Complaint against Gadsden Police chief settled

Chief John Crane

A complaint brought by a Gadsden murder victim’s family against Gadsden Police Chief John Crane has been settled.

 In settling the case, both the complainant, Joy Justus Bates, and Crane accepted the punishment originally imposed by the Gadsden Civil Service Board.

 The original penalty gave Crane five days of suspension to serve, with 10 days held in abeyance.

 The complaint against Crane first went to the Civil Service Board in June 2013. Bates’ aunt, Nita Denson, was brutally murdered around Christmas 2009 and her body was discovered in January. Her son, Justin Denson, pleaded guilty to the murder charge and a charge of fraudulent use of her credit cards. He was sentenced in February 2013 to 119 years in prison.

 Before Crane became Gadsden’s police chief, he visited Denson a number of times in jail. He has said that he sought to minister to the man, who had been a friend of Crane’s son in high school. He first wrote to Denson, then visited him in jail.

 Denson was jailed from January 2010 until his plea in November 2012. Crane not only visited Denson, but put money in his commissary account and bought him a suit to wear for his trial.

 Most of the visits came before Crane was named as Gadsden’s police chief in March 2012. However, he continued to visit Denson every month after he was named chief, and Bates’ complaint claimed his association with Denson played a role in the outcome of the murder case against him.