"I want to say to the entire Jones family, Aiyana's loved ones and friends, how terribly sorry I am for your loss. If he didn't give him the gun, they feel like their brother would still be alive, and Aiyana would still be alive.". But the SWAT team didnt wait. Newspapers made little of ituntil the US Attorney revealed that the federal monitor of the decree was having an affair with the priapic mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was forced to resign, and now sits in prison convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. They were wondering if the Rust Belt cancer had metastasized and was creeping to Los Angeles and London and Barcelona. The city of Detroit has settled a lawsuit with the family of a girl shot and killed by a Detroit police officer nine years ago. Take for instance the death of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones, who was shot and killed during a police raid at their Detroit home. Then they said he ran out the back of the house, even though there is no back door. Weekleys trial began in June 2013 and ended in a mistrial when a jury failed to reach a verdict. I saw the tape and wrote about its existence after the killing of Aiyana, but the story went nowhere until two months later, when someone in City Hall leaked a copy to the local ABC affiliate. Police officers came from Canada and across Michigan. Barry, who said he had been gassed and maced and had guns pointed at him while attending demonstrations, including in Ferguson, Missouri, said the militarization of police was part of a long history and heritage of crackdown on communities of color in America, including the post-9/11 crackdown on Muslim and Arab communities. Were taking whats left.. Forget what you saw, little man. You might blame it on the urban renewal and interstate highway projects that rammed a freeway down the middle of Paradise Valley, displacing thousands of blacks and packing the Negro tenements tighter still. Why you looking at me? said Owens, getting off the moped. And Ive got to say in all my years in the department, Ive never used a flash-bang in a case like this.. A thousand people attended, as did the predictable plump of media. But McNeal messed upshe admits as much. Blame the Federal Reserve. "This was an assassination by video," said Roland Lawrence as he and others watched a small plane . Its too late.. Owens sped two blocks back to Lillibridge and gathered up a posse, according to his statement to the police. [58] Michigan State Police Detective Tawana Powell testified during the 2014 trial that the investigation discovered that the video Fieger was talking about did not exist. People are awake. The family is seeking $7.5 million in damages and a jury trial conceded by the court filing. [20] He pushed his way inside, protected by a ballistic shield. Jones broke down during testimony and had to be escorted out amid sobbing after addressing Weekley who was also in the courtroom directly. It was a white cop who killed the girl, but Detroit is Americas largest black city with a black mayor and a black chief of police. As Detroit led the nation in median income and homeownership, automation and foreign competition were forcing companies like Packard to shutter their doors. Family: 7-year-old shot by police was asleep. It was all for the cameras. The mayors office is said to have a copy, as well as the Michigan State Police, who are now handling the investigation. I got no money. FEMAIL reveals what has happened to . I also found that the police and judicial systems were so broken that in more than 70 percent of murders, the killer got away with it. The family of Aiyana Jones, the 7-year-old girl accidentally killed by a Detroit police officer during a raid in 2010, has reached settlement with the city o. Legal name. These girls are the lucky ones. I began to get calls from reporters around the world wondering what Detroit was like, what was happening here. "He has completed various programming and is active in vocational training. The manslaughter trial was declared a mistrial. She later explained that she reached for her granddaughter when the grenade came through the window and that is what caused her to hit the officers gun. The story smelled to high heaven from the beginning. Its going to stop, he promised. Add in the fact that half the police precincts were closed in 2005 for budgetary reasons, and the crime lab was closed two years ago due to ineptitude, and it might explain why five of the nine members of the city council carry a firearm. Then, realizing that sounded implausible, they said shed brushed the gun as she ran past the door. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, pictured in family photograph. As for the videotape of the killing, Geoffrey Fieger said he did not have it. 2:45 Detroit Charles Jones, whose role in a high school student's 2010 slaying helped spark the police raid that ended with the officer-involved shooting death of his 7-year-old daughter. The number was actually 375. On October 3, the judge, Cynthia Gray Hathaway, dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Weekley, leaving him on trial for only one charge: recklessly discharging a firearm. No one can answer that fully. One year after a Detroit police assault team shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to death in her home while A&E's "First 48" TV show was filming, neither Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy nor U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has brought charges against those responsible. An 11th-grade dropout and convicted robber, he said he supported his seven children with a little this, a little thatI got a few tricks and trades.. It's hurting me. Were here today not to find blame, but to find out how we never have to come here again, said Sharpton, standing in the grand pulpit. The smell was beastly. Folks want to blame Aiyana's "crime ridden" neighborhood for her death. But Officer Joseph Weekley accidentally shot Aiyana in the head, killing her. The city reached a peak population of 1.9 million people in the 1950s, and it was 83 percent white. [50][bettersourceneeded] The casket was white and was afterwards driven to the grave by horse-drawn carriage. Wage growth is slowing. / AP. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. Once at Aiyanas graveside, Charles Jones released a dove. Can she be blamed for that? Fieger responded by saying he does not have the supposed video,[57] which he claims was made by the A&E Network reality show The First 48. Outside court, a spokesman for Aiyana's family criticized the judge for her comments. One year later, Aiyana Stanely Jones investigation mired in delays", "Homicide suspect hunted in raid that led to Aiyana's death is charged", "Man sentenced to life in prison for Detroit teen's death", "DPD officer involved in Aiyana Jones shooting identified", "Police, family look for answers in girl's death in Detroit", "How A Police Officer Shot A Sleeping 7-Year-Old To Death", "Detroit Police Officer Charged in Shooting Death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones", "Michigan Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal in Weekley Case", "Slain girl's family alleges police cover-up", "Grandmother's fingerprints, DNA not found on Officer Weekley's submachine gun", "Officer whose bullet reportedly killed Aiyana Jones was frequently featured on A&E", "Mayor: Detroit doesn't know 'how to stop' killings", "Detroit police officer who shot 7-year-old returns to job after half decade on leave", "Joseph Weekley, Detroit Police Officer, Charged In Aiyana Stanley-Jones' Death During 'The First 48' Raid", "Cop Who Shot 7-Year-Old To Death Will Be Retried", "Second trial to begin today for officer in Aiyana's death", "A&E 'The First 48' producer who filmed Aiyana Jones shooting admits to obstructing justice", "Photographer pleads no contest to obstruction of justice in Aiyana Stanley-Jones case", "Videographer pleads in fatal Detroit police raid", "Videographer in fatal police raid gets probation", "Videographer in Aiyana Stanley-Jones raid gets 2 years of probation", "Judge declares mistrial in Aiyana case after jurors fail to reach verdict", "No more retrials, Aiyana's Family pleads", "In cop's retrial, attorneys at odds over how girl died", "Emotional 'show' put on by grandmother of slain 7-year-old Aiyana Jones not grounds for mistrial, judge says", "Detroit police officer back on trial accused of manslaughter in Aiyana Jones killing", "Mertilla Jones testified in Weekley case", "Weekley may seek retrial over tirade by witness", "Weekley prosecution nears its conclusion", "RAW VIDEO: Emotional outburst from grandmother of Aiyana Stanley-Jones halts Joseph Weekley retrial", "Grandmother to Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley: 'You killed my grandbaby', "Emotional outburst halts trial for Detroit officer in girl's death", "Officer Weekley trial halted until Monday after emotions run high - Fox 2 News Headlines", "Judge cites 'justice' in dropping charge against cop", "Surviving The Painful Funeral Of Aiyana Jones", "Lawsuit Alleges Police Cover-Up In Fatal Shooting Of Sleeping 7-Year-Old Aiyana Stanley-Jones", "Attorney files 2 lawsuits in death of Detroit girl", "Family of slain 7-year-old Aiyana Jones sues A&E for reality TV crew at Detroit police raid", "State to probe girl's slaying; lawyer disputes cops' account", "Fieger says police shooting no accident, he has proof", "Aiyana Jones case, attorney says Video shows police fired into Detroit home", "Cop in Aiyana Stanley-Jones shooting back on the job", "J. Cole dedicates video to dead 7-year-old girl", "J. Cole Dedicates 'Crooked Smile' Video To Slain 7-Year-Old Girl", "The 6th Anniversary of the Aiyana Jones Death", "Rally marks 2010 death of Aiyana in police raid", "Six arrested during rally honoring Aiyana Stanley-Jones", Joe "Brain" Weekley's webpage at A&E: Meet the SWAT Teams, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Killing_of_Aiyana_Jones&oldid=1139956467, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 18:19. For community members and advocates, the bigger question is why a Swat team was deployed in the first place. The author of "What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones" Charlie LeDuff begins with a brief overview of the surroundings in Detroit, where the homicide took place. Weekley, 38, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and careless discharge of a firearm causing death, a misdemeanor in the death of Aiyana. Copyright 2023 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. He, too, was about to graduate from Southeastern High. It was a sweatbox, and I went across the street to the liquor store for a soda pop. Predictably, Gibson did not show for his new court date. I went to visit Cargill, who lived just around the way. A total, unfortunate fuck-up.. In an echo of deaths at police hands that rocked the US last year, including those of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York, Officer Weekley is white and Stanley-Jones was black. The car made Detroit, and the car unmade Detroit. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. JeRean knew badness was on its way and called his mother to come pick him up. what happened to aiyana jones. [12] Charles Jones, Aiyana's father, wore a black suit, pink tie and pink handkerchief in remembrance of his daughter as pink was her favorite color. [2], After a one-year internal and federal investigation, on October 4, 2011, a grand jury indicted Weekley on involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment with a gun. What occurred next has been disputed by police officers, bystanders, and neighboring residents. Gibson bonded out last January and actually showed up for his trial in circuit court on February 17. JeRean knew badness was on its way and called his mother to come pick him up. Jones was born on July 20, 2002, to Charles Jones and Dominika Stanley in Detroit. I want to get out of here, but I cant, she said. AIYANAS FAMILY retained Geoffrey Fieger, the flamboyant, brass-knuckled lawyer who represented Dr. Jack Kevorkiana.k.a. They made it to the trauma ward, where JeRean was pronounced dead. Aiyana Stanley-Jones was seven years old and asleep on a couch with her grandmother when Detroit police raided their east side home looking for a murder suspect in 2010. The trial of a Detroit police officer who fatally shot a seven-year-old girl began today.Officer Joseph Weekley shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones during . Theyd not been tabulated for four years. His motive, authorities say, was that the teen failed to pay him the proper respect. [42] While Sanders was on the stand, Judge Cynthia Hathaway told her that she (Sanders) was being "disrespectful. Aiyana was killed when police raided a house to capture a murder suspect. A minute later, a friend took the two dollars as a keepsake. The story rated three paragraphs in the daily papers, and the media never followed up. He won't be in the field. He was charged twice with involuntary manslaughter, but both cases ended in mistrials. People involved. The team, which had received intelligence that at least one rifle was in the house,wasaccompanied by a crew from the cable TV show, "First 48.". Sherrors was killed by a stray bullet while cutting a friends hair on a front porch just 27 days after JeRean died. He gave her $800 for funeral costs. Detroit, MI The family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year old girl shot and killed by a Detroit police officer, has received an $8.25 million settlement almost 9 years after the tragic incident. They were looking for a murder suspect. The sleeping 7-year-old girl was shot in the head during a no-knock police raid- on the wrong home. The civil rights lawsuit was filed in federal court Wednesday by attorney Geoffrey Fieger over the death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. As a reporter, Ive worked from New York to St. Louis to Los Angeles, and Detroit is the only big city I know of that doesnt put out a crime blotter tracking the days mayhem. I saw him in the face of my sisters daughter, who died from a heroin overdose in a suburban basement near the interstate, weeks after I moved back to Michigan with my wife to raise our daughter and take a job with the Detroit News. what happened to aiyana jones. Go ahead, walk in the Detroit River and disappear. But I cant. Lyvonne Cargill wears a shirt that honors her son, JeRean Blake Nobles. Owens got there first and shot JeRean clear through the chest with Lil James gun. His retrial began in September 2014. The raid took place at about 12:30 a.m. Almost half of all adults are illiterate.Duncan may lie awake, but many civic leaders appear to walk around with their eyes sealed shut. Two days later, on May 16, police arrived at the house where Aiyana Jones lived, hoping to find Owens. That is, until someone realized that the schools are controlled by rival gangs. A woman was in his car, the motor running. The crime most likely happened at the . Then they said he jumped out a back window. [12] Owens was in the upstairs apartment. Aiyana Jones' step aunt Kayia White and step mom Dominique Simpson, right, sit on the front porch next to a blood spattered sofa in Detroit on . Was it inevitable, as the doctor said, that abject poverty would lead to Aiyanas death and so many others? [4], Officer Joseph Weekley was charged in connection with Jones' killing. Jones and two other men known as Lil James and Dirt rode along for JeReans ass-whipping. They turned on the lights and saw that she had been shot.. The victim, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, was shot in the head while she slept on a couch in May 2010. [37], Weekley's retrial started in September 2014. Skyscrapers sprang up virtually overnight. The title is derived from the California penal code for murder: 187. Of course I would. JeRean might have thought it was funny to see a grown man driving a moped. Stanley suddenly emerged from her stupor: Whats that got to do with it? she hissed. . The graduation rate for Detroit schoolkids hovers around 35 percent (PDF). She arrived too late. What? he croaked. She denied grabbing the weapon. Police report that they arrested the suspect at the duplex where the . And now that the papers do cover Detroit, boosters complain about a lack of balance. Officers deployeda "flash bang" grenadeand kicked in the front door, and raid team leader Joseph Weekley led the crewinto the house. Twenty-five-year-old Charles Jones had just gone to bed after covering his 7-year-old daughter Aiyana with her favorite blanket. Then JeRean was murdered. He was shot in the head and killed last year. Little Aiyana's death is heartbreaking! In August 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison on four counts, including false imprisonment and felony cruelty to children. Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. But I felt unraveling this one death could help diagnose what has gone wrong in this city, so I decided to retrace the events leading up to that pitiable moment on the porch on Lillibridge Street. [12] Weekley had been featured on another A&E police reality show, Detroit SWAT. Unclaimed bodies at the Wayne County MorgueTHE RAID ON THE Lillibridge house that took little Aiyanas life came two weeks and at least a dozen homicides after the last time police stormed into a Detroit home. But he doesnt return my calls. Sanders was Aiyana Jones's paternal aunt, the girlfriend of Chauncey Owens, and the daughter of Mertilla Jones. The case garnered national headlines for all of the obvious reasons: an innocent child caught in police crosshairs, another black life taken in a city filled with heartache. You dont go into a home around midnight. When I moved back to Detroit two years ago, I profiled a firehouse on the East Side. There are plenty of good people in Detroit, boosters like to say. Rate for Detroit schoolkids hovers around 35 percent ( PDF ) she ran past the door to get from. I moved back to Lillibridge and gathered what happened to aiyana jones a posse, according to statement. 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