedly driving slowly past their property? If he has been ordered – for his “protection” – to avoid any potential contact with Mrs. Watson, why does Black make a point of driving past her home practically every day?

Black’s house is about a third of a mile from Watson’s home, and it is located right next to an access road leading to the highway he uses to go to work. Black’s visits to the Watson home are not incidental occurrences; each of them is a deliberate act intended to taunt and intimidate a woman who neither harmed nor threatened him in any way.

Chad Black is employed as a police officer by the city of Orem, Utah. He is also a reserve officer with the Santaquin Police Department, which has a contract to provide “services” for Genola. For about five years, Black – with the aid of his comrades in the Santaquin PD – has waged a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and violence against Sherri Watson and her family. The abuse suffered by the Watson family became so acute that former Genola Mayor Danny Throckmorton threatened to cancel his city’s contract with the Santaquin PD. On the following day, Throckmorton’s barn burned to the ground in suspicious circumstances that strongly suggested arson.

The woman who terrifies Officer Black: Sherri with her dog, Shiloh.
After five years of unremitting conflict, stress, and anxiety, Sherri and her family are fleeing Genola, abandoning a beautiful house built by Sherri’s father. Although they are reluctant to leave a home that they love in one of central Utah’s most scenic locations, Sherri and her husband Tom are convinced that this is necessary.

“If we stay here,” Sherri told me during an interview in her dining room, “I think physical harm is going to be done to me or to our kids. I’m literally afraid that we might get killed.”

Neither Sherri nor Tom has ever been charged with, let alone convicted of, a violent crime. Unlike their straitlaced Mormon neighbors, the Watsons openly enjoy an occasional adult libation, and Sherri’s taste in music runs to 1980s hair metal rather than contemporary country. Sherri’s 40th birthday party in 2005 – which, in her words, “involved a band and a keg” -- ran a bit late into the night, prompting their first encounter with Black.

“He came over at about 2:00 a.m. and told us he was just coming home from work and could barely hear an echo of the music,” recalled Sherri. “He told us that nobody had called to complain, but that he could hear the music and wanted us to turn it down, which we did. What he told us at the time was that `You can have your music as loud as you want after 6:00 PM until 10:00 at night, and nobody can do anything about it.’”

The Watsons acted on that advice, adjusted their recreational habits, and avoided any further involvement with Black until 2009.

In January 2009, “I was walking my older son to the bus on a nearby intersection where two kids had been run over just a week earlier,” Sherri told me. “I saw white truck coming east that was being driven well in excess of the speed limit.  I was worried about [my son], but also about other kids who were waiting for the bus. All I could think of was the kids who had been killed there just a few days before. I yelled at the driver and motioned to him to slow down, but he seemed to speed up and swerve in my direction.”  The driver slammed on the brakes, then backed up and approached Sherri, who – in alarm – told her son to jump into a nearby canal. Sherri recalled that she was angry and anxious, and expressed herself in pungent terms, punctuated with a familiar gesture involving an upraised digit.

Officer John Savage with his wife.
The driver of the vehicle was John Savage, who at the time was employed as a fireman with the Orem Department of Public Safety. Savage sanctimoniously reproached Sherri for the “horrible” example she had set for her child.

“Two kids just got killed – my son is in the canal, and you want to tell me I'm horrible?” Sherri replied.

Sherri contacted the chief of the Orem Fire Department to report the incident, and at his request wrote a letter for an official inquiry.

“Savage’s boss told me that he had a good discussion with him, and that there would be no more problems with public safety,” Sherri said. “Then his wife paid us a visit and brought us some cookies and apologized, which was a wonderful thing to do. I told her, `This is the end of it – I’ll never mention this again.’”

Within a few weeks, Sherri inexplicably started having difficulty with Chad Black.

“I would play my music in our garage while working outdoors,” Sherri points out. “Black had told us that there wasn’t any problem with the volume, but starting in the Spring of 2009 we began having trouble with him over my music. He would come to our house and claim that he could hear my music while on the road near his house and that we had to turn it down. Then other Santaquin officers would show up to say that neighbors were complaining.”

Sherri would later be told by her next-door neighbors that they had never called to complain about the noise.

The problem, Sherri contends, wasn’t her music. It was the fact that “Chad Black and John Savage are buddies.” After receiving a reprimand as a fireman, Savage joined the Orem Police Department. Either Savage, or Black, or both of them, apparently decided to make life miserable for an uppity Mundane.

In June 2009, Sherri was arrested on charges of “lewd conduct” – for dancing, fully clothed, in her garage during mid-day hours; “public intoxication” – for drinking beer on her own property; and two counts of “disorderly conduct” – one of which was issued to punish her for telling a Santaquin Police Officer that Black is a “corrupt cop.”

Following the arrest, Black immediately contacted Sherri’s supervisors at the Nebo School District to inform them of the charges against her. As a result, she was immediately fired from her job as a lunch lady at the school attended by her sons, Conner and Cody.

Former Genola Mayor Danny Throckmorton is in the middle.
The Watsons appealed to Mayor Throckmorton, who intervened on their behalf at the district court in Santaquin. It took nearly two years, but Sherri was fully vindicated on May 6, 2011 when all of the charges were dismissed “in the interests of justice.”

At around this time, Black began stalking – no other word is appropriate – Sherri Watson in her home.

“The day before I went to court, I called to find out what time my hearing, and we were told that Mayor Throckmorton was trying to get them to drop all the charges,” Sherri reflects. “We had complained to him, and he stood up for us and did an investigation. The next day Chad Black showed up in his Orem police car, passed by my house at a crawl, did a U-turn, and sat near the house just watching us.”

“I started to complain about him,” Sherri continues. “The Mayor and the police told me I could videotape his actions to document harassment. Because he was employed full-time by the Orem and part-time as a reserve in Santaquin, the Utah County Sheriff got involved in the matter. The Sheriff’s Office told me that every time I saw Black I should call them.”

Accordingly, “I began videotaping every incident,” Sherri told me. “During one of Black’s drive-by visits, I videotaped him from our property. Ten minutes later, all of his kids came walking down to my home, and I videotaped them, as well.”

Drussel (center) named "Officer of the Year."

On May 27, 2011, both Sherri and Officer Black called the Sheriff’s office to file harassment complaints. In response, several Santaquin cops pulled up to the Watsons’ house and demanded to speak with Sherri. One of them, Officer Matt Drussel, “told me I had one hour to fill out a `voluntary’ statement or they were going to invade my home,” Sherri recalled to me.

Weary of the abuse and persecution his wife was enduring, Tom Watson greeted the officers at the front door wearing a holstered gun. The family placed an urgent call to Mayor Throckmorton, who, Sherri testifies, told them: “Do not talk to them until I get there.”

“Drussel was coming to the door with his gun drawn when Danny [Mayor Throckmorton] came zooming up on his four-wheeler,” Sherri recounts. “He told them to stop harassing me and my family or he’d pull the contract” – in other words, that he would throw the Santaquin PD out of Genola. Grudgingly, the officers backed down -- but Tom and Sherri believe that someone on the police force retaliated against the mayor.

“It was after this that I was mowing my lawn and I saw smoke coming from Danny’s property,” Sherri told me. “I found out that his barn was burned to ashes. He and his wife told us that the night the fire happened they were told by the fire department that to find the cause, they need to look no further than the Santaquin PD.”

Throckmorton, who is no longer Mayor of Genola, declined a request for comment. The woman who answered my telephone call told me that “he’s just trying to put all of this behind him.”
Harassment: Chad Black's vehicle parked near Watsons' home, March 22.
Worried about her personal safety and the well-being of her family, Sherri filed a petition seeking a protective order against Black.

In denying that petition, Judge Darold McDade insisted that Black’s habit of driving slowly and menacingly past the Watson’s home did not constitute “stalking.”
Black retaliated by filing his own petition against Sherri claiming that she had somehow “stalked” him and his children by videotaping them from her own property.

Citing a supposed conflict of interest, Black’s attorney had Judge McDade recused from hearing his petition. His replacement, Judge James Taylor, “didn’t look at the video, the past history, or any of the details of the case” before granting Black’s petition, Sherri recalls.  In that fashion, an armed purveyor of state-licensed violence was designated the “victim” of a terrorized woman – who has never done harm to anybody – because she had videotaped him in the act of harassing her family.

The Watson family has set up surveillance cameras that record every visit from Officer Black, who is under orders to avoid them and to report every incidental contact that occurs. Black attempted to get a court order forcing the Watsons to remove the cameras, but wasn’t successful. This matters little, since his supervisors aren’t inclined to punish him for violating the terms of the court order.

“He constantly drives by our house, but he never reports those contacts,” Sherri laments. “After the injunction was issued, every time Black sees my car, or his kids see me at the grocery store, I’m reported to the cops.” Tom and Sherri say that they have been reported to the police at least twenty times, and have had to endure numerous visits from the Santaquin PD.

“Last December 20, after Black called the cops, we had three squad cars pull up to our house,” Tom Watson told me. “They started pounding on our door demanding to be let in.” Among the officers who responded was Chief Dennis Howard.” Tom locked the deadbolt and called attorney Ed Flint, who “told me I didn’t have to answer the door.”

“When someone is out there with guns, and your kids are hiding under their beds, you don't know what to do,” Sherri told me, struggling to maintain her composure.

Eventually the officers left, much to the family’s relief – given that Chief Howard had previously expressed a willingness to kill Tom.

“After the earlier confrontation with police at our home, Howard said that if he had been there when I came out with my gun in a holster, `I would have put you down,’” Tom informed me.

Chief Howard, incidentally, is paid $119,000 a year to preside over a tiny police department in a town with a population of fewer than 10,000 people.

Since that incident in December, the Watsons have been spared another official visit by the police. But Black persists in driving by their home, in defiance of a court order and the directions of his superiors.
 “When we went to complain to the Orem Police Department, we were told that there had been an investigation and that Chad Black had been ‘cleared,” declares Sherri. “We asked him, `Really? Did you talk to the mayor? Did you speak with all of our neighbors?’ No – they only talked about this with Chad, and then decided that he had been `cleared.’”

About a year ago, Tom and Sherri paid a visit to the Orem Police Department, where they spoke with Sgt. Wade Robb about Officer Black’s relentless campaign of harassment. According to Sgt. Raab, the Utah POST Council had already investigated their complaints against Black. This greatly surprised the Watsons, because Al Acosta, the Council’s chief investigator, had told them that no investigation would take place until after Sherri had personally filed a complaint with the Orem PD.

Robb blithely replied that an unnamed POST official had spoken with Orem PD Chief Michael Larsen -- and that brief contact, as far as he was concerned, constituted an “investigation.”

“Acosta bragged to us that `When I walk into a police station, all of the officers' knees are quivering, because they they know someone is getting fired,’” Tom bitterly recalled. “What Acosta didn’t explain is that Chief Larsen is a member of the POST Council, and that he reported to Chief Larsen – which means that he couldn’t be trusted to investigate him and his department.”

During his meeting with Tom and Sherri, Orem PD Sgt. Raab admitted that Black’s persistent and unwelcome visits to the Watson home had been “documented,” while assuring the couple that there was nothing inappropriate about the officer’s malicious and vindictive behavior.

“I can’t go outside” because of the injunction, Sherri wept. “I guess it’s OK for a police officer to harass me.”

Seeking refuge in Clintonian dissimulation, Raab (whose annual share of plundered compensation is $128,000 ) replied: “I guess it depends on what the definition of `harassment’ is.”

Just a few days prior to the visit with Sgt. Robb, Sherri had received a phone call from police in nearby Payson. They were investigating a complaint from Black that Sherri had violated the injunction by shopping at a local grocery store while members of the Black family were there. Although the injunction acknowledges that “incidental” contact between Sherri and her purported victims would take place, Officer Black is exploiting every trivial encounter by filing a police report.

By going out of his way to drive past Sherri’s house, and reporting every trivial contact that occurs elsewhere, Black is trying to make her a prisoner in her own home. His superiors and colleagues are aware of what he is doing, but because the victim is a Mundane they simply don’t care.

“If he’s driving by, that’s his fault,” acknowledged a Santaquin Police Officer during a recorded telephone conversation with Tom and Sherri. When Sherri pointed out that her sons are terrified of Black, the officer wryly replied: “None of us here in Santaquin are fond of him, either.” This isn’t because of Black’s treatment of the Watson family, but because his actions prompted former Mayor Throckmorton to renegotiate the Santaquin PD’s lucrative contract with Genola.

“About a year and a half ago, the Santaquin PD got caught baiting dogs off of private property and then forcing owners to pay impound fees,” Tom explained to me. “We were attending town meetings to complain about the harassment we were facing, and then this mess happened and people got really upset. Finally the Mayor’s dog was lured off the property and caught. So the Santaquin Mayor ordered the police department to rip up every `dog at large’ ticket they had issued. The contract here in Genola was reduced, which meant less overtime for the Santaquin cops. So despite the fact that he’s still an unpaid reserve officer, nobody on the force likes him. They blame him for wrecking overtime.”

Black doubtless finds sufficient consolation in the fact that he is unassailably secure in his $94,000-a-year job with the Orem PD. (His friend John Savage is paid $110,000 a year, and will probably wind up with pensions from both the police and fire departments.) In the meantime, Tom and Sherri Watson are preparing to sell their home at a loss and move to eastern Oregon out of fear for their lives.
Sherri Watson protesting police murder of Danielle Willard.

In March 2013, Sherri was nearly run off the road by somebody driving Chad Black’s vehicle.

“I was in front of [a] stop sign when Chad Black’s truck came barreling out towards me, he almost hit me and I had to swerve off the road to avoid a wreck,” Sherri wrote in a letter to Chief Howard. “I was not going to stick around and see if it was Chad or his son driving as that would be going against the stalking injunction.”

“Do I have to be dead for the Santaquin PD, or Orem PD to car about some middle-aged woman being harassed and stalked … by a cop?” Sherri pleaded. She struck a similar note in a despairing letter to then-Mayor Throckmorton: “I do not know how to protect myself from a cop with a vendetta. Please care about me and my children. I do not want to die at Chad’s hand.”

At least some of the officials who have refused to rein in the sociopathic officer who is driving Sherri Watson’s family from their home are descendants of people who settled Utah as refugees from official persecution in Missouri and Illinois. When the man whom their ancestors revered as a prophetic leader petitioned US President Martin Van Buren for assistance, his plea was deflected with a phrase that has become drenched in disrepute: “Your cause is just – but I can do nothing for you.”

In Van Buren’s defense, his constitutional mandate did not authorize him to intervene in the internal affairs of Missouri. The pious but indifferent local officials in Orem, Santaquin, and Utah County have no such defense. They have means to protect Sherri and her innocent family, and the moral duty to come to their aid, but simply refuse to do so – most likely out of a sense of tax-feeder solidarity with her uniformed stalker.

This stolid indifference to the rights of innocent people is one facet of the pathology of privileged violence that typifies law enforcement.

Notes and Asides 

The piece I wrote about the Mark Byrge case was excerpted at length in the Washington Post. I'm happy to report that Mark's story has also been picked up by local media in Utah; this may mean that the matter won't simply vanish into the Memory Hole, and Mark might be able to receive compensation for the injury done to him. I'm working on a follow-up story regarding alleged misconduct by the officer responsible for Mark's debilitating injury.

Dan Popkey, an alleged reporter for the Idaho Statesman, has published a petulant blog post about Mark Patterson's impending lawsuit against Sheriff Raney. Popkey was the conduit through which Raney smeared Patterson by using legally protected confidential information about an expunged felony conviction. 

As I recently reported, Patterson -- at the time a college-aged man -- was manipulated into accepting a plea for "assault with intent to commit rape" on the basis of an accusation that would not have withstood scrutiny in court. Popkey's "extensive reporting" on that matter carefully omitted several key points, not the least of which was the fact (documented in the police report) that the accuser was a mentally ill woman who had scattered five children (from several different biological fathers) across at least three states, and that the account given to the cops was self-contradictory. 

If Patterson had told the police that he wouldn't speak to them without an attorney being present, the charge almost certainly would have disappeared immediately. Instead, he was manipulated into taking a "lie detector" test that supposedly showed "deception" -- beginning a two-year ordeal that supposedly ended in 1976, only to be resurrected in 2013 by a vindictive, corrupt sheriff.

Gary Raney enjoys "qualified immunity." Mark Popkey, whose "reporting" may have left him legally exposed, does not. He can take comfort in the fact that he has a steady income. I do not.

The work I'm doing here is having an impact (and making me more than a few enemies), but it isn't providing an income. I am very grateful to everybody who has donated so generously; it has literally made it possible for my family to have shelter and sustenance. One measure of our difficulty can be found in the fact that today (April 7), in order to pay bills, I've had to start selling my guns. If you can help, we would be most grateful. God bless.






Dum spiro, pugno!

59 comments:

Grandma Yinda said...

Yet ANOTHER black mark on the Orem City Police Department, and Utah County in general. To the NEW Mayor of Orem, Richard Brunst ... "REIN IN YOUR THUGS because we aren't going to take this anymore!"

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe how much these cops get paid!

Chris Mallory said...

Has she tried to get the Utah Attorney General or the state police involved?

Anonymous said...

Chad Black is a disturbed and demented coward cop.

African ExMormon said...

This sounds like a horrible show by police. Very low class activity by all police involved in destroying an individual's peace and stability. It's worse than witchcraft and exposing their actions is the best way!

rkshanny said...

The biggest and most criminal gangs of murderers and revenue-extorters have always been State-sponsored, over-authorized, charge-stacking, standing police forces. They hide behind State-sponsored, crony-infested "justice" systems. Flag-waving, State-worshipping amerikans are incredibly slow on the uptake. I noticed an article today regarding another "mafia head" being arrested. I laughed out loud. The real mafia of State-sponsored hoodlums arresting a minor-player "mafia head" . . . hilarious! Cop-mafiosi distract the bovine citizenry from their own State mafia by distracting them to lesser mafias . . . clever! What an insidious mess!

Anonymous said...

People in government employment believe that they are much smarter than the citizen. That is because The Government Employee feels only smart people get employment in government, close to the power source. They will never admit in words that they hold the citizens in contempt but their actions show that they do.
The 3rd post down, Chirs Mallory questioned if the AG's office was contacted to get involved to enter in this matter. Reread from the start of this post about government employees. They do not work for the people any longer because citizens will pay the taxes one way or another. The government employees know that only too well so they no longer have any reason to serve the citizens. End of story.

Scott Alberts said...

I applaud your inclusion of links to the exorbitant salaries of our "public servants" whenever possible. I wish this sort of documentation was required in all news coverage.

William N. Grigg said...

Thanks, Scott. Unlike many other states, Utah has a very user-friendly public records system.

Open public records said...

www.utahcounty.gov
Chad Black
158 S 600 E
Genola UT 84655

Open public records said...

Yes very open. You would be amazed on what you can find even though they say it is "right to privacy".

Grandma Yinda said...

Sherri has complained to MANY of the "proper authorities" and no one has done a thing. That is about to change, because there is POWER in numbers and this corruption and abuse is finally being exposed.

RKSHANNY, I LOVE your comments and descriptions! SPOT ON!!

kirk said...

it is beyond time to privatize all cop operations.

private companies can be sued. they will not tolerate what is being tolerated by 'public servants' as a consequence.

it will improve policing by a considerable margin.

the real problem: private policing will remove power from the local political class. that's the real rub - ignoramuses with power will do all they can to keep the power.

Anonymous said...

Kirk, is your city incorporated? You may have your answer or wish.

Anonymous said...

This is ridiculous!!!! If you want to come show me how to do my job go a head. You can see the sacrifices I make for such a large amount of money. So much my wife has to work and I have to work two jobs sometimes three its only because I make some much money though. I can't believe I am so willing to get shot at and have to see a fellow brother shot in the line of duty while putting my own life on the line. My wife and small children pray I make it home at night. Just to hear a bunch of cry babies that are to scared to go get certified and come do it themselfs in fear they might be injured or possibly "make to much". As I said before if you want my job come get it. What a joke. By the way your welcome.

William N. Grigg said...

Police "work" is not a particularly dangerous occupation. If compensation were commensurate with actual danger, then farmers, commercial fishermen, truck drivers, and loggers -- people who actually create wealth, unlike cops -- would be paid much more than police. Wives and children of people who follow those productive occupations have far greater cause for concern about their husbands and fathers coming home safe from work each day.

Last year was the safest year for police officers, in terms of on-duty death or injury by shooting, in about a half-century. If you are a cop who has actually faced gunfire, your situation was a genuine anomaly.

I don't want your job; I would prefer honest work that actually contributes to society, and so should you.

Unknown said...

Anonymous: three jobs or more, either very low paying, if good saleries then you after many toys....ie what are you complaining about?

When Man starts to "love" the power and authority from it then a serious issue develops. Police Officer is subject to the same "laws" as to enforcing them. Law enforcement depending where and when can be dangerous but you volenteered for it so no Officer has the gaull of complaint.

This is America, you ate not compelled into any occupation nor need to keep it, choice anybody has to seek,apply, stay and leave.

100k in the state of Utah provides a very high standard, if anybody is "claim" they cannot thus is "forced" into secound, their and or spouce to "survive ", is delusional and possable no management of resources, living beyound them means, get ride of some "toys".

I have survived for a family of 6 under 12k at times or less and have earned over 300k and very well know the sufferance so anybody cannot "live" with 100k and camplaining...SHUTUP!

Law enforcement that uses it's authority not just endanger the local but all of America. We will get examples like this officer from the precedent set but the top, President (Obama) and the people he puts upon his staff (Holder)

Anonymous said...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Karen-imprisoned-without-charge-for-taking-a-picture/313270658771340?ref=hl


Almost same thing happened to me and my mom.

Anonymous said...

I bet every one of the cronies involved in this fiasco are Mormons

Anonymous said...

cops are suicidal cowards. Suicidal because they obviously want someone to take them out...I mean, that's just clear as day. People don't normally go around harassing others unless they WANT some sort of response, I say, give them one...
..and Cowardly, because they haven't got the stones to admit the above.

Grandma Yinda said...

Hey, ANONYMOUS (cop) at 2:40 ...

You're a COWARD, and that is evident by posting anonymously.

I would LOVE to come and show you how to do your job, but I don't know who you are. Let's do a few ride-alongs and you'll learn a LOT!

So, your wife has to work. MOST DO. And seriously, if you can't make it on a cop's salary, I might have to teach you how to BUDGET, too. I'm will to do all this for FREE, not at taxpayer expense, and I don't even HAVE a job because of this sucky economy.

So ... WAAAAaaaaa!! Somebody call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE because you CHOSE a profession (and thank GOD it wasn't writing, because you have the literacy of a 6h grader ... not to insult 6th graders).

Anonymous said...

Government employees have been trying to play off that they don't get paid for the work they do. Trying to make their work sound like they are serving the public and not leaching off the taxpayers. We hear the same stories about school teachers and how they have to use their own money to buy stuff for, THE CHILDREN" so the classroom runs as it should.
New studies are now showing that many American families pay more in taxes than they do on food.
All being said, lets have a lesson of real life and government employees. Americans who pay taxes do so to keep from being murdered by government employees or having these same government employees put them in a prison. The government employees from the top down know the American people have no choice in paying taxes. So the government employees work at every way possible to get more federal dollars in their sector/level of government. They no longer work for the people because the people have no choice in what amounts of taxes they pay or how that money is spent. So that revenue source is secure and the work effort is geared to getting in that federal money. The federal money comes in from so many different angles that the federal government has taking control of all government levels in the states. From state government on down to country to cities and townships. Bringing a new meaning to, "money is control".
Nevertheless, government employees are trained to put out the big alligator tears as the, "poor public servant". When the facts are very clear, the government employee can not get a job in the private sector that pays the same along with the same benefits.
Telling a government employee, "if you don't like it, find another line of work". The simple truth is, they can't because they do not have what it takes. In all fairness, of course there are rare cases where government employees are really there to serve the citizens regardless but they are just that, rare cases.

Anonymous said...

Get another job if you "Fear for your life" hell, you took the damn job to "serve and protect" no one is forcing you to work a job you are obviously afraid of. Get Another job. Scary cops are almost always Killer cops! By the way, you don't tell your employer they are winners whiners...you sir work for us.

Anonymous said...

I do not have a dog in this fight, and am very glad I do not. I clicked on the links provided in the article. It shows Glenola and Santaquin both having average household incomes in the $60,000+ range. Disturbing was the fact that a Sergeant in the local Sheriff's Office was shot and killed very recently. Link to KSL report http://www.ksl.com/?sid=29499834&nid=148&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick2

From visiting Utah, I can say that LDS is a prominent religion. I do not know much about it, but found that they had been driven out of several states, an extermination order issued in Missouri, and many people literally pushed handcarts with their kids and belongings to Utah after a massacre. The church's founder was murdered by a mob, while being held in a jail.

Policing can be a dangerous job. A deputy I worked with was killed by a speeder while he was directing traffic. I worked in the field in my home state for 34 years, without major incident, although it did ruin my health. Not complaining. I would definitely choose that field again, although in my last year of service, I earned $49,000, about half that of a teacher with similar service. (And, as one fellow used to say, "For teaching art to second graders for nine months of the year".) ;-)

I sincerely hope and pray that God in his benevolence and mercy wll bring relief and ease to the minds of all involved.

I am very sorry for all parties If there is an abuse of power, it should be investigated thoroughly, professionally, and impartially.
The rogues in my state are weeded out quickly.

For the record, I do not care for the increasing militarization of police departments nowadays. Most of the dinosaurs of my era were truly there to help our communities, in which we usually lived. I do not care for unwarranted surveillance, any harassment, or violations of our Constitutional Rights. I know little of Utah, except for a few trips long ago, and apologize to this site's regular posters for intruding.

Sherri Watson said...

CHAD R BLACK Police Arrest Report

Record ID: 28761625
Case Number: 54228

CHAD R BLACK, 44 years old, was arrested in UT. CHAD was born on 07/00/1969, and currently resides at SALEM UT 84653, SALEM, UT, 84653. CHAD R BLACK is described as a male,, a height of 601 and weights 185 pounds, according to UT Utah Arrest. The record ID number for this arrest is 28761625, according to ARSTutahut.

Category:

Arrest

LastName:

BLACK

FirstName:

CHAD

MiddleName:

R

DOB:

07/00/1969

Address1:

SALEM UT 84653

City:

SALEM

State:

UT

Zip:

84653

Age:

44

Height:

601

Weight:

185

ScarsMarks:

SCAR RT. FOREARM

Source:

ARSTutahut

ArrestingAgency:

UCSO

SourceName:

UT Utah Arrest

SourceState:

UT

CHAD R BLACK Police Arrest Report

Record ID: 28761625
Case Number: 54228

CHAD R BLACK, 44 years old, was arrested in UT. CHAD was born on 07/00/1969, and currently resides at SALEM UT 84653, SALEM, UT, 84653. CHAD R BLACK is described as a male,, a height of 601 and weights 185 pounds, according to UT Utah Arrest. The record ID number for this arrest is 28761625, according to ARSTutahut.

Category:

Arrest

LastName:

BLACK

FirstName:

CHAD

MiddleName:

R

DOB:

07/00/1969

Address1:

SALEM UT 84653

City:

SALEM

State:

UT

Zip:

84653

Age:

44

Height:

601

Weight:

185

ScarsMarks:

SCAR RT. FOREARM

Source:

ARSTutahut

ArrestingAgency:

UCSO

SourceName:

UT Utah Arrest

SourceState:

UT

Anonymous said...

What a great fairytale story. I would get a stalking injunction on Sherri if she was taping my children too. I think she needs to be evaluated by a therapist and get on some medication

Sherri Watson said...

Ya, that's why YOU HIDE like a COWARD behind the Anonymous label... Your probably a cop. Come out in the open COWARD.

Sherri Watson said...

Also Little Coward, If you were sick and cowardly ( which you are )enough to use your children to harass a neighbor I would video tape them too. Sargent Packer with the UCSO, Santaquin P.D, Mayor Throckmorton, Lawyer Richard Uday all told me to take the video as evidence against the Sick Corrupt Cop Chad Black. What kind of father uses his children like this???? Only the biggest kind of SICK COWARD that's who.

Anonymous said...

Holy Shit are you seriously telling me that a officer/family man is stalking you! It's not like your a 30 year old hottie! I sure hope that isn't what you see in the mirror when you hop out of the shower in the early morning. In my personal opinion you, My Dear, have nothing better to do during the day except watch soaps and make shit up in that pretty little head of yours. What happened really? Did you get mad because he told you to turn your music down too many times and so you thought you would get even? I personally have been arrested by Officer Black and I'm sorry he was a perfect gentlemen.. Well as gentlemanly as cops can be! Lady please find a better hobby before you trash other good officers names. There aren't very many left and Officer Black is a good one!

William N. Grigg said...

I'm trying to imagine the depth of utter servility to which one would have to descend in order to offer such a rapturous testimonial to the individual who had taken that person captive at gunpoint.

I likewise find the endorsement of Black as a "family man" and "gentleman" somewhat tainted by the ease with which the writer lapses into adolescent vulgarity. I'm not impressed by a character reference provided by someone of that disposition.

The predatory behavior displayed by the putative family man and gentleman cop has been abundantly documented through video and audio recordings, and confirmed by both the Orem and Santaquin Police Departments.

Sherri Watson and her family have earnestly tried to mind their own business, and have been driven from a beautiful home in a town they loved because of the harassment, intimidation, and abuse of the legal system inflicted on them by Black and his cohorts.

If you honestly think that Black is the aggrieved party here, then you'll have cause for celebration -- until, that is, he drops his facade and makes you the special target of his unwanted attention.

Sherri Watson said...

Oh, Coward little man you do not know what you are spewing about. Chad black has stolen from Brenda Bergess, Danny Throckmorten, Jarad Cowan, Kelly Stalhi that's who I know of. Darren Oberg describes him as having Little man syndrome kind of like YOU. I'm just a mom I have never worn make up or thought of myself as a hottie but if you have ever seen his wife..... I am sure I'm a old hottie compared to her. He has beat his daughter Brandy she ran to Brenda's for protection. Chad has Never had the balls to ask me to turn down my music actually he told me I could play all I wanted from 6am to 10 at night. He is a coward and so are you. You have the balls to confront me in the open to attack me in public??? NO you are a COWARD. I will move forward and find peace and you coward will still be a miserable coward with no balls to stand for anything. hahahaha COWARD can you say it? LOOK IN THE MIRROR :)

Anonymous said...

Also, I am a single mom! I don't have a penis. You should find out gender before you run your mouth!

William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous -- Given your winsome and delicate mode of self-expression, I can account for the "single" part. Assuming that you're a mother, I'm constrained to ask: Do you kiss your kids with that mouth?

Sherri Watson said...

now I know why you are single. No man would want a pig like yourself or you wish you had a penis. Your a gutless wonder hiding under the anonymous label. Your poor children I hope your ex was smart enough to take them. I am glad he was smart enough to leave your ugly ass.Why don't you come forward and try to stop me from running my mouth? Gutless. Single mom no MAN wants you. hahahaha

Grandma Yinda said...

Wow, "Anonymous" (so original), you sure have a lot to say about a cop who allegedly arrested you. But I am going to guess it was for prostitution the way you kiss Chad's ass and lick his boots. I hope it pays well (under the table, of course) while you continue to live on the state dole. (Based on facts which will be shown at a later date. Be VERY careful who you mess with).

Unknown said...

MY, OH, MY. What's that sound I hear? Could it be the sour twang of a taut nerve being struck by the weight of truth? I'm certain it's not a tiny violin playing my heart bleeds for you. A bruised ego will warrent no sympathy here.
You can always count on a control freak to chime in when their secrets are revealed. In poker it's called a tell. They get so wrapped up in acheiving control over others that they forget to control themselves. Another revealing character flaw that's easy to spot is failing to quit when they're ahead. They just keep on pushin'.
Looks like that arrest report was more revealing than it's appearance in print. Nice of you to omit the charge or charges, a kindness that probably wasn't deserved.
Thank you for sharing your plight Sherri.
It's good to see there are still people left out there who aren't afraid to speak out against an officers misuse and abuse of authority.
Sadly, many remain silent, a silence that allows the cyle of abuse to continue eroding the dignity of us all.

cjmomma said...

I usually try to stay as neutral with my mouth (as it has a mind of its own at times)until I read and do a bit more research on topics or issues occurring to people, you know so I don't make an arse out of myself..Writer, wow great use of links to help the process along and you did great keeping my attention. Sheri Watson~ I don't know you personally but I can say without a doubt "BRAVO and Kudos" to you and your loved ones for your strength and continued dedication to getting justice for your family and others going through similar injustices at the hands of the few power hungry. ~My general comment~ I do not think all law enforcement are created the same but I do see that there are an abundance of power hungry, corrupt, sadistic, vile, disgraceful gits out there who hide behind their badges as well as other guises of authority to be true menaces of society. I applaud those who truly Protect and Serve. To you fools out there who are guilty of discriminating, harrassing, abusing, threatening, out right stalking or any other crude behavior, what goes around comes around and the people will UNITE to see you pay for your crimes. I hope to be there when it happens. Former Mayor~ I applaud your efforts,lets hope others follow your example, I am saddened that you feel you have to just "try and put this behind" you, when there is still great need for strong people like you to keep the fight for real justice going. Take care all and keep the truth out there so it doesn't disappear into obscurity. FYI: If you have a comment for me please remember you never know who or rather what age will read it so do try to keep it as clean as possible~unlike*Anonymous* Thanks so much for reading my 2 Cents!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous, by your own admission you do not live in Santaquin or Genola, and you have no first-hand knowledge of anything that has transpired between Chad Black and the Watson family.

At very best your comments would have to be dismissed as malicious gossip, but since you insist on cowering in anonymity your comments can't even achieve that level of credibility.

I have indulged you this far, but will do so no further. If you have anything more to say about this matter, you'll have to do so on the record.

William N. Grigg said...

Another brief note to "Anonymous" above: Yes, I have received your last two submitted comments; no, you will not be permitted to publish any further unsubstantiated hearsay allegations about Mrs. Watson and her family while withholding your name from the public.

Opposing views have always been welcome here and will continue to be. When they involve aspersions against my own character or reputation I will publish them, even when they are anonymous and entirely without merit -- but that applies only to such casual defamation directed at me. I will not be a party to such treatment of Sherri Watson, or anybody else, and have no moral or ethical responsibility to do so.

LastMohican said...

You da man Mr. Grigg.

Anonymous said...

OMG...Sherri and Tom, this is your cousin Anna in Salt Lake City. What the heck is going on there? I was thinking about you guys today and wanted to contact you and saw this on the internet. Wish I had your number or email to contact you.

If you see this...please post your email so I can contact you. Say hi to Thomas! Take care and lots of luck to you both. Your aunt Connie's daughter.

Anonymous said...

Sherri...I hope you see my earlier comment. Thanks to the blogger for posting it. I just read this whole blog and oh my gosh, this is horrible! Please contact the Attorney Generals Office and report this! I am so sorry that you are in fear for your life. I read other posts on the internet and found Thomas's email, but I want to be sure he still has the same one with @chewy.....If so, just reply yes and I'll shoot you off an email. Big hugs to you and Thomas.
Your Cousin..Anna

Sherri Watson said...

Yes, Anna this is us. :) It's been so long. Yes that is the e-mail. Please contact us.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Sherri...check your email!:)

Anonymous said...

Sherri is a strong woman. I didn't agree with her a first. I actually stood up for Black and others like him. I trusted him. I regret doing so everyday. I reported Black's behavior and Craig Martinez was the investigating Office that came to interview me. In fact he did twice, making me feel that I was nothing more than a woman wanting revenge. Anyone that knows me knows that I am the last person in the world that needs revenge on anyone. I don't believe that revenge solves any problem. I fell into the trap of affection and care the Black set up for me. Crossing him have consequences I'm not sure anyone is ready or willing to face. Well, I am still paying for, as he would say, crossing him. I will never trust a law enforcement agent of any kind again. I would rather trust the scum of the earth first. Please be careful what you say on public websites. His team of co-workers will always be watching. Sherri be careful. You are an amazing woman and I don't want to see you hurt anymore.. Always, YOUR LUNCH DATE.

William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous, could you please contact me -- WNGrigg (at) msn (dot) com?

Will

William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous, I got your message. Thank you.

Amanda A. said...

Wow... I lived in genola for 3 years. First off, Chad black is an outstanding guy. Whenever our family has needed help he was the first one there. 2nd Sherri I feel so sorry for your children. It must be hard to have a mother as certifiably crazy as you. I would go as far to say those children need to be removed from your home. 3rd. It was so convenient for you to leave out the profane messages you would paint on your garage directed to them. Maybe you realized that people would know that you were insane after seeing that? 4th please anyone who reads this know she is completing lying, SHE is the stalker. She even created fake FB pages in order to keep stalking after she had moved. You are creating the hostile environment. The Blacks want nothing to do with you and have tried to avoid you. Please leave this poor family alone. They have more integrity than you will ever have. I have the name of a good psychiatrist if you need a recommendation ;)

William N. Grigg said...


Sherri's children are bright, happy, and love their mother very much. They were admittedly and understandably anxious as a result of Chad Black's persistent and well-documented harassment of their family.

The threats you make against Sherri and her children are quite typical of the behavior displayed by Mr. Black's partisans. Such people make exceptionally poor character witnesses.

Anonymous said...

The threats you make against Blacks and their children are quite typical of the behavior displayed by Mrs. Watson's partisans. Such people make exceptionally poor character witnesses.

William N. Grigg said...

Mimicry is a childish rhetorical device. Would you provide a specimen of the alleged "threats" to which you refer?

Anonymous said...

Yes this "now I know why you are single. No man would want a pig like yourself or you wish you had a penis. Your a gutless wonder hiding under the anonymous label. Your poor children I hope your ex was smart enough to take them. I am glad he was smart enough to leave your ugly ass.Why don't you come forward and try to stop me from running my mouth? Gutless. Single mom no MAN wants you. hahahaha"

sounds like a very educated, kind, civilized individual who would never make a threat? That sounded pretty threatening to me.

Anonymous said...

Amanda...you're a jerk off! Sherri is my cousin and you know nothing about her parenting skills. She's a great mother to her children! I bet you wouldn't mouth off like this to her face. You gutless internet troll! Sherri's being attacked because she spoke out about a bad cop's despicable behavior...really? An outstanding cop? Stop with all the stupidity! How much did he pay you to post this ridiculous comment?

Love you and Thomas, Sherri! Your cousin in SLC!

Anonymous said...

One more thing, leave innocent children out of your mouths and worry about your own parenting! When you attack a parent by using children, it speaks volumes of your own character! That's right..this applies to all the internet trolls attacking Sherri in the name of her children! Grow a set because most likely you were born without a uterus to bear children! LEAVE CHILDREN OUT OF YOUR CONVERSATIONS COWARDS!

William N. Grigg said...

Anonymous, I received your comment and rejected it for the following reasons:

1) As you must be aware by now, Sherri and her family have relocated to the northwest. She never stalked Chad Black in any sense at any time; her distance from Utah County would make doing so an impossibility, even if she had any inclination to do so.

For the same reason, you would be deprived of the opportunity to confront Sherri "to her face," something you claimed to desire in the rejected comment. But then again, you almost certainly knew that meeting would never take place, didn't you?

2) When you spray a skunk-like stream of bilious invective at people, you really should have the rudimentary decency to attach your name to your comments. This is especially true of remarks calling into question someone's competence as a parent, or casting aspersions on her extended family.

You are welcome to publish practically anything in this forum -- apart from demonstrable libel or unfiltered blasphemy -- at such time that you meet the undemanding standard of minimal maturity necessary to do so.

Anonymous said...

Your entire article is blasphemous and pure libel. If you can't see that you need help.

William N. Grigg said...

Truth is a perfect defense against a charge of libel -- and unless we regard a police officer as a divinity of some kind, the term "blasphemy" of its equivalents simply wouldn't apply.

Anonymous said...

Ok Amanda A.... AKA Toni Black, Everyone in Genola know exactly what you and your butt wipe husband did to Sherri. This will tell you who I am but Why don't you find yourself a bottle of Tequila and leave her alone. You got her to move, You watched as your husband tried to run her off the road, isn't that enough? No, you have to find her is cyber space and attack her more???? Lay off and get a life.... or maybe your just pissed that she made friends with the woman Chad had been having sex with in exchange for him not sending her to jail.....She knows all about it. Yes, we talk..... Yep just another hypocrite Mormon you are...