Detroit cop faces 2nd trial in 7-year-old's death

[Omaha Steve]

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]

1. Oh yeah, he went in there to protect the citizens of Detroit from a murderer.

So, instead, he ends up murdering a beautiful 7 year old girl.
Can anyone else see the irony in this?

[Iggo]

2. Exactly.

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]

3. Of course "He Needed" the Submachine Gun

Shame on the Police Officer's Union for trying to defend this

[NutmegYankee]

4. The officer is guilty as hell. No one accidentally pulls a trigger in a raid.

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]

6. He's not charged with "murder."

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]

7. Bullshit.

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]

9. In common everyday terms, humans use the word murder.

This isn't a court and I'm not a lawyer. I don't give a damn what terms they want to use.

[candelista]

10. Well, you're in a great mood!

But even ordinary speakers of the English language would not call this "murder"--not unless they wanted to say something false and inflammatory.

[NutmegYankee]

11. One can be quite passionate about the murder of a child.

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]

13. AND you keep the safety on

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]

14. Nut, just wanted to point out that even with the best training accidents do happen

even to firearms instructors.

being a prime example.
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]

15. It's easy to discharge a round when cleaning or demonstrating a firearm.

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]

16. Regardless of the reason for the officer to fire be it on purpose as you insist or be it accidental

the officer in this case is of course still culpable for the death of the child.

[NutmegYankee]

17. And as of yet has received no punishment.

four years...

[cstanleytech]

18. Thats because he hasnt been found guilty of a crime though by a jury.

[NutmegYankee]

20. There are not court actions, such as firing or unpaid suspension.

But police depts don't seem to care.

[cstanleytech]

21. Thats hardly surprising though

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]

5. Rec for exposure.

[1monster]

8. Charge the whole damned swat team and the idiot who sent them in the first place.

[Man from Pickens]

12. oh dear, a media frenzy

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]

19. Surely this cop did not intend to kill an innocent child.

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]

22. It is my belief that the second a police officer kills an unarmed civilian

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.