The Central Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has refuted claims by Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church that they failed to investigate harassment from neighbors despite complaints, which forced him to beat up a man who repeatedly threatened to rape and murder his family and harm his congregation.
“Allegations that the Central Police Department has failed to investigate complaints lodged by Pastor or Mrs. Spell are untrue. Our records reflect only 5 incidents involving Pastor or Mrs. Spell in the past 4 years, and only one of those involved a complaint against their neighbors,” Roger L. Corcoran, chief of the Central Police Department, said in a statement Wednesday.
He continued, “All calls to our department are recorded, and all persons who visit our department to make in-person complaints are captured on video. If dates and times [of] complaints were allegedly made, are provided to me, I will order an audit of our systems to investigate any claim of a failure to investigate.”
Spell, 48, was arrested and charged with second-degree battery on Tuesday after he was recorded in a nearly one-minute video reacting to a 20-year-old neighbor who swung at him first at around 11 a.m. on Hooper Road near his church, local media reported. The video shows Spell raining down multiple blows to the man’s head and face, along with at least one kick.
Spell made it clear that his actions needed no repentance in an address to his congregation shortly after he was released from the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a $25,000 bond later that day and insisted he was acting in self-defense after years of provocation.
“While this individual is walking up and down the shoulder of the road, he’s shouting vulgarities, profanities, and very nasty words towards my person, or myself. And while I’m working on this particular bus, he said, Tony, I’m quoting him. He said, ‘Tony, I’m gonna rape your wife. I’m gonna rape all of your grandchildren.’ And he said, ‘The next time you go out of town, I’m going to kill them. And what the F are you going to do about it?’” Spell recalled, describing the moments before he administered the beatdown.
He explained that his racially diverse church, which has members with roots from 27 countries, as well as recovering addicts, was also frequently being attacked with slurs.
“They are constantly stalked by these individuals across the street. They are constantly intimidated with threats of bodily harm. There’s not a person that’s come to this church that’s standing behind me in this meeting today who hasn’t been called the racial slur of the N word. Their children have been screamed at and shouted at with vulgarities,” Spell said at a press conference. “As a shepherd, I have not allowed the sheep to attack the wolves for what was said to them. … I can’t allow a man to rape my wife. I can’t allow a man to rape my grandchildren. I will not allow a man to murder my children when I’m gone.”
Jeffrey Wittenbrink, Spell’s attorney, said the continued aggressions against the pastor and his congregation that pushed him beyond his limit were a “failure of law enforcement.”
“I just want to say it’s sad that we’ve had a failure of law enforcement, and it may be that there’s a gap in the law. It may be it’s perfectly permissible for someone to shout vulgarities, and grab their body parts, and flash you, and make threats of rape or bodily harm, or actually even to kill somebody. Maybe that’s perfectly legal. God knows that these poor folks over here have complained many, many times,” he said.
A WBRZ report, which identifies the Spell’s 20-year-old neighbor as Luke Sherwin, cited video of Spell telling him, “I’m going to break your neck!” before the beating.
The report also cites the details of several complaints made by the Spells, including one filed by the pastor’s wife, Shaye Spell, in May. She told police in that report that, in March, Luke Sherwin “flipped [her] off” before following her in his truck and yelling obscenities at her.
Scott Sherwin, the father of Luke Sherwin, shared images of his son’s injuries with WAFB. One gash in his son’s chin required five stitches to close, his father stated.
The police chief said the Central Police Department wasn’t involved in the investigation that led to Spell’s arrest on Tuesday. He said the decision to arrest the pastor came from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“For many years, and to this day, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office has served as the primary law enforcement agency for incidents like this. We will work to support the sheriff’s office, should our assistance be requested, as it continues to conduct its investigation. The safety of our citizens is, and will always remain, my top priority,” Corcoran said.
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