From the Stop Killer Cops campaign by the Congress of African People in the early 70’s to this moment, OBS and its members have consistently educated, agitated and organized our people and allies about the role of the state and how to fight for justice in a system that has disproportionately targeted black and brown people for prisons and America’s death rows.
Justice for Mike Brown
Our lived experience has been tested since the racist shooting of Mike Brown on August 9 by Ferguson cop Darren Wilson. Our local social justice movement immediately rose to action to navigate through the chaos to a place of planned strategic action. We are serious when we say “No more business as usual!”
Local authorities thought it would be a fleeting flare-up and then complacency would set in. But here we are almost two months out and there continues to be daily protests, organizing meetings and trainings.
You have shown your solidarity in many ways including holding actions in your respective cities, making financial contributions, or actually coming to the Ferguson epicenter to bring your skills and energies. Even Hong Kong youth have been inspired by the actions in Ferguson with images of the “Hands up, don’t shoot!”
OBS and our coalition partners invite you to join us for a Weekend of Resistance. If you cannot attend, pass this on to those who may be in driving distance and who can participate in one or more of the days of activities. This is a movement building moment that requires our collective wisdom and action if we are to build and sustain a national campaign to address the systemic issues of police violence.
Top: (l) Joseph Weekley (r) Aiyana Jones; bottom: depiction of shooting.
UPDATE: COA panel, headed by Michael Talbot, one of the most racist, backward judges on the bench, has denied the prosecution’s appeal of Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway’s dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charges against Aiyana Jones’ killer, Joseph Weekley.
Appeals Court Judge Michael Talbot
The court said, “The trial court orally granted defendant’s motion for directed verdict and entered a written order to that effect. Because [this] took place before any appellate review was able to occur, the Court is barred from reviewing the trial court’s decision.”
The appeals court order was posted in George Hunter’s article in the Detroit News before it was even up on the court website, indicating that he got it from his usual source, defense attorney Steve Fishman. The decision is at Weekley final COA order.
Aiyana Stanley-Jones/photo from mother Dominika Stanley-Jones’ Facebook page
A state Court of Appeals panel is currently reviewing the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office appeal of Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway’s order dismissing an involuntary manslaughter charge against Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley in the death of Aiyana Jones, 7, on May 16, 2010. (Links to appeals documents are at bottom of story.)
The panel is headed by Appeals Judge Michael Talbot and includes Kurtis T. Wilder and Kirsten Frank Kelley.
In their appeal, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, Chief of Research on Appeals and Training Timothy Baughman, and Asst. Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Chambers argue that the case should go to the jury as presented. They say that Judge Hathaway’s ruling was a “legal error” contrary to her actual finding in the case, and cite a 1995 Michigan Supreme Court opinion defining involuntary manslaughter.
Hathaway said as part of her ruling that “the trier of fact can decide if the Defendantfailed to use the ordinary care to avoid injuring another when to a reasonable person it must have been apparent that the result was likely to be serious injury.”
The prosecutor then cites People v. Datema, where the high court ruled that the crime of involuntary manslaughter can be committed EITHER with the intent to injure OR in a grossly negligent manner.
Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway with husband Dewayne Hayes, a Wayne Co. Dep. Sheriff.
“In the latter instance,” it says, criminal liability is imposed because, although the defendants’ acts are not inherently wrong, the defendant has acted or failed to act with awareness of the risk to safety and in willful disregard of the safety of others.”
According to the transcript of the Oct. 3 arguments, Asst. Prosecutor Robert Moran said, “He [Weekley] knew what the standard was, he knew what ordinary care was required because they go in there with all this powerful equipment, an MP5 submachine gun, a ballistic shield, vest, whatever the case may be, they’re trained how to use it, they’re trained the proper way to use it. He could have avoided injury if he had followed his training, he didn’t. As a result of not following his training and not following the mandates of ordinary care, someone was killed.”
Numerous Special Response Team members testifed earlier that they are repeatedly trained to keep their index finger on the slide of the gun, off the trigger, even if involved in a confrontation. One officer said the training results in automatic “muscle response.”
Brent Sojea, weapons expert, said Weekley’s gun, which he is holding, cannot fire accidentally.
A weapons expert said Weekley’s gun could not be fired accidentally, only by exerting eight to nine pounds of pressure on the trigger.
Defense Attorney Steve Fishman cited only the U.S. Supreme Court case, People V. Evans, which Detroit News reporter George Hunter included in his Oct. 3 story, without acknowledging that Fishman was his source for finding the case.
In that case, Fishman said, “The United States Supreme Court has clearly stated that the trial judge’s ruling cannot be appealed and that retrial on that count is prohibited by the Double Jeopary clause of the United States Constitution. Therefore, the prosecution’s emergency application for leave to appeal should be denied.”
However the Appeals Court rules, courts have proven throughout this country that justice for people of color in particular is rarely rendered, as in the acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing Travyon Martin, and Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper’s refusal to prosecute Northland Mall security officers who killed McKenzie Cochran, 25, as he cried out, “I can’t breathe” and “I’m dying” while they held him down.
Youtube video above posted by “Lady Justice,” who quoted Benjamin Franklin, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
“They are killing our people and it hurts my soul so much.”
“The officer openly lied in court and said the Grandmother physically attacked him.”
“We just witnessed a travesty of justice.”
Court scheduled for Mon. Oct. 6 8:30 A.M. in Weekley trial; Jones family supporters ask people to come
By Diane Bukowski
October 5, 2014
(L to r) Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Officer Joseph Weekley
UPDATE: The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled late Oct. 3, “The Court orders, pursuant to MCR 7.205(E)(2), that plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal is HELD IN ABEYANCE pending the Court‘s review of the pleadings, and further proceedings are STAYED pending resolution of this appeal or further order of this Court.” Click on Weekley COA order to read order. VOD will provide updates as appeal proceeds.
DETROIT – Outrage is building nationally in the wake of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway’s move to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges against police officer Joseph Weekley for killing Aiyana Jones, 7, on May 16, 2010. Her ruling has been stayed pending a decision by the state Court of Appeals.
Many who have attended the trial called on the public to turn out in court Monday, Oct. 6 at 8:30 a.m. to let Judge Hathaway know they are watching. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s office confirmed that the jury will reconvene that day.
“They are killing our people and it hurts my soul so much,” said “Em” on the national Black website Madame Noire. “It was bad enough they were killing our men. Now it’s our women and kids and the babies. I can’t deal with this. I pray that God covers all of the people of color. It’s not safe for us.”
Mertilla Jones, grandmother of Aiyana, weeps as she shows the child’s photo before hearing on the cop who killed her October 29, 2012.
Nat X said, “The same Officer openly lied in court and said the Grandmother physically attacked him upon entry. Which is a Felony [perjury]. His testimony was not backed up by other Officers who said they saw no one attack him or try to take his weapon and the discharge was not in fact accidental.”
Daniel Ferguson III of Detroit posted a photo of Hathaway on Facebook, remarking, “This is the face of a compromised kneegrow. She should be recalled now. WE JUST WITNESSED A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE.”
Police brutality activist Ron Scott noted, “I think that the question of manslaughter, that’s what it was. This family has suffered for four years.”
When the charge was announced in 2011, many in the community called for a higher charge of second-degree murder to be brought against Weekley, but a one-man grand jury comprised of Wayne County Circuit Court Criminal Division Chief Judge Timothy Kenny authorized the manslaughter charge after lengthy investigation.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s office confirmed Oct. 3 that a stay is in place on Hathaway’s ruling and that an emergency appeal has been filed with the state Court of Appeals, contradicting a report from the Detroit News that a decision to appeal had not yet been made.
“The [Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office] has filed an Application for Leave to File Emergency Interlocutory Appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals,” Wayne County Asst. Prosecutor Maria Miller said in a release. “Because the jury trial is in progress no further comment will be made about the matter. The judge has instructed the jury to return to court on Monday, October 6, 2014.”
Aiyana Jones/Photo from mother Dominika Jones’ Facebook page,
Meanwhile, Aiyana’s mother Dominika Jones posted photo after photo of her first-born child on her Facebook page, saying “Heyyyy Yannnnnaaaa! I miss you so much.” Her grandmother Mertilla Jones cried out, “My little princess!” when told of the attempt to dismiss the charges.
The same Detroit News article, by George Hunter, said without substantiation that Weekley is likely to serve no time on the misdemeanor charge of reckless discharge of a firearm resulting in death.
The applicable statute MCL 752.861(1) says however, “Any person who, because of carelessness, recklessness or negligence, but not wilfully or wantonly, shall cause or allow any firearm under his immediate control, to be discharged so as to kill or injure another person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 2 years, or by a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 1 year, in the discretion of the court.”
Hunter also cited also a U.S. Supreme Court decision which he said bars appeal of a judge’s grant of a directed verdict, failing to note that Hathaway has stayed her ruling pending a COA decision.
The Feb. 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Evans v. Michigan, upheld a trial judge’s directed verdict of acquittal of a man charged with burning a vacant home, saying a re-trial would subject him to “double jeopardy.” (Read full ruling at USC Evans v Michigan.)
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
However, the decision distinguished between directed verdicts based on “substantive” vs. “procedural matters,” with the latter not implying double jeopardy.
“Thus, an ‘acquittal’ includes ‘a ruling by the court that the evidence is insufficient to convict,’ a ‘factual finding [that] necessary establish[es] the criminal defendant’s lack of criminal culpability,’ and any other ruling which relates to the ultimate question of guilt or innocence,’ Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, citing a previous case.
“These sorts of substantive rulings stand apart from procedural rulings that may also terminate a case midtrial, which we generally refer to as dismissals or mistrials. Procedural dismissals include rulings on questions that ‘are unrelated to factual guilt or innocence,’ but which serve other purposes,’ including ‘a legal judgment that a defendant, although criminally culpable, may not be punished’ because of some problem like an error with the indictment.”
Paralegal Roberto Guzman has written many successful appellate briefs for Michigan prisoners.
Davontae Sanford family and supporters after appeals court hearing August 6 Mother Taminko Sanford-Tilmon and stepfather Jermaine Tilmon at right. Sanford was convicted of four drug house murders that happened when he was 14, and his family is fighting to overturn his conviction because another man, Vincent Smothers, has confessed. Paralegal Roberto Guzman is in bottom center of photo. The Sanford-Tilman and Jones families earlier held joint protests about their cases.
He said, “Evans held that jeopardy bars retrial after a directed verdict midway through the trial even when the court grants a dismissal based on an erroneous element of a charged offense. We don’t have the same situation here that was present in Evans . . . . Instead Weekley’s situation is one where the judge dismissed the charge on the basis of the definition of ‘gross negligence’ found in the jury instructions; not on an element of the offense. So if the court of appeals is being asked to review the jury instruction I can’t see how that’s jeopardy for purposes of a retrial because it doesn’t appear to have been a dismissal on the element of the charge.”
Mertilla Jones tearfully tells Weekley, with his attorney Steve Fishman, “You know I never touched you, Officer Weekley.”
He added, “I can’t understand why Mertilla’s testimony alone would make or break the gross negligence standard. I would have thought the other officers’ testimony that Weekley violated protocol established gross negligence.”
Defense attorney Steve Fishman said in arguing for the directed verdict, “The only evidence that points to any kind of knowingly creating a danger or intending to cause injury, the only testimony is that of Mertilla Jones, which is by its nature and by comparison to the other testimony, including the medical examiner, is completely and totally unbelievable.”
However, the following testimony has also been given during the trial:
A weapons expert testified that Weekley’s MP5 submachine gun cannot be accidentally fired, that it takes 8-9 lbs. of pressure on the trigger to fire.
SRT member Sgt. Shawn Stallard, second into the house, testified he saw no struggle between Mertilla Jones, Aiyana’s grandmother, and Weekley. Weekley testified in his first trial that such a struggle caused his weapon to fire. Stallard said Weekley kept asking him what he saw.
Sup. Sgt. John Robert Collins was clearly still distressed by killing of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones as he testified this week. He said: “My life has not been the same since that night.”
SRT Sgt. Supervisor John Robert Collins testified that Weekley ran up to him on the porch of the house in after the shooting. “I had my MP5,” Collins said. “It was in a low ready position on a sling. I made contact with Officer Weekley in a frantic state. He was reaching and grabbing and clawing at my gun repeatedly with both hands; he appeared to be in shock. He kept saying, ‘She grabbed my gun.’ I made sure my gun was on safety, because I didn’t want it to go off. He said, ‘I shot her.’ I think what I said, because of the circumstances the only thing that came to mind was, ‘Tell the truth.’ We’ve been trained not to say everything will be OK. My family always told me when I was in trouble, ‘Tell the truth.’”
Numerous SRT members testified that they are repeatedly trained in trigger discipline and weapons retention, i.e. keeping one’s index (trigger) finger on the slide of the gun above the trigger even if someone tries to take the gun.
Fishman repeatedly demeaned Mertilla Jones’ testimony that Weekley entered, put his gun to Aiyana’s head, and fired. Wayne County Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt testified there was “no evidence of close-range firing” due to the lack of stippling around the wound. However, he added that in a case where the muzzle of a gun is placed directly against the head, there would also be no stippling. Numerous scholarly pathology articles support that.
Taminko Sanford-Tilman (left) weeps at joint rally for justice for her son Davontae, Aiyana and Charles Jones, Travyon Martin April 23, 2013.
Defense claims “gross negligence” must be “wilfull”;
Prosecution said in opening statement that Weekley didn’t kill child on purpose, deflected consideration of testimony to the contrary
By Diane Bukowski
Oct. 3, 2014
DETROIT – At 10 a.m. this morning, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway granted a motion by Joseph Weekley’s defense attorney Steven Fishman to dismiss count one of the charges against him in the death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones—involuntary manslaughter.
The second count is “reckless use of a fiream resulting in death.”
Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway
“I don’t see evidence in this case that the defendant willfully disregarded the results to others,” Hathaway said. “This entire trial has been about the carelessness of the defendant based on his skills. In the light most favorable to the prosecution, there is a conflict between one part of the jury instructions and another part. There is no evidence that supports willfully disregarding care. But the [next] three questions are for the trier of fact. With the conflict, I am going to err on the side of the defense, and grant the motion for dismissing count one.”
Weekley was part of a military “Special Response Team” that raided Aiyana’s home May 16, 2010 late at night. Other members of the team said his gunshot went off within at the most, three seconds after his entry into the house. They testified extensively that they are trained to keep their finger off the trigger, even if someone tries to take their gun.
Weekley claimed Mertilla Jones grabbed his gun, causing it to fire. The second officer into the home after Weekley said he saw no such confrontation. An evidence technician reported that neither the DNA nor the fingerprints of Mertilla Jones were on Weekley’s MP5 submachine gun.
Mertilla Jones, Aiyana’s grandmother
Fishman argued that the only evidence supporting a verdict of guilty on the first charge was the testimony of Mertilla Jones, Aiyana’s grandmother, who directly saw Weekley shoot Aiyana in the head, from where she was in the room only a short distance away. He claimed Jones said Weekley “assassinated” Aiyana, a term she has never used in her testimony.
He said the elements of the legal definition of involuntary manslaughter involve finding gross negligence, which means more than carelessness.
Hathaway granted a stay of her decision, requested by the prosecution, until 11:10 a.m. when the court was to resume today’s hearing. However, the prosecution said it had filed an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals and asked for an expedited hearing, so the hearing in front of Hathaway will resume Monday, Oct. 6.
Hathaway described the elements in question (summary, not verbatim):
Elements of instructions on manslaughter to prove charge:
The defendant caused the death of Aiyana Jones with a gunshot wound.
In doing so, he acted in grossly negligent manner.
Gross negligence means more than carelessness, it means willfully disregarding ordinary care
Elements of instructions to jury:
Defendant knew of the danger to another.
He could have avoided injury by using ordinary care.
Defendant failed to use ordinary care.
Dominika Stanley-Jones, Aiyana’s mother, collapses in court after first mistrial declaration in June, 2013. She had to be carried out,
Asst. Prosecutor Robert Moran also prosecuted Aiyana’s father Charles Jones in the killing of JeRean Blake May 14, 2010, resulting in a sentence of 40-60 years, with the jury convicting him of second-degree murder but acquitting him of the gun charges on which the murder charges were based. That case is on appeal.
Moran objected to a directed verdict in Weekley’s case and asked for a stay.
“There is enough on the record to send the elements to a jury,” Moran said. He said the prosecution had never argued that Weekley intentionally shot Aiyana. “The JURY will have to decide the three elements of crime, not whether it was willful or not. If they find those elements, it means gross negligence.”
Throughout the trial, however, the prosecution has failed to object to what one activist called “racist and sexist,” insulting treatment of family members by the defense. Judge Hathaway herself has demeaned family members in her comments from the bench, scolding them as if they were children for “acting out” when they broke down to overwhelming grief caused by reiterating what happened.
Fishman cited Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt’s testimony in his argument this morning as favorable to the defense because there was no evidence of gunpowder “stippling” on the wound. However, VOD reported that at the end of his testimony, Schmidt said if the muzzle of a gun is placed directly against the head of the victim and fired, there WOULD BE NO STIPPLING.
The diagram illustrates the basic differences between the skin appearance of a contact, close (intermediate), and distant (indeterminant) range gunshot wound. From Medical Library, University of Utah
That is what Ms. Jones testified she saw–a gun placed at Aiyana’s head, testimony which Fishman continually badgered her about, as if it was inconceivable that a police officer would deliberately shoot anyone. VOD brought his testimony to the attention of both Moran and Mark Hindelang, the second asst. prosecutor, during breaks, but they scoffed it off. It clearly interfered with their theory that the shooting was not deliberate.
Testimony from a blood splatter expert earlier was that there were large droplets of blood on the portion of Weekley’s ballistic shield which covers the eyes with see-through material. That appears to indicate that Weekley must have shot Aiyana while holding the shield, a grossly negligent action. Other members of the team testified they are taught to drop the shield upon entry if there is no immediate danger such as gunfire. Most said they do not carry the shield, and if they do, they carry it using a short gun.
The blood splatter expert also said that blood on the shield dripped down afterwards in a horizontal pattern as if the shield had finally been placed on the floor after the shooting. Numerous members of the SRT team testified that they are trained and retrained with regard to “trigger discipline,” keeping their trigger finger held straight out against the slide above the trigger, even if someone tries to take their gun.
Trigger discipline: man’s gloved trigger finger pointed straight out on slide above trigger.
A weapons expert testified that Weekley’s gun could not be fired accidentally. So if he did not fire it accidentally, he fired it ON PURPOSE, WILFULLY.
Judge Hathaway herself has repeatedly said throughout the trial that she trusts the members of the jury, which was extensively weeded out regarding opinions on the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and on the militarization of the police. However, one juror told the judge during a subsequent voir dire on an earlier defense motion for a mis-trial that she thought Fishman was disrespectful to family members, in contrast to the way he questioned police.
VOD reported much earlier that an individual in close contact with members of the Prosecutor’s office reported that such a scenario was in the works, with count one being dismissed and the jury considering only “reckless discharge” of a firearm. He said many in the prosecutor’s office are upset with the way the case has been handled with regard to Aiyana’s family.
Family members of Aiyana told VOD that Moran told them all jurors wanted to find Weekley guilty of manslaughter during his first trial. But Hathaway declared a hung jury during that trial after only three days of deliberation.
MORE TO COME LATER.
Rally for Justice for Aiyana on courthouse steps March 8, 2013,
Related stories on this trial, many of which contain information deliberately not reported by daily print and TV media:
EMAIL SENT TO JUDGE HATHAWAY BY PARALEGAL ROBERTO GUZMAN:
Dear Judge Hathaway:
As a resident of Wayne County who has, like you, sat through and heard much of the testmony in the Joseph Weekley trial, I write to urge you to reconsider your decision preliminary dismissing the count of involuntary manslaughter. The court’s comments on the record early this morning expressing reservation that the people have met their burden is belied by the evidence.
In particular, the court expressed concern that the people have not shown that Officer Weekly “willfully” disregarded the results of his actions toward others. The contrary is true. The evidence showed that (1) the SRT and Weekley himself KNEW there were children in the home as they sat out there surveiling the home for hours that day and saw children coming to and fro the residence; and (2) Weekley’s finger on the trigger is a willful disregard that the gun would fire into an occupied home and shoot its occupants.
There is no question he knew the home was occupied and children were in that home. Moreover, the evidence shows he violated protocol on having his finger on the trigger. Clearly, that showed willfulness.
And as an aside, I find it pretty pathetic that much focus was placed on the grandmother’s alleged lies about whether Weekly deliberately walked up to the little girl and shot her while the court, and the media backing Detroit Police, seem content to ignore the lies Weekly told that Ms. Jones struggled with him over the weapon and that is what caused it to fire.
If the court grants a directed verdict, that would tell me that the Court believes Weekley, despite the medical examiner’s findings and the forensics evidence showing he shot the girl immediately upon entering that home. I can only hope your conscience will not allow you to make the wrong decision and let a lying cop walk free. As a result a darling little girl is dead. Your decision will only give Detroit Police the license to kill and lie about it.
I will hold you to your publicly sworn duty as a justice hired by the taxpayers of Wayne County to uphold justice,failing of which I will remember this at election time.
Sincerely,
Roberto Guzman
Roberto Guzman on bullhorn in march to free Davontae Sanford and Charles Jones, and Justice for Aiyana Jones.
Mertilla Jones says her breakdown on stand Sept. 24 not planned; expert testifies neither her fingerprints nor DNA found on Weekley’s gun
Sgt. Collins: Weekley grabbed HIS gun, shaking it repeatedly, but Collins retained weapon, told Weekley, ‘Tell the truth’
Cops deny presence of toys in front yard despite photos
Pastor: “DPD murdered a baby girl, owes family respect, apologies, and financial compensation.”
By Diane Bukowski
October 1, 2014
Mertilla Jones at press conference Oct. 29, 2012, demanding trial for Joseph Weekley. Continued protests eventually forced him to court.
DETROIT – Her face worn with the grief of four years since her grandaughter Aiyana Jones was shot to death in front of her by Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley, Mertilla Jones braved an onslaught of attacks, finishing her testimony in Weekley’s re-trial Sept. 30. She appeared to use every iota of strength to retain her composure under defense attorney Steve Fishman’s hostile cross exam.
The following day, Sgt. John Robert Collins, a member of the military Special Response Team that raided Jones home late at night on May 16, 2010, said that Weekley grabbed HIS gun with both hands and repeatedly shook it, alleging Ms. Jones had just done the same to him, causing his gun to fire. Saying he has not been the same since that day, Collins testified he put his own gun on safety, retaining his weapon without discharging it as SRT officers are trained, then took Weekley’s MP-5 submachine gun and revolver, and told him, “Just tell the truth.”
SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 TESTIMONY
Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway with husband, Wayne Co. Deputy Sheriff Dewayne Hayes. She was formerly married to Judge Michael Hathaway but kept the popular Hathaway name. Michael Hathaway sentenced reporter Diane Bukowski in 2009 on trumped-up charges for doing her job as a reporter for the Michigan Citizen, at the scene of a state trooper chase that ended with the deaths of two Black Detroit men. He granted a prosecution motion to ignore Bukowski’s First Amendment rights. The prosecutor in the case, Thomas Trczinski, died of a massive heart attack Dec. 24, 2013 at the age of 56.
When Ms. Jones took the stand Sept. 29, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway told her, “Remember, to get respect you have to show respect. Last week the court showed a great deal of respect. That will not be the case if you act out that way again. We all know that you’re hurting and hurting real bad, but just answer the questions.”
About a dozen Jones family members, friends and supporters attended the trial that day, unlike the previous day when police officers and their families took nearly every available seat in the courtroom.
Hathaway had denied a defense motion for a mistrial the day before after polling jurors about their reaction to Ms. Jones’ testimony Sept. 24, during which she broke down, tearfully begging Weekley to tell her WHY he had come into her house and killed her seven-year-old granddaughter. Jurors said they could still render a fair verdict.
Defense attorney Steve Fishman claimed her breakdown was “premeditated and deliberate” in asking for a mistrial.
On Sept. 29, Ms. Jones told Asst. Prosecutor Robert Moran, “I heard a loud explosion and I saw a lot of light coming from the front of the house. Glass was breaking and Aiyana’s head was on the arm of the couch [next to the door]. I rolled off the couch and hit the floor. . .The door flew open and the police came in, they kicked it open. They were saying ‘Detroit police,’ wearing riot gear with face masks, all in black, and combat boots. . .As soon as the door flew open, I heard a shot . . .before I knew it Aiyana was shot. Her eyes flew open and blood was coming out of her mouth. The officer was right in the doorway. I told them, ‘Y’all f—ed up, you killed my grandbaby.”
Aiyana Jones with little brother Carlos in happy years.
Ms. Jones said she laid on the floor screaming, asking “Somebody help Aiyana.”
“I hollered out to my son ‘they killed your daughter.’ . . . they [the officers] ignored me, running toward the back of the house. Then an officer turned on the light, looked down at Aiyana, and said ‘Oh shit,’ and he picked her up and ran her out of the house.”
Ms. Jones said the SRT team went through the house rousting out the sleeping members of her family, ordering them to come to the front room. They told her to sit on a second couch with her sister JoAnn Robinson.
“Then they brought my son Charles, Dominika and [Aiyana’s] three little brothers out of the bedroom. They had Charles on the floor, they made him crawl on his hands and knees. I went over to him and hugged him; he fell on the couch [where Aiyana was shot] crying. . . He was screaming and hollering, what’s this, mama, what happened to my baby. Charles was picking up her brains and blood . . . They sat Dominika on the arm of the couch where Aiyana had got shot; she was holding her newborn baby Christian.”
Ms. Jones said she asked permission to get her medication, but that she never got a chance to take it because plainclothes officers asked her to step outside. When she did, she testified, they told her she was under arrest and handcuffed her behind her back.
“I just kept crying, ‘Y’all killed Aiyana, why you all killed my grandbaby,’” Ms. Jones continued. They didn’t say why I was being arrested. They took me to a station on the west side, fingerprinted me and took my picture.”
Defense attorney Steve Fishman repeatedly mocked Ms. Jones’ allegation that Weekley put his gun to Aiyana’s head, as he demonstrates here with Weekley. Wayne Co. ME Carl Schmidt’s testimony, however, left that possibility open, saying a contact gunshot would not leave stippling. Fishman said the lack of stippling was evidence of no close-range firing, He repeatedly used the word “assassinated” which Ms. Jones never used.
She said two white male officers then put her in a small room and took her statement, although she didn’t know that’s what they were doing. They also took a DNA sample after she told them, “You can have anything you want.”
Judge Hathaway later granted a defense motion to suppress the introduction of that statement, given five hours after Aiyana’s death, as well as the police video of the interrogation.
Fishman then began cross exam.
“Your demeanor is a lot different today, wouldn’t you agree?” he asked. “You intentionally created that scene [Sept. 24] on purpose, didn’t you?” He referred to previous occasions on which she testified and had not broken down.
Ms. Jones replied, “No, I did not do it intentionally.”
Since Ms. Jones’ previous testimony, Aiyana’s father Charles Jones was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of JeRean Blake, despite his acquittal of the gun charges on which the murder charge was based. He was sentenced to 40-60 years in prison. Two of Ms. Jones’ sisters, including JoAnn Robinson, present during the police incursion, have died.
Mertilla Jones and grandsons after 2012 police raid. Photo by Diane Bukowski
Ms. Jones told VOD that police repeatedly targeted the family, arresting and eventually releasing several young male members as well as her daughter LaKrystal Sanders. She said they repeatedly drove by the family’s new address, shining lights inside her windows. In May, 2012, police attempted to raid their house again near midnight, which VOD reported in a separate story after going to the scene immediately. She said she and her daughter LaKrystal Sanders had experienced repeated bouts of serious illness.
Sanders told VOD that she now sleeps on the couch by the window at a new location, so she can watch her mother on a second couch. She said her mother continually wakes up during the night in anguish.
Fishman told Ms. Jones she was “angry,” citing several quotes she allegedly gave various media outlets. He said, “To you, it’s simple, it’s murder.”
“Of course I was angry,” Ms. Jones replied. She affirmed some of the quotes and said she was otherwise misquoted.
Fishman claimed she said she was treated unfairly because of where she lived. He told her, “You don’t know anything about any of our backgrounds,” referring to himself, the prosecutor and the Judge.’’
“And you don’t know anything about my background,” Ms. Jones responded. Ms. Jones graduated from Detroit East Catholic High School in 1980 and has an extensive extended family living in Detroit. She attends church at activist Pastor Willie Rideout’s All God’s People Ministries in Detroit and had met with him the night before.
Pastor Willie Rideout of All God’s People Ministries being interviewed after hearing in Theodore Wafer case, for killing Black teen
Rideout, who was present at the hearing that day, told VOD during a break, “It appears that this case is going on too long. It appears that the defense is getting more leeway than the prosecution. This is a hurting family, a hurting grandmother. It is so sad that they want to turn this case against them. She has suffered severely losing her granddaughter and she sees her family suffering every day. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that this man killed Aiyana. The Detroit Police Department murdered a baby girl. They owe the family the utmost respect, apologies, and financial compensation.”
He continued, “It brings tears to my eyes. It’s hurtful to see her cry like this and see people try to turn things around. I’m glad the judge did not allow a mistrial. People have to put themselves in this family’s shoes.”
Police brutality activist Ron Scott, also present, said that prior to the tenure of former police chief Warren Evans it had not been the policy of Detroit police to execute search warrants in such a militarized fashion, that they normally knocked, said they had a warrant, and asked the subject to come out before forcing entry.
On resumption of testimony, Fishman told Ms. Jones,“You know the difference between a truth and a lie. And you know the difference between a little lie and a big lie. You know [your statement] that [Weekley] put a gun to Aiyana’s head was a big lie.”
Ms. Jones replied firmly, “No.”
Detroit SWAT team officers in battle dress uniform. Their eyes are not covered.
Fishman then told her she didn’t know that the Medical Examiner had testified that Aiyana wasn’t shot at close range because there was no gunpowder stippling around the wound, mischaracterizing the ME’s full statement.
As VOD reported earlier, Wayne County Medical Examiner Carl Schmidt added at the conclusion of his testimony that if the gun’s muzzle was directly against Aiyana’s head, there would have been no stippling. Asst. Prosecutors Moran and Mark Hindelang raised no objection, although Moran earlier confirmed to VOD that Schmidt made the statement.
Fishman grilled Ms. Jones about her statements that Weekley showed no remorse.
“You said you could see his eyes, and that he didn’t look remorseful after he assassinated your granddaughter,” Fishman said. Ms. Jones told him that was correct, and that even though Weekley was wearing a mask she could still see his eyes.
Ballistics shield similar to that Weekley used. A crime scene technician said Weekley’s shield was covered with Aiyana’s blood, but that the drip pattern showed it had been laid down horizontally after the shooting,
A police officer later displayed “battle dress uniforms” worn by SRT members. They include a “balaclava,” a black knit hood with eyeholes, and a mask which still leaves the eyes exposed. Weekley carried a ballistics shield, the only time his eyes would have been covered, but another officer testified later the shield is to be dropped after safe entry into a location.
Fishman then queried Ms. Jones about the presence of other family members in her flat as well as the flat upstairs, where her daughter and Chauncey Owens, convicted in the killing of JeRean Blake, lived. She said her sons Vincent and Dazmond Ellis and Charles Jones were living with her at her address at the time, as well as her sister JoAnn Robinson and her sister’s two grandsons Mark and Markwell Robinson. She said Charles’ fiancée Dominika Stanley and their four children, including Aiyana, were also visiting for several weeks.
Ms. Jones denied knowledge of the killing of JeRean Blake at the time it took place. Although the daily media has reported since three days after Aiyana’s death that Owens said Charles Jones gave him the gun that killed Blake, police videotape of Owens’ testimony at their trial showed him naming another individual. No court records show that Owens ever named Jones.
Asst. Prosecutor Robert Moran in front as Charles Jones’ defense attorney Leon Weiss questions witness during Jones’s preliminary exam in 2012. Moran is the prosecutor in both the Weekley and Jones cases.
Without objections from the prosecution throughout the cross exam, Fishman continued to grill Jones about her alleged hatred of the police, to which she replied that she has police officers in her family and does not believe they are all bad.
Fishman implied that several family members had said that Jones told them she didn’t see the shooting. On rebuttal, Moran said that she never testified that she didn’t see the shooting, and that she told police from the beginning that she had. It was at that point that Hathaway granted Fishman’s motion to exclude Ms. Jones’ written and videotaped police statements from the trial to remedy the effects of Fishman’s attempted impeachment.
Fishman called her statement to the police “hearsay.” Hathaway said the written statement itself was not significant. Fishman repeatedly used the word “assassinated” with respect to Jones’ statements regarding the killing of Aiyana. However, she herself has not used that word in either of Jones’ trials.
Markwell and Mark Robinson then testified. Mark Robinson said he had just gotten up to round up two puppies who had escaped from the yard when the SRT team pulled up.
“The police came out shouting to me to get down on the ground and one stood on my back from one to two hours,” Robinson said. “I saw the cops running [into the house], and I was yelling to them, ‘There’s kids in the house, there’s kids in the house.”
He said the police then threw the flash bang grenade through the window and that he heard what sounded like a gunshot directly afterwards.
JoAnn Robinson and grandson Mark Robinson on porch morning of Aiyana killing May 16 2010. Ms. Robinson passed away within the year. Photo by Diane Bukowski
“After that, that’s when they were running with Aiyana Jones, with her head slumped over and her feet the other way,” Robinson continued. “Blood was dripping from her head. I heard my aunt [Mertilla Jones] screaming, ‘You killed my baby.’ After that, they brought her on the porch and handcuffed her.”
On cross exam, Robinson said he had heard of the shooting of JeRean Blake May 15 and suspected Owens might have been involved. He also said when the police came, he suspected that’s why they were there.
SRT member Corporal Larry Davis testified he threw the stun grenade through the living room window. He identified where he was standing on the porch at the time from a photo, indicating that he was standing right next to a “Little Tykes” child’s chair on the porch. Davis said during a previous raid, his military-style vest saved his life when a gunman opened fire when he entered the house as “point man,” [first in the doorway].
SRT member Trent Brown, who said he served in the Marine Corps for four years, testified that his training there and with SRT, along with the “camaraderie” displayed among members, were very similar. He testified extensively regarding the weapons training he underwent, including weapons retention, and keeping his index finger off the trigger, on the slide of the gun pointed straight ahead.
OCTOBER 1, 2014 TESTIMONY: FRANTIC WEEKLEY GRABBED SRT MEMBER COLLINS’ MP5; COLLINS TO WEEKLEY: ‘TELL THE TRUTH’
Testimony Oct. 1 opened with that of SRT members Bibbs and Kata-Ante Taylor, most of which VOD missed. Taylor testified during VOD’s presence that he was the officer who had rushed Aiyana to the hospital, accompanied by an officer trained as a medic and Sgt. Bibbs.
Artrell Dickerson, 18, killed in 2008 by SRT team member Kata-Ante Taylor,
Taylor is also the officer who shot 18-year-old Artell Dickerson to death in the back, as he lay already wounded next to the Cantrell Funeral Home in 2008, according to testimony from two eyewitnesses. Dickerson’s family was awarded $1.5 million in a settlement.
SRT Sgt. Supervisor John Robert Collins then took the stand. He appeared to be still grieving over Aiyana’s killing.
“I’ve never been the same since that night,” he told Moran.
He testified he heard one gunshot round go off almost “on top of” the explosion caused by the stun grenade.
“When the gunshot went off, there was a delay of time,” Collins said. He testified he then saw SRT officers carrying a child from the house running very quickly. Then, he said, Weekley exited the house and approached him on the porch, grabbing at HIS gun. Collins’ response as he described it was in keeping with SRT training.
“I had my MP5,” Collins said. “It was in a low ready position on a sling. I made contact with Officer Weekley in a frantic state. He was reaching and grabbing and clawing at my gun repeatedly with both hands; he appeared to be in shock. He kept saying, ‘She grabbed my gun.’ I made sure my gun was on safety, because I didn’t want it to go off. He said, ‘I shot her.’ I think what I said, because of the circumstances the only thing that came to mind was, ‘Tell the truth.’ We’ve been trained not to say everything will be OK. My family always told me when I was in trouble, ‘Tell the truth.’”
Raid team leader Timothy Dollinger shown as star of A & E’s Detroit SWAT.
He said he took Weekley back to an SRT vehicle, and took his MP5 and .45 caliber revolver from him, standard operating procedure in an officer-involved shooting.
He said he “made the weapons safe” first.
SRT member Timothy Dollinger, just promoted to Captain before retiring in July after 20 years with DPD, 17 of them with the SRT, testified next.
Dollinger said he was in charge of SRT tactics that night.
“It was my decision to go into the lower flat first,” he said, “because I heard on the radio that the surveillance crew had spotted the subject (Owens) going into the lower flat.”
These are the same toys shown in a surveillance photo taken the day before the raid on the Jones home.
He said it was his job to surveill the location first to determine the correct address, identify traffic in the area, impediments to entry, and the presence of “children, dogs, and seniors.”Dollinger said he and Officers Bibbs, Stollard, and Weekley drove by the residence sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 12:50 p.m., likely an hour before the raid. He said the team drove by quickly, and “might not have had” camera equipment with them, so they did not take pictures. He said he could clearly see the addresses of both flats but did not see any children’s toys.
Moran showed him a photo taken earlier in the day by another surveillance team which showed numerous brightly colored children’s toys in the front yard on either side of the porch, but Dollinger again denied seeing the toys, as have most of the SRT team members who have testified so far.
On cross exam, Dollinger said the presence of children in the house would not have stopped execution of the search warrant. He said a stun grenade could still be used unless there were children under “one and a half years” old in the house.
Bounkham Phonesavanh, 19 months, after being struck by a stun grenade thrown by Georgia SWAT team members. He is shown in a medically induced coma. His photo is at top of story with other child victims of police,
In May of this year, a Georgia SWAT team tossed a stun grenade into the home of a suspected drug dealer where a family with five children was temporarily staying. It landed in the crib of infant Bounkham Phonesavanh, 19 months old, severely burning him and forcing the hospital to put him into a medically induced coma, fighting for his life. His family has since asked for a Justice Department investigation.
The Georgia SWAT team members expressed shock and remorse, unlike Dollinger, who remained impassive throughout his testimony.
TESTIMONY OCT. 2, 2014
On Oct. 2, 2014, Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway banned this reporter from the courtroom for the rest of the trial due to an alleged noise she made during Dollinger’s testimony about the 18-month-old age limit for stun grenades. She had originally told her she could stay, but defense attorney Steven Fishman and evidently some members of the media, including the Detroit News’ George Hunter, complained to Hathaway, who changed her mind.
Hunter even ran an article in the News about this momentous event, during which he tweeted that “everyone in the media” knew who made the noise, and raised the issue of Bukowski’s arrest in 2008 in violation of her First Amendment rights, as she took photos for the Michigan Citizen of the aftermath of a fatal state trooper chase. Numerous government and community leaders and even four major media stars joined her defense team at the time.
In his tweet, Hunter admitted he had mistakenly reported that Mertilla Jones’ fingerprints were on Weekley’s gun, which was not the case according to testimony from a crime lab official, who said near Jones’ DNA nor fingerprints were on the gun.
He also erroneously reported in an earlier story on this trial that police had a warrant for Charles Jones when they made the raid, a notion that other media outlets have run with. During this trial, the only evidence about a warrant has been that with Chauncey Owens’s name on it. But so much for corporate media support of the police and another violation of Bukowski’s First Amendment rights.
SRT member Shawn Stallard, second officer on the scene, said he saw no struggle between Weekley and Mertilla Jones,
Livestream video of the testimony today showed Officer Shawn Stallard on the stand. He was the second team member into the home after Weekley, and he testified again, as he had at the first trial, that he did not see Mertilla Jones struggle wlth Weekley, although he was looking the other way at first.
Stallard said regarding Weekley, “He was just in a state of shock and was asking me ‘where were you, what did you see, what did you see.’ He said somebody snatched his weapon as he came in the house.”
The prosecutor asked, “Did you see anyone jump up and grab his weapon?” to which he responded “No.” Asked if he heard Weekley tell anyone to get off his weapon, he again responded no.
Detective Sgt. Tawanna Powell, head of the Michigan State Troopers’ investigative unit regarding police shootings, public corruption, and other matters, also testified about her entensive review of the evidence in the case. She said she did not access it until that Monday morning, July 17, but thereafter reviewed and handled all crime scene evidence in the case. Regarding Weekley’s allegations that Ms. Jones grabbed his gun, she said that Ms. Jones was never charged or arrested for the crime of disarming or interfering with a police officer.
The afternoon of the trial was spent at an undisclosed location so the jury could observe the use of a stun grenade in a privately-owned property in Detroit. See video from Channel Four News below. The video also shows Weekley as he was dressed the day of Aiyana’s killing, with his eyes completely visible.
Dunn’s parents were in the courtroom for the verdict. Davis’ parents, Ron Davis and Lucia MacBath, both let out a quiet gasp upon hearing the jury forewoman’s words and then hung their heads and cried.
Dunn did not appear to have an immediate reaction, but later, he turned around and somberly shook his head toward his father.
Dunn, 47, was charged with murder after shooting into an SUV full of teenagers at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station following a squabble over the music emanating from the teens’ vehicle.
Jordan Davis’ parents Lucia McBath and Ronald Davis
Outside the courtroom, Davis’ mother expressed her gratitude for a verdict she said represented justice not only for her son but for “Trayvon and for all the nameless faces and children and people that will never have a voice.”
She was referring to Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teenager killed earlier the same year by a neighborhood watch captain who was acquitted in the death.
“Words cannot express our joy but also our great sorrow because … we know that Jordan has received his justice,” she said. “We know that Jordan’s life and legacy will live on for others, but at the same time, we’re very saddened by the life that Michael Dunn will continue to live. We are saddened for his family, for his friends and the community that will continue to suffer by his actions.”
Jacksonville, Fla.
The victim’s father said the verdict made Jacksonville “a shining example that you could have a jury made of mostly white people, white men,” that delivers justice in a racially charged case.
“Hopefully,” Davis said, “this is a start where we don’t have to look at the makeup of a jury anymore.”
Prosecutor Angela Corey said Dunn faces a life term along with a minimum of 25 to life for using a firearm.
“It’s a vindication for justice,” she said of the verdict.
“We believe that we have to have as much justice as we can to assure that Michael Dunn will never ever walk out of a prison.”
Duval County Judge Russell Healey set a tentative sentencing hearing for October 17 but said he would wait until Tuesday to ensure the date worked for Dunn’s defense attorneys.
Crime scene at store parking lot where Michael Dunn killed Jordan Davis.
“This has been going on for two years, and everyone has acted graciously. I ask that you continue to do that,” Healey said before the verdict was read. “Remember, we must respect the verdict of the jury. They did not volunteer to do this.”
Dunn has said he shot at the vehicle because he thought Davis had a weapon and feared for his life, but the prosecution has alleged Dunn was the aggressor and pointed out he kept firing even after the teens fled.
Three of the 10 shots that Dunn fired struck Davis, one of them cutting through his liver, a lung and his aorta.
Investigators say Davis never had a weapon, nor was one found in the teens’ SUV or the surrounding area.
A jury found Dunn guilty of four charges in February, commanding at least 60 years in prison, but the jury was hung on the murder charge related to Davis’ November 2012 death.
Jurors began deliberating on the new charges just before 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, after Healey dismissed two of the three alternates and provided instructions for the charges jurors were to consider.
The first charge to consider, Healey said, was first-degree murder, which would require that Dunn premeditated killing Davis.
If the jury didn’t feel the state proved first-degree murder, it was instructed to move on to second-degree, which would mean Dunn killed Davis via a criminal or depraved act.
The third charge was manslaughter, which would require a finding that Dunn unlawfully caused Davis’ death.
Killing Davis was lawful, Healey told the jury, if Dunn acted in the heat of passion or if he unintentionally caused Davis’ death. The jury could also find Dunn not guilty if he was in danger, acted in self-defense and exacted a justifiable use of force, the judge instructed.
Dunn was convicted in February on one count of shooting into a vehicle and three counts of attempted second-degree murder — one each for Davis’ friends, Leland Brunson, Tommie Stornes and Tevin Thompson, who were in the Dodge Durango with Davis that day.
The Satellite Beach, Florida, man hasn’t been sentenced on those charges, but prosecutor Eric Wolfson said at the time of the conviction that each attempted second-degree murder charge carries a minimum sentence of at least 20 years. There’s also a 15-year sentence possible on the conviction for shooting at the teenager’s vehicle, Wolfson said.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this story.
Demonstrators in Ferguson, MO, site of police execution of Michael Brown,
March in June, 2010 to “Redeem Aiyana’s Dream,” organized by Jewel Allison (r) with daughter Honesti (l) Photo: Herb Boyd
Weekley killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, in 2010, with MP-5 semi-automatic
Defense contended emotional testimony from grandmother, who witnessed the killing, was a deliberate “show” to influence the jury
Judge threatens a mistrial if her “behavior” is repeated; jurors say they can render fair verdict
Courtroom packed with cops and their families; activist calls for supporters of Jones family to attend Sept. 30
By Diane Bukowski
September 29, 2014
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway
DETROIT — In a courtroom packed with police officers, some armed, and their families, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway today denied a defense motion for a mistrial in the case of Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley.
Weekley killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, on May 16, 2010, with one shot to the head from an MP5 semi-automatic machine gun as a military police unit stormed her home. He faces one charge of involuntary manslaughter and one charge of reckless use of a firearm resulting in death in this retrial.
Defense attorney Steven Fishman cited emotional testimony given Sept. 24 by Aiyana’s grandmother Mertilla Jones, who saw her granddaughter killed in front of her. He claimed her “behavior” was premeditated, and asked for a mistrial.
Judge Hathaway said if Ms. Jones reacted similarly on cross-exam, she WOULD call a mistrial, and that it was likely Weekley would never be tried again. She also threatened to take action against Ms. Jones.
See raw video of Ms. Jones’ testimony Sept. 24 below and decide for yourself.
Police brutality activist Ron Scott called characterizations of Mertilla Jones during arguments on the motion, “racist and sexist.” He cited defense attorney Steve Fishman’s references to her “behavior” and “acting the fool” as if she were a child, along with Judge Hathaway’s reference to turning the courtroom into a “zoo.” A Detroit News article repeatedly called Ms. Jones’ testimony a “tirade.”
Mertilla Jones and Ron Scott after June, 2013 mistrial declared in Weekley case,
Scott called on supporters of the Jones family to come to court on her behalf Tues. Sept. 29. Due to crowding of the courtroom today, it is likely they will have to be there quite early, well before 9 a.m., to get a seat.
During his argument for a mistrial, Fishman said, “Mr. [Robert] Moran, the court and I all know that what she [Jones] did was deliberate and premeditated.”
The judge had just individually polled all jurors in a closed session to see if Ms. Jones’ testimony made it impossible for them to carry out fair and impartial deliberations. Most said they had expected emotional content to the trial but would not let it influence their consideration of the evidence. One juror, however, noted that Fishman was treating police officer witnesses and members of Aiyana’s family differently when he cross-examined them.
“It’s almost like the police got respect, and the family didn’t get respect … that upset me,” she said.
Fishman had been extremely confrontational and hostile to Aiyana’s aunt LaKrystal Sanders during her cross exam.
Fishman noted today that Jones had not reacted as severely in three previous hearings.
Steve Fishman after earlier trial.
“Do we allow a witness to deliberately sabotage a defendant’s right to a fair trial? . . .From the beginning, she took this to the press, telling them [Weekley] ‘was a dirty cop and I never touched him,’ and ‘he’s a lying m-f cop.’ She told Channel Four News she was worried about the jury, saying she was from the ghetto in the city, and ‘they look at us like we’re dirt.’”
The jury in Weekley’s first trial in June, 2013, which Hathaway declared hung after only three days of deliberations, had only one Black member. The current jury has five African-Americans, one woman who appears to be from India, and one who appears to be Arabic. There are seven Caucasians on the 14-member panel.
Fishman said case law indicates that “an irregularity prejudicial to the rights of the defendant impairs the ability to get a fair trial,” and declared that “the rights of the defendant are paramount.”
Malice Green autopsy photo.
Then he launched into a diatribe against Ms. Jones. “Irregularity is a mild word to apply to Ms. Jones’ outburst.” Fishman declared. “The video shows her words, her antics and behavior, when she got close to Weekley, pointing and yelling and talking. . . .her diatribe went on and on and on . . . .it was extraneous, she said things she never should have been allowed to say.”
Citing a related appeals court decision, Fishman compared Ms. Jones’ testimony to the showing of the movie “Malcolm X” to a majority-Black jury during the trial of Officers Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn. In 1992, Nevers and Budzyn beat Malice Green, an unemployed steelworker, to death with their heavy flashlights so severely that an autopsy showed his scalp had become detached. The jury found them guilty of second-degree murder.
The verdict was overturned on appeal. Later, the Michigan State Legislature abolished Recorders’ Court, considered one of the most efficient in the country, because it required that all judges and juries be from the majority-Black city of Detroit.
“We must teach our children that our actions have consequences,” Fishman continued. “You can’t come in here and act the fool. For the Court of Appeals, if this motion is not granted, I’m going to be in an impossible position which I wouldn’t be in if she [Ms. Jones] had behaved herself on Wednesday. Now I don’t have a choice but to bring out all the other stuff—the lying she did, the fact that there was a hung jury.”
Weapons expert Brent Sojea with gun that killed Aiyana.
Fishman said nothing about the consequences a police officer should face for killing a seven-year-old child. He claimed in his opening statement that Ms. Jones “interfered” with Weekley, causing the gun to fire. But a weapons expert testified earlier in the trial that Weekley’s gun could not fire without its carrier exerting eight to nine pounds of pressure on the trigger.
Other members of the “Special Response Team” said the gunshot that killed Aiyana went off within “seconds” of the team’s entry into the home, with Weekley in the lead position. They said they were trained to keep their finger off the trigger even if someone tried to take the gun from them.
An officer who entered the house early on testified that he saw the casing from the spent cartridge directly inside the doorway, on the floor next to left side of the couch where Aiyana was sleeping. But an evidence technician testified later that he found the cartridge in the middle of the room, near where Ms. Jones had been sleeping. It appeared as if someone had moved the casing to lend weight to Weekley’s claim that Ms. Jones struggled with him.
Expert depiction of Aiyana Jones’ killing.
An original autopsy report said Aiyana had been shot in the neck, with the bullet wound exiting in her head, also in line with Weekley’s claimed scenario. After an independent autopsy, however, the Wayne County Medical Examiner revised his report to show the entrance wound at the top of Aiyana’s head.
Moran responded to Weekley’s argument, “I’m struck by the defense asking in its brief for a mistrial to ‘punish’ Ms. Jones. That is not what this is about. When the outburst happened last week, I had much discussion with Mr. Fishman. I was also worried about the effect it might have on the jury. We spent the entire weekend researching and thinking. Honestly I was conflicted. [Her testimony] was emotional, non-responsive to the questions. I hadn’t even got to the facts. When we polled the jurors, I was quite honestly surprised.”
Hathaway responded, “I was not. They were using their common sense.”
She said she too had researched precedent on the cases cited by Fishman, but did not receive the motions until that morning. Fishman said he did not work Thursday and Friday due to the Jewish holidays.
Atty. Geoffrey Fieger holds press conference May 27, 2010: l to r Aiyana’s father Charles Jones, mother Dominika Stanley-Jones, grandmother Mertilla Jones (weeping). Both mother and grandmother have lost significant amounts of weight and experienced PTSD since that time. Father Charles is serving a 40-60 year term in prison in the killing of JeRean Blake. Jury found him guilty of second-degree murder although they acquitted him of gun charges which were the basis for the murder charge. His case is on appeal.
“The only thing we haven’t done is that the witness deserves to know without a doubt what the consequences are if she continues to behave with outbursts like last week,” Hathaway said.
“If this continues, there is no question that the trial will basically turn into a zoo. I’m not going to let that happen. The court is going to instruct Ms. Jones that this trial is in their hands. If the witness decides to come in and put on a show which I think may influence the jury, I will declare a mistrial, and there may be some jeopardy, some consequences [to the witness]. If this continues, they are telling me they don’t care about a mistrial, and in that case, we may never try [the defendant] again.”
Hathaway earlier delayed Weekley’s trial repeatedly, claiming that a separate murder case against Aiyana’s father Charles Jones and common-law uncle Chauncey Owens had to be decided first. Weekley was tried in June, 2013, but Hathaway declared a mistrial after only three days of jury deliberations.
Detroit officers Jennifer Fettig and Matthew Bowens, killed in 2004 during traffic stop. Court attendees appeared to have confused “cop-killers” with “killer cops.”
During editorial commentary on Ms. Jones’ testimony last week, one TV analyst said it looked like Weekley had no support in the courtroom, that only Aiyana’s family members were present.
It was clear there was a concerted effort to reverse that today, and that it will continue tomorrow. Although this case is about an officer killing a child, several family members of officers who had BEEN killed were in the audience, including James Bowens, the father of Detroit police officer Matthew Bowens. Bowens and Officer Jennifer Fettig, both rookies, were shot to death in 2004.
Bowens then began an unsuccessful campaign for Michigan to restore the death penalty, although Michigan was the first state to abolish it in 1957.
Eric Lee Marshall, then 21, was found guilty of the killings of the two officers despite remaining questions. He died after six years in prisons all over Michigan and the removal of several of his organs. He told his brother during a visit that guards were trying to kill him. Fettig grew up in a town in the Upper Peninsula near the first prison he was in.
Ferguson police set up a staging area near scene of Mike Brown’s shooting after cop shot; the cop was shot over 2 miles away at the Ferguson Community Center. Confrontations between bystanders and police resulted at this scene as well as at Ferguson police station where crowd gathered after news of the cop’s shooting.
By JIM SALTER Associated Press
September 28, 2014, 3:14 AM ET
Ferguson police surround angry neighborhood crowd on W. Florissant two miles from scene of officer’s shooting at Community Center,
FERGUSON, Mo. – A Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm Saturday night after encountering two men at a community center who ran from him and then opened fire during a foot chase, authorities said.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said at a media briefing early Sunday that the officer approached the men around 9:10 p.m. because the community center was closed. As the officer approached, the men ran away. When the officer gave chase, “one of the men turned and shot,” Belmar said.
The officer was shot in the arm and is expected to survive, he said. Belmar did not identify the officer or give further details about his condition. He said the officer returned fire but said police have “no indication” that either suspect was shot.
Ferguson Community Center
A search was underway for the suspects early Sunday in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb that’s been the scene of racial unrest in the wake of the August shooting death of an unarmed Black 18-year-old by a white police officer [Darren Wilson].
Belmar said he did not think the officer’s shooting was related to two separate protests about Michael Brown’s shooting that were going on Saturday night around the same time.
Around midnight at the police station, approximately two dozen officers stood near a group of about 100 protesters who mingled on a street corner, occasionally shouting, “No justice; no peace.”
Michael Brown, 18 when he was shot multiple times and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. No charges have been brought,
Nearby, part of a road was closed in town as police conducted a search for the suspects. Numerous law enforcement agencies were responding, and police helicopters were canvassing the area.
The officer’s shooting comes after Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson issued a videotaped apology to Brown’s family earlier in the week and attempted to march with protesters, an effort that led to a clash with activists and several arrests on Thursday.
Brown’s parents told The Associated Press on Saturday they were unmoved by the apology.
Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, said, “yes,” when asked if Jackson should be fired, and his father, Michael Brown Sr., said rather than an apology, they would like to see the officer who shot their son arrested.
Darren Wilson receiving award two months before he killed Michael Brown.
A county grand jury is weighing whether to indict Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s shooting.
The Justice Department, which is investigating whether Brown’s civil rights were violated, is conducting a broader probe into Ferguson police. On Friday, it urged Jackson to ban his officers from wearing bracelets supporting Wilson while on duty and from covering up their name plates with black tape.
Ferguson residents complained about the bracelets, which are black with “I am Darren Wilson” in white lettering, at a meeting with federal officials this week.
Brown’s shooting has also focused attention on the lack of diversity in many police departments across the country. In Ferguson, of 53 officers in a community that is two-thirds black, only three are African-American.
Also early Sunday, not far from Ferguson, an off-duty St. Louis city police officer was injured on Interstate 70 when three suspects fired shots into his personal vehicle, a police spokeswoman said.
Schron Jackson said the officer, who has nearly 20 years of experience, was being treated at a hospital for a minor injury to his arm from broken glass. She said there is no reason to believe the two shootings were related.
Excerpt from International Business Times:
The suspect in the shooting is still at large, according to a report from CNN, citing emergency agency sources. KDSK St. Louis reports that a manhunt is underway for the suspect in the shooting. The suspect is described as a black male, 5’11”, with dreadlocks and wearing dark clothing.
KMOV-TV, St. Louis, reported a police staging area was set up around the area of West Florissant and Stein, not far from where Mike Brown was fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson Aug. 9. The area has been the focal point of ongoing protests and tension between police and the largely African-American community. Reports an officer had been shot quickly had police rushing to the area, according to a wave of social media activity from residents in the area.
Ferguson police detain protester Aug. 18, 2014, nine days after Mike Brown was killed Aug. 9, 2014.
Police Captain Ron Johnson visited the scene of a protest in Ferguson, the intersection of Stein and W Florissant streets, which is nearby where teenager Michael Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson. According to reports on social media, he told the crowd that “a police officer was shot, no-one else.” Alderman Antonio French tweeted that Johnson told protesters to leave the scene, and that would be their only warning. A live stream recorded by people on the scene shows protesters chanting and engaged in heated discussions with officers.
French later added that there was a major police presence, with heavily armed officers at the scene.
Tweets by and to City of St. Louis Alderman Antonio French:
Antonio French, St. Louis City Alderman
Antonio FrenchVerified account@AntonioFrench
Johnson arrived. He told the crowd no one other than the officer was shot. Then told them to leave, saying that would be their only warning.
@AntonioFrench Now its a “manhunt”, but we know who killed MB he’s still free.
@AntonioFrench they should stick Darren Wilson’s ass in jail for life first.
Protesters march outside Ferguson police station Sept. 25, 2014.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM FERGUSON PROTESTERS
September 26, 2014
We write to reflect on the hiring/firing of PR consultant Devin James and the actions of Chief Jackson, all occurring on Thursday, September 25th. On Thursday, September 25th, the City of Ferguson fired Devin James, the man hired to manage public relations for the City in the wake of Michael Brown’s murder at the hands of Officer Darren Wilson.
Ferguson PR assistant Devin James, hired then fired after criminal record exposed.
Mr. James was then fired because it came to light that he was convicted of reckless homicide in 2004. It has come to our attention that the City of Ferguson knew about this previous conviction but hired him in an attempt to ‘give Mr. James a second chance.’ In a world where African American men are systematically placed into the criminal justice system and then denied employment based on past charges, we actually applaud the thought of city’s original intent in hiring Mr. James, though we questioned his public relations tactics at times.
However, firing Mr. James once the news of his previous conviction came to public attention, despite knowing of this record before hiring him, is yet another example of the lack of integrity and sense of honor in City leadership. If the City of Ferguson was going to give Mr. James a ‘second chance,’ then they should have done so without reprieve, and stood by Mr. James once this news became public. We can only suspect that the City of Ferguson planned to hide this information from the public – another cover-up and an intentional pattern of secrecy displayed by City leadership. Whether or not we agreed with Mr. James’ approach, we believe this once again displays the corroded moral fiber of the leadership in the City of Ferguson we have seen for over 48 days now.
On the same day of Mr. James’ termination, a video of Chief Thomas Jackson reciting a scripted apology to Michael Brown’s family and to protestors was released (see above). The video did more harm than good. The apology was 48 days too late, should have occurred in person, and should have been authentic and heartfelt. A 6 week old scripted video is unacceptable and disrespects the depth of pain in this community.
Protestors decided to peacefully protest these and other actions of Chief Jackson’s outside of the Ferguson Police Department on Thursday night, the site of peaceful assemblies and civic actions since August 9. During this time, in an unnecessary act of clear provocation and intimidation, officers ripped down the banner that protestors had displayed at their protest site.
Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson just before police attacked protesters, who were protecting him.
On Thursday evening, Chief Jackson came to the sidewalk in front of the Ferguson Police Department parking lot to speak with peaceful protestors angry with him and with the police. He was criticized for his apology and for his actions since August 9, 2014. Upon being asked to march with the protestors, Chief Jackson agreed. He crossed the police line and began marching. Several peaceful protesters marched very closely to him to ensure his protection and peace amongst the crowd. People marching included peaceful protestors and members of the media.
Michael Brown
Chief Jackson told the police officers lined up to stand down. Less than 90 seconds after the march began, a few police officers ran into the group of protestors from behind and began grabbing people. Seconds later, nearly all of the police officers present stormed the crowd of protestors, most of them in riot gear.
During this brief but peaceful march, lawful protestors also report a staff member of Faracai Pizza North, who was inside the business after it had closed for the evening, came outside of the establishment. During this time, he pointed a gun directly at peaceful protestors, another act of threat and intimidation, this time at the hands of a fellow citizen. At the time of this letter, we have heard he has not been arrested.
Prior to the violent officer interruption of this peaceful march, Chief Jackson was not harmed in any way. There is video that proves this fact. Video evidence also shows police officers storming the peaceful protestors unprovoked.
Beginning of police confrontation with Ferguson protesters Sept. 25, 2014.
The guilty police officers kicked, grabbed, shoved, and hit peaceful protestors with their hands and batons. Seven peaceful, lawful protestors were arrested. One of these protestors was Joshua Williams, an area 18-year-old active in peaceful assemblies. Police officers beat and choked Joshua and slammed him into the ground before arresting him.
He was denied medical treatment.
Joshua Williams
Another peaceful protestor, Coco, was picked up and slammed into the ground repeatedly before being carried off by several police officers, her body limp.
Police officers arrested Umar Lee, a citizen journalist, and hit his head on concrete before arresting him.
Despite carrying out these atrocious human rights violations, the police continued to threaten and intimidate lawful protestors. Peaceful protesters were told that if we remained on one side of the street (leaving one lane open) the people arrested would be released. The arrested protestors were, apparently, also told this. Several of them had their phones with them while they were held in vans behind the Ferguson police station.
Umar Lee
Despite promises, no one was released from custody. Officers then said that if we got out of the street, they would release the protestors. Again, protesters who had been arrested were apparently told the same thing.
We complied again. And again, no one was released.
Arrested protesters were eventually transferred to another jail. Several were still denied medical treatment. As of the writing of this letter, only one arrested protestor has been Arrested protesters were eventually transferred to another jail. Several were still denied medical treatment. As of the writing of this letter, only one arrested protestor has been released.
Police attempted to hold the unlawfully arrested and abused protestors hostage in undeserved lockup, and promised their freedom in exchange for the rest of us leaving the protest site. Based on the injustice of this exchange and lack of grounds for the arrests, we peacefully refused.
Woman is arrested by Ferguson police Sept. 25, 2014.
Chief Jackson’s actions and the failure of those of the men in his charge to follow orders have caused further injury, unnecessary harm and detainment, and put more lives at risk. Given the unprovoked brutality present throughout this crisis and displayed once again last evening, we conclude that none of these police officers should be working in law enforcement anywhere, until they can do so in a professional manner, follow orders, and truly protect and serve all those who step foot in Ferguson. It is an issue of public safety and basic respect for human dignity.
In Protest,
Ferguson
Note: This was written and edited by several protesters during the morning after the events.
Police allowed Mike Brown’s body to remain in the street for 4 hours as his blood turned black, and relatives and neighbors pled with police at least to cover him. No charges have yet been brought against killer cop Darren Wilson for this cold-blooded execution.
Former 16-year member of the U.S. Congress and two-time U.S. presidential candidate
September 24, 2014
The administration’s response to the conjunction of this weekend’s People’s Climate March and the International Day of Peace?
1) Bomb Syria the following day, to wrest control of the oil from ISIS which gained its foothold directly in the region through the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan funding and arming ISIS’ predecessors in Syria.
2) Send the president to UN General Assembly, where he will inevitably give a rousing speech about climate and peace, while the destruction of the environment and the shattering of world peace is on full display 5,000 miles away.
In a speech before the United Nations on Wednesday, President Obama asked the world to join the fight against the Islamic State.Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Nothing better illustrates the bankruptcy of the Obama administration’s foreign policy than funding groups that turn on the U.S. again and again, a neo-con fueled cycle of profits for war makers and destruction of ever-shifting “enemies.”
The fact can’t be refuted: ISIS was born of Western intervention in Iraq and covert action in Syria.
This Frankenstein-like experiment of arming the alleged freedom-seeking Syrian opposition created the monster that roams the region. ISIS and the U.S. have a curious relationship — mortal enemies that, at the same time, benefit from some of the same events:
a) Ousting former Iraqi President Nouri al Maliki for his refusal to consent to the continued presence of U.S. troops in his country.
b) Regime change in Syria.
c) Arming the Kurds so they can separate from Iraq, a preliminary move to partitioning Iraq.
What a coincidence for war-profiteering neo-cons and the war industry, which has seen its stock rise since last week’s congressional vote to fund the rapid expansion of war. We have met the enemy and he isn’t only ISIS, he is us.
Phase two of the war against Syria is the introduction of 5,000 “moderate” mercenaries (as opposed to immoderate ones), who were trained in Saudi Arabia, the hotbed of Wahhabism, at an initial installment cost of $15 billion. These new “moderates” will replace the old “moderates,” who became ISIS, just in time for Halloween.
The administration, in the belief that you can buy, rent, or lease friends where they otherwise do not exist, labor under the vain assumption that our newfound comrades-in-arms will remain in place during their three-year employment period, ignoring the inevitability that those “friends” you hire today could be firing at you tomorrow.
One wonders if Saudi training of these moderate mercenaries will include methods of beheading which were popularized by the Saudi government long before their ISIS progeny took up the grisly practice.
The U.S. is being played.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia can now overtly join with the U.S. in striking Syria, after they have been covertly attempting for years to take down the last secular state in the region. We are now advancing the agenda of the actual Islamic States — Saudi Arabia and Qatar — to fight the ersatz Islamic State of ISIS.
Now U.S. bombs and missiles might inadvertently “make the world safe” for theocracy rather than democracy. Today we read reports that Israel has shot down a Syrian warplane, indicating the terrible possibility of a wider regional conflict.
What does this have to do with the security of the 50 States United? Nothing!
Last week Congress acted prematurely in funding a war without following the proscriptions of Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. (The day of the vote, I urged Congress to resist this dangerous and misguided legislation.) But even while the funding was given, the explicit authorization to go to war was not. To authorize a war, Congress must vote for war. It has not done that yet.
To sell its case, the administration is borrowing from the fear mongering tactics of the Bush administration. ISIS poses no direct, immediate threat to the United States — The White House even said so yesterday, just hours before bombing commenced – yet we are being sold make-believe about ISIS sleeper cells.
Obama following same war path as Bush.
This attack on Syria, under the guise of striking ISIS, is by definition, a war of aggression. It is a violation of international law. It could lead to crimes against humanity and the deaths of untold numbers of innocent civilians. No amount of public relations or smooth talking can change that.
And yes, members of this Democratic administration, including the president who executed this policy, must be held accountable by the International Criminal Court and by the American people, who he serves.
But as we know, war is a powerful and cynical PR tactic. I expect the bombing of Syria will momentarily boost the White House’s popularity with self-serving heroic accounts of damage inflicted upon ISIS (and the U.S. equipment they use). Stuffing the November ballot box with bombs and missiles may even help the Democratic Party retain the Senate.
But after the election the voters will discover that the president played into the hands of extremists, hurt civilians, and embroiled our country deep into another conflict in the Middle East.
There were alternatives. The U.S. and the international community could have contained and shrunk ISIS by cutting off its funds and its revenue from sale of oil on the black market. We could have looked to strike a deal with Syria and Iran.
In foreign policy, the administration has failed. Congress has failed. Both the Democratic and Republican Parties have passed the national checkbook to their patrons in the war contracting business. And passed the bill to future generations.
The American people, who in 2008 searched for something redemptive after years of George W. Bush’s war, realize in 2014 that hope and change was but a clever slogan. It was used to gain power and to keep it through promoting fear, war, the growth of the National Security state, and an autumnal bonfire of countless billions of tax dollars which fall like leaves from money trees on the banks of the Potomac.
