Raleigh: Roxboro police officer charged after Glenwood South bar incident

In Raleigh, a Roxboro police officer is facing two misdemeanor charges after an alleged altercation at a bar in Glenwood South.

Joseph Downey Jr., 32, is charged with being intoxicated and disruptive and with resisting a public officer, according to Wake County arrest records reported by ABC11 and a Roxboro Police Department statement reported by WRAL, ABC11 and CBS 17. Roxboro Police Chief David Hess said the department has placed Downey on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Being charged with a crime does not mean a person is guilty. Downey is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty in court. We could not find any public comment from Downey or from a lawyer for him.

What warrants allege

Arrest warrants say Downey was intoxicated in public in the 600 block of Glenwood Avenue and that he challenged a security guard to a fight, WRAL reported. Wake County arrest records, as described by ABC11, place the alleged incident in public on Glenwood Avenue and describe an altercation involving a security guard and Raleigh officers.

The warrants allege a Raleigh officer stepped in to stop the confrontation, and that Downey resisted that officer and continued to engage the security guard, WRAL reported. CBS 17, citing a warrant written by a Raleigh officer, reported the same alleged sequence: a challenge to fight, then resistance while an officer tried to keep a fight from starting.

Roxboro police described the matter as an altercation at a bar involving security and Raleigh officers, WRAL and CBS 17 reported. We are not naming the business. We are using the 600 block of Glenwood Avenue, in Glenwood South, rather than a precise street number.

ABC11 and CBS 17 reported that the arrest happened early Sunday morning, Oct. 18. The Herald Sun described it as Saturday night. Raleigh police have not published an arrest time that we could check.

The charges

Records reported by ABC11, WRAL and CBS 17 list two misdemeanors:

• Intoxicated and disruptive
• Resisting a public officer

Under North Carolina law, being intoxicated and disruptive in public — including by fighting or challenging someone to fight — is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing a public officer who is trying to carry out an official duty is generally a Class 2 misdemeanor when no serious injury is alleged.

WRAL reported that Downey was released from jail on a $3,000 bond and that he has no previous arrests in North Carolina. CBS 17 reported the bond as $3,000 unsecured. We have not independently opened the court file.

What Roxboro police said

Hess said officers are held to a high standard of conduct on and off duty. In a statement carried by WRAL, ABC11 and CBS 17, he said Downey's alleged actions "do not reflect our department's core values nor the expectations of a Roxboro police officer by our community." He said Downey is on leave until the internal investigation is finished, and he thanked Raleigh police for how they handled the incident.

Hess said Downey has been a Roxboro officer since January and had no earlier disciplinary or conduct violations with the department.

What happens next

WRAL and ABC11 did not list a court date. CBS 17 reported a first appearance on the morning of Dec. 9 in Wake County District Court. We could not independently confirm that date and are not treating it as settled.

The internal investigation is pending. We will update this story when a court date is confirmed, when Roxboro police release more on their own channels, or if Downey or a lawyer for him comments.

This report is text-only. We have a photo that other outlets published with a Roxboro Police credit, but we do not have a direct agency release of that image for our use.