Sedalia man accused of demanding family at park to ‘show their papers’
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Sedalia man has been charged with a felony after he allegedly accused a family of being illegal immigrants and demanded to see “their papers.”
Dean Murphee was charged with first-degree harassment and is being held at the Pettis County Jail on a $2,500 bond. A court date has not been set.
The probable cause statement says a woman was at Liberty Park on Tuesday with her husband and two children when Murphee began yelling and following them. The woman put her children in the family’s car and Murphee allegedly demanded she “stop,” the statement says. The woman told her husband to drive, but Murphee went to the driver side window and demanded the husband show “their papers,” the statement says.
Murphee then allegedly yelled at the family that they “better be legal” before asking to see their “papers,” again, the statement says. Court documents say Murphee grabbed the handle of the car door.
Murphee tried to stop them from leaving, so the family went the “wrong way” out of the park to get away from him, but came back when police arrived, court documents say.
Police spoke with Murphee, who claimed he is a retired veteran “who serves and protects this community,” and goes to the park nearly every night, the statement says.
Murphee allegedly told police that he “caught a bunch of ‘illegals’ tearing up the rose garden and trashing the gazebo. Dean then started going off on a tangent about communication between shifts,” according to court documents.