Long before police Lt. Danny Jackson was fired last week, Covington's homeless community knew him as a menace.

They called him "Action Jackson" - not a compliment. His attitude toward street people was so belligerent that it helped spark a rights movement among Covington's homeless - one that continues to this day.

"I think (Jackson) united them to a great degree," says Mark Pierce, a formerly homeless man who had his share of run-ins with the officer.

To Pierce and others, Jackson's firing feels like vindication. "I was overjoyed," says Pat Clark, who recently became the first homeless man to serve on the board of the Northern Kentucky Housing and Homeless Coalition.

Insults and injury

Jackson had been a Covington cop for 13 years when he was fired. He may appeal the city's decision. His attorney, Allen McCartney, said neither he nor Jackson could comment at this time.

Police administrators compiled an extraordinary list of allegations against the officer.

From his first days on the force, fellow cops described him as arrogant and overly aggressive. "He just flat treats all people like trash," one officer wrote in a review.

A small sampling of other incidents described in city records:

Jackson embarrassed a crime witness by describing her, within earshot, as "fat" and "ugly." He pushed a handcuffed prisoner to the floor of the jail, causing a head injury that required hospitalization, according to jail staff.

He kicked a suspect in the head several times during an arrest, upsetting other officers at the scene.

He ordered a stolen car towed when the owner asked him to wait, and he failed to have another vehicle towed when the owner requested it.

While working off-duty at the Kenton County Public Library in November 2001, Jackson arrested a man named Harry Eckert and failed to properly account for his wallet and other possessions.

Eckert has been homeless or on the verge of it for years. He spoke up about Jackson, but others never dared.

"The homeless are afraid to cause static," Clark says. "You don't want to get an officer mad at you, because you don't want him harassing you all the time."

About three years ago, Welcome House social worker Rachael Winters began gathering information from street people about problems with police. Jackson's name came up.

That effort evolved into a regular Sunday-morning "meeting" among homeless people at Goebel Park. With Winters' help, some obtained shelter and several became activists.

In 2000, social-service agencies helped the Covington Police Department set up a three-hour, officer training session about the homeless. Relations were on the mend.

"I have plenty of friends on the police department who are no problem at all," Clark says today. "There are a bunch of them who do have compassion for the homeless."

Finally, Action Jackson can no longer sully their name.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com or call (859) 578-5584.