King said he never heard any commands from Davis before the gunshot. Due to that failure, I have terminated the employment of this deputy, the sheriff said in a video statement on Facebook. Jurors found Michael Davis, a former sergeant with the Lonoke County sheriff's office, guilty in the shooting death last year of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain during a traffic stop. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Brittain was test-driving a pickup truck with his cousin that the two spent the night tinkering on at a local repair shop. Hunter Brittain (left) and then-Sgt. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. No. Brittain was transferred to a nearby hospital where he died from the gunshot wound. The people of this county are good, decent people and they, like me, want to see accountability and transparency in this situation, Staley wrote on the offices Facebook page. Davis, Newcomb said. The family's attorney, Devon Jacob said they aren't going to focus on the charges, but rather look at the meaning behind the jury's decision. The teen didnt respond to verbal commands given by the deputy, Necomb said. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. He later died at North Little Rock Hospital. The document says what it says, Jacob said. ", Davis then starts yelling at a passenger, Jordan King, "What are y'all driving the vehicle like that?". Davis claimed in that interview that he shouted at Brittain to "show me our hands." Davis is white. Newcomb, a Little Rock attorney who often represents police officers, requested a grievance hearing on behalf of Davis from Lonoke County. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. It was emotional for witnesses and Brittain's family, many of them had to step out of the courtroom. His press conference on Friday was brief and he refused to take questions. "Because the deputy failed to activate his bodycam, he has been terminated," Staley said in his statement. Al Sharpton, who spoke at Brittain's funeral July 6 at Beebe High School, where the teen attended school. Once we have the autopsy report, we will know more.. Example video title will go here for this video. The Arkansas State Police released video Friday from the body camera of former Lonoke County Deputy Michael Davis, taken the night 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was fatally shot during a. Davis said he gave commands to Brittain to show his hands that were ignored. Prosecuting attorney, Jeff Phillips said the state is fine with the verdict but the sentencing wasn't what they expected. But King said Davis never gave any commands to Brittain before he shot him. Brittain was shot by a Lonoke County Sheriff's Deputy during a traffic stop on June 23. Michael Davis guilty of negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. Highway Patrol trooper on leave after fatal Morton County shooting. Crump and Jacob also represented the family of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died May 25, 2020, while in police custody in Minneapolis. I think its murder, she said. Floyd died in May last year when a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin the handcuffed Black mans neck to the ground. Investigators found no firearms in or near the truck. Devon Jacob, Brittains familys attorney, described the report as unclear. Graham filed the motion for a special prosecutor on July 8, a week after a conversation with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. That is why it is very crucial for prosecutors to be as clear and transparent as they can be. James Golden, a professor of criminal justice at the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, echoed Marque Heydaris comments. Now that the trial has begun, Brittain's Aunt Mary Robertson is praying that that accountability happens in the coming days. The passenger in Brittains truck said he and the teen had been working on the pickups transmission. They think that it is not appropriate for anybody who has a conflict of interest to weigh in and deny them due process of a fair and impartial and completely independent investigation as to what happened to their child. Newcomb said he wasnt concerned with the file being passed to Graham. After Phillips announcement that a warrant would be issued for Davis arrest on Friday, the courtroom burst into cheers. The first witness called to the stand by the prosecution team was 16-year-old Jordan King. His death sparked nationwide protests over policing and racial inequality. Davis has been with the Sheriff's Office since 2013. Davis attorney, Robert Newcomb, said the report throws doubt on earlier statements from Brittains family members and their attorneys that the teen was shot three times. Davis testified that he thought the teen was grabbing for a gun. Davis said all of these things were the reason he felt afraid for his life and thought Brittain "was going to kill him.". What were the ramification to the LEO that decided to break their oath?? Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. The car, which had transmission issues, began smoking and was pulled over by Davis as it neared the repair shop. When asked for more information, such as the number of times Davis shot Brittain, Shantea Nelson, office manager in the Pulaski County coroners office, said that a state medical examiners autopsy report would have more information than a coroners report. I cant speak to what different offices practice are. "I was hoping for a not guilty verdict on both charges. The state police were delayed in releasing the footage immediately after the trial as they waited on formal paperwork from the Lonoke County Circuit Court. Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off and extra perks with Booking.com Genius membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 15% off orders over 15 with this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK February 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this February, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Even before the memorial service, Brittains friends and family were calling for change at the state level with petitions urging the Legislature to require officers to wear body cameras that would be turned on as soon as their shift begins. Davis said he could not see the 17-year-old's hands before shooting. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. One bullet can go through and cause injury in more than one location, Newcomb said. He wont be an officer no more and he cant kill no more kids.. They always seem to have their body cameras off. Staley also said the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office does not have dash cameras on its police vehicles. As Brittain did this, Davis shot one round at Brittain in his lower right neck. What has been the reaction to the shooting? This is my opinion. Crump said a proposed bill that is being referred to as Hunters Law would include a mandate that body cameras be active during interactions between police and civilians and that those videos be released immediately to the public. In June, at 3 a.m. on a dark stretch of a highway in rural Arkansas, 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was shot and killed by a sergeant from the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office. The defense also added and went through every reason why Davis feared for his life and fired the gun. Rice's camera moves at about 19 minutes into his video, and Brittain is no longer on the ground. All rights reserved. Robert Newcomb, Daviss attorney, said he planned to challenge the standard jurors used to determine whether Davis was negligent. In an interview with Davis, he said he initiated the traffic stop of Brittain's white GMC truck and heard "the truck's engine rev up and then began to travel southbound in the northbound lane." Former Arkansas deputy Michael Davis was found guilty of negligent homicide in the shooting death of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. We definitely have been trying to come up with a way, when a citizen dies by law enforcement, for there to be an additional route to investigate that, that doesnt involve any of the agencies that work with the officers, Abdul-Bey said. Davis said mentioned several things that led to him firing his gun. There's no way around it and nobody's gonna change my mind about it," he said. (Tommy Metthe/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. I didn't say he was a mean guy. Attorney Ben Crump and Jacob were retained by Brittains family in the days after the shooting as the case received national attention. The killing in the predominantly white community has drawn the attention of national civil rights activists such as Sharpton, who said concerns about police tactics arent just limited to the Black community. Devon Jacob, Brittains familys attorney, described the report as unclear. Scott Hundley said this is the beginning of what's going to be a long week for those close to Brittain. There were no indications of drug and alcohol use listed on the coroners report. One bullet can go through and cause injury in more than one location, Newcomb said. He was sentenced to one year of probation and 300 hours of community service. (NWA Media). Crump and Jacob invoked other people killed by police, including Breonna Taylor, a Kentucky woman who was fatally shot during a botched police raid. Newcomb has said Brittain was pulled over by Davis because his vehicle was smoking heavily and an engine was knocking. King responds that the truck wouldn't shift into park. The issue of policing is not about Black and white, Sharpton told a packed auditorium at Beebe High School, where Brittain was a rising senior. According to a statement previously released by the Brittain familys attorney, the teen exited his truck to place a blue plastic bottle of antifreeze behind a wheel because the vehicle wouldnt shift into park. Im not sure we could set a policy at the national level that could cover all circumstances. Prosecutors are held accountable by elections, Golden said. In June, at 3 a.m. on a dark stretch of a highway in rural Arkansas, 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was shot and killed by a sergeant from the Lonoke County Sheriffs Office. Crump questioned Grahams involvement in the case in response to inquiries Wednesday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But we are going to change that. Alissa Marque Heydari, deputy director for the Institute of Innovation in Prosecution at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it is recommended that if a prosecuting office is involved in an investigation, the office is staffed by prosecutors and investigators who are completely internally separate from the rest of the office. "It's going to be hard, it's been hard, it's been hard since June," he said. He said each prosecutors office has to make its own determination on how to handle police shootings. Staley noted this was a department policy violation and used that as justification for Davis being fired. Davis, an eight-year veteran with the Lonoke County Sheriffs office, gave the boy commands to stop and shot him before he could see what he was retrieving, which turned out to be a jug of antifreeze. During a public memorial for Brittain earlier this week, Rev. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. I dont think he did anything that clearly prejudiced Davis rights in the case.. Hopefully, Hunter and his untimely death will finish what Hunters brother George Floyd and his death started, Jacob said. Got a tip? We acknowledge that is going to be much harder in a smaller office. The institute released a tool kit in 2019 to help prosecutors when addressing officer-involved fatalities. Crump and Jacob have been involved in high-profile homicide cases that include those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery. Didn't put the truck in park, nothing," Davis says. They argued that the shooting shows how police violence affects all people and called for reform. The report from the Pulaski County coroner said the initial 911 call came in at 3:08 a.m. on June 23 and Brittain was pronounced dead around 3:58 a.m. by an attending physician at Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock. Brittain was eulogized last year by the civil rights leader the Rev Al Sharpton, who said the death highlighted the need for interracial support for changes in policing. At that point, that was within a couple days of the event.. Davis, who was originally charged with felony manslaughter, fatally shot Brittain who was test-driving his truck after working on it all night. It wont require a recusal, Abdul-Bey said. Brittain turned into a nearby parking lot and jumped out of the backward moving vehicle and reached into the back of the truck, he said. Melissia McMahan, who is the Brittain familys mail carrier and knew the teen since he was a toddler, said she had thought about the need for police reform before Brittains death but hadnt thought it was something her own community would face. [2] Killing [ edit] A jury found former Lonoke County Sgt. The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory cant publicly release the autopsy report because of Arkansas Code 1212-312, Director Kermit Channell said. The charge was brought by special prosecutor Jeff Phillips of the 5th Judicial District after Lonoke County prosecutor Chuck Graham recused himself from the case. He would have faced between three and 10 years in prison for manslaughter, a felony. The issue of policing is not about Black and white, Reverend Al Sharpton said at a eulogy for Mr Brittain. Taped interviews with Staley and Davis were still being redacted by the state police as of Friday and will be released at a later date. The investigation of the shooting was quickly turned over to the Arkansas State Police. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. It's a case that's gained national attention and one that has greatly impacted the community of Lonoke and across Arkansas. The case made national headlines and gained the attention of civil-rights activists, including the Rev. He's still driving on his way to the scene. Multiple Brittain family members rushed from the room as graphic images of the 17-year-old played out on a screen. The family is going to continue to trust the process, Jacob said. "What the jury said is that a law enforcement officer in uniform committed a crime, and the jury has said that Hunter Brittain was unlawfully killed by Michael Davis. 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