FBI CONTINUES MELEE PROBE

FBI agents should be finishing their work in Cape Girardeau soon, said Police Chief Richard Hetzel.

The agents, who arrived June 21, are continuing their investigation into possible violations by police in a June 11 altercation on south Good Hope Street. Six police officers were injured and eight people were arrested when a crowd of about 150 began to throw rocks and bricks. The crowd had reacted to police attempts to arrest two brothers, Gregory and Kenneth Campbell, who had fought with police.

No report on the status of the FBI's independent inquiry is available, based on the nature of the assignment, Hetzel said.

"We have invited the FBI to work with us in the past, but this is different since they are examining our practices," Hetzel said.

Agents from several bureaus are working on the investigation, since their intention is to complete their interviews and evaluation as quickly as possible, the police chief said.

Hetzel had asked the FBI to come after the Rev. David Allen, president of the Cape Girardeau chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, suggested at a public forum that an independent inquiry was necessary.

In the meantime, Hetzel has reassigned some of the officers who were working in sector 4, which makes up South Cape Girardeau. Patrols are being carried out by more experienced officers, who are familiar with more of the residents of the area, he said.

"We don't want to be seen as antagonizing the situation," he said.

Almost all of the officers who had been involved in the scuffle are back on regular duty, Hetzel said.