Detroit cop faces 2nd trial in 7-year-old's death
Source: AP-Excite
By ED WHITE
DETROIT (AP) A member of an elite Detroit police unit is set to stand trial again for killing a 7-year-old girl during a 2010 raid on her house that was captured on video by a reality TV crew.
Nobody alleges that Officer Joseph Weekley intended to kill Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who had been sleeping on a couch near the front door when officers burst through around midnight in search of a murder suspect. But prosecutors charged him with involuntary manslaughter because they believe he handled his submachine gun recklessly, causing the girl's death.
Jury selection starts Monday in Wayne County court, 15 months after Weekley's first trial ended with jurors unable to agree on a verdict.
Weekley was a member of Detroit's Special Response Team, which was sent to an east side neighborhood to capture a suspect in the killing of a teenager outside a convenience store.
FULL story at link.
FILE -- In this May 18, 2010 file photo, Dominika Stanley, left, the mother of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones sits next to Aiyana's father Charles Jones in attorney Geoffrey Fieger's office in Southfield, Mich. A judge won't delay the trial of a Detroit police officer who accidentally killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones during a raid, despite his attorney's concerns that a "media frenzy" following a police shooting in Missouri could harm his client's right to an impartial jury. Detroit Officer Joseph Weekley is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Wayne County Judge Cynthia Hathaway said Weekley's trial will start Monday, Sept. 15, 2014 as planned. This is Weekley's second trial. The first ended without a verdict in June 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140914/us-police-raid-girl-killed-a9eaf0e76e.html
IronGate
(2,186 posts)So, instead, he ends up murdering a beautiful 7 year old girl.
Can anyone else see the irony in this?
He didn't go in there to protect anyone.
He went in there to get somebody, and he did get someone.
It's just that this time it turned out to be a 7-year old kid.
I have a feeling if the victim had been an adult male, we'd've never heard about it.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)Shame on the Police Officer's Union for trying to defend this
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)Basic firearms training 101 is you do not put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to fire. You keep your finger out of the trigger guard.
He murdered a child.
candelista
(1,986 posts)Nor should he be, even by your own account. From the article: "...prosecutors charged him with involuntary manslaughter because they believe he handled his submachine gun recklessly....
The truth is bad enough without exaggeration.
IronGate
(2,186 posts)Cops are trained to keep their booger fingers off the trigger unless there is a definitive threat.
He went in there ready to kill, that, IMO, is at the very least, 2nd murder.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)This isn't a court and I'm not a lawyer. I don't give a damn what terms they want to use.
candelista
(1,986 posts)But even ordinary speakers of the English language would not call this "murder"--not unless they wanted to say something false and inflammatory.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)Here we are four years later and no jail time has been served. I have stronger feelings because I both own and have been trained on firearms. I don't fall for the false "it was an accident" line. It wasn't. The officer probably just considered the black family subhuman and didn't care about their safety. So yes, I'm in a bad mood that such a monster still walks the streets.
Man from Pickens
(1,713 posts)you aren't supposed to flip off the safety until you've got your target in your sights
the fact that the safety was off without a valid target present says intent to kill
which is also part of firearms 101
cstanleytech
(26,336 posts)even to firearms instructors.
Thats not to say the officer isnt responsible for his actions in this case though because they still are just like the officer in that video is responsible still.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)One doesn't pay full attention to whether a round is chambered and then they pull the trigger, either to unload the mainspring or to demonstrate the click. But to shoot someone during a raid required someone who fully knew the weapon was loaded to put his finger on the trigger and fire a round. That is a purposeful act. The only accidental discharge is when a person reaches for a hidden loaded gun which only has a long pull trigger safety and hooks the trigger.
cstanleytech
(26,336 posts)the officer in this case is of course still culpable for the death of the child.
NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)four years...
cstanleytech
(26,336 posts)NutmegYankee
(16,201 posts)But police depts don't seem to care.
cstanleytech
(26,336 posts)because if they fired him he could sue them later on for wrongful termination costing the tax payers alot of money so they will probably wait until all of the pending criminal proceedings are finished.
20score
(4,769 posts)1monster
(11,012 posts)Man from Pickens
(1,713 posts)if it gets really bad, the frenzied media might bust into his house with a machine gun and kill his sleeping kid
now THAT would be frenzy
Chemisse
(30,817 posts)But the attitude and the strategies that the police use need to be changed, so things like this are less likely happen.
It seems to me that the police are trained to protect themselves at all costs, and protecting or even respecting others is just not a priority.
Remember when the victims of Columbine died because the cops were too scared to enter the building? The shooters were long since dead, but the cops didn't know that and remained outside the building. One teacher bled to death, and one student flung himself out the window to get attention for his wounds.
If the procedures that are taught put a little more stress on the safety of civilians and perps, if these people learn more about the need to respect humanity - even that of the 'bad guy', if they are given training on civil rights and shown that racism won't be tolerated, it would go a long way toward getting police departments back on track.
mountain grammy
(26,659 posts)they are immediately fired, zero tolerance. The same with any violence from a cop on an unarmed civilian. Cops no longer have any credibility with me and a lot of people because of the killings and brutality against the public that they refuse to deal with.