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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Snohomish County police officer charged in killing 10/27/09 • Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team investigations 10/27/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Officers rarely face criminal charges By Jackson Holtz, Diana Hefley and Scott North, Herald Writers EVERETT — Police officers in the United States rarely face criminal charges for using force in the line of duty. The first-degree manslaughter charge filed Monday against Everett police officer Troy Meade is unprecedented in Snohomish County history. Meade, an 11-year veteran, is accused of recklessly causing the death of Niles Meservey, 51. The officer fatally shot Meservey after he refused to get out of his car. Speculation that Meade could be charged for his actions in the line of duty generated great concern among Everett police officers. The weeks leading up to the decision have been hard on everyone, a longtime Everett police detective said, speaking on the condition that he not be identified. The detective said he and other officers understand the importance of a thorough, careful investigation and an independent decision by prosecutors. On the other hand, they also worry that it may be difficult for anybody to truly understand the perspective of the officer involved in this case. “Troy is in a position where he just has milliseconds to make a decision,” the detective said. “Everybody else has months and months to armchair-quarterback the incident.” Everett police policy bars anyone from speaking about the matter, with the exception of the police chief or his designee, department spokesman Sgt. Robert Goetz said. Goetz and Everett Police Chief Jim Scharf on Monday referred calls to Louis Peterson, a Seattle attorney representing Everett. Peterson didn’t respond for requests for comments. Instead Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon sent out a written statement. Because of pending litigation against the city and the charge against officer Meade, Reardon wrote, “The City and its police department cannot comment further at this time.” She said, “For today, this is how we have to respond.” Police are allowed to use force if the officer can reasonably justify that he or she perceives a threat, said David Klinger, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Missouri in St. Louis who studies use of force by police. “It’s very rare that a police officer is indicted,” Klinger said. In the vast majority of cases when police use their weapons, the suspect is armed with a knife, gun or other weapon, and someone’s life is in jeopardy, the professor said. No organization nationally tracks officer-involved violence or the number of times police are charged, Klinger said. “We don’t even know how many people the cops shoot in the U.S. every year,” he said. “If we don’t know how many time cops kill people, how many times they shoot people, we certainly don’t know how many times police are indicted.” The most recent case of an officer facing criminal charges was the New Year’s Day shooting by police of an unarmed man at an Oakland, Calif., transit stop. Former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer Johannes Mehserle is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Oscar Grant, 22. The case is working its way through the courts. One Everett officer, again speaking so long as he isn’t identified, said there has been some concern that there may be public pressure to file charges against Meade given publicity about other recent police shootings here. “Some sort of political call to action would be my concern,” the officer said. Since November, a special task force of detectives has been called on five times to investigate deaths by law enforcement in Snohomish County. There also is some concern that the decision to charge Meade will affect other officers’ decisions to use lethal force. “Maybe it will be in the back of their minds and they’ll use less-than-lethal force when less-than-lethal is not appropriate,” the officer said. Officers go through hours of training to identify when it’s reasonable to use deadly force. Being second-guessed again and again is difficult, he said. Police increasingly are confronted with dangerous situations by people who may be armed, dangerous and ready to use violence against officers, said John Gray, a former Arlington Police chief, now an instructor of police training at Northwestern University in Chicago. While the number of officers who are killed in the line of duty has either leveled off or dropped in recent years, assaults on officers have increased, Gray said. The reduction in deaths likely is a result of improved protective gear and training, he said. Snohomish County and Western Washington are recognized as having superior training to many other areas of the country, he said. Still, even with the very best policies and training, there are aberrations in performance. “People change and they make bad decisions and they have to be held accountable,” he said. Now that an officer has been charged, Everett’s department likely is going to look inward at its policies and procedures, Gray said. It has been years since a police officer in Snohomish County has been accused of criminal conduct in a line-of-duty death, and that case didn’t result in charges. In 1992, a member of the sheriff’s office SWAT team fatally shot Robin Marie Pratt during a raid on her Everett apartment. The team was there to arrest her husband on what proved to be bogus allegations that he had been involved in a fatal armored car robbery. A six-member inquest jury spent three days hearing testimony from the SWAT team members and forensic experts. A majority of jurors determined the death of the unarmed woman was a criminal act, and they held one of the SWAT team members responsible. No charges were filed by Greg Canova, the special prosecutor hired to decide how the case should be handled. He is now a King County Superior Court judge but then was a senior assistant state attorney general. At the time, Canova said his nearly five-month review of Pratt’s shooting turned up no legal grounds to justify criminal charges. He interviewed the inquest jury members after their verdict and said most really believed no crime had occurred and were confused by jury instructions. Among other factors in the decision not to file charges was that the SWAT officer fired a single shot from the fully automatic weapon, Canova said. That indicated the officer didn’t intentionally shoot Pratt, he said. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out are you kidding? The attitude of standing by your own, is why tort reform is impossible. Doctors who don't speak out against incompentence. Same with police officers. I think most people would agree that shooting someone 7 times in the back of the head is murder, and was not required in the defense of any officer or civilian at the scene. Included in "most people" are police officers. The problem of being second guessed and arm chaired guarterbacked is not a problem, but a condition of the job, as should be, using lethal force is a serious thing, and should never be taken lightly, thorough training about when and where it could be required is needed for sure, and the idea that it will always be investigated needs to be there to curb those under stress or with touchy temperments, ect. Those who are well trained and take good care of their personal emotional health need not be concerned about arm chair quarterbacks. Others in not such good shape emotionally need to be seeing to it, to avoid bad findings at the investigation that will always follow the use of lethal force and rightly so. This particular officer obviously was over the top emotionally, maybe stressed, tired, sad, or just not suited tempermentally, and that falls to the police department and fellow officers to recognize and speak up regarding and minmize such events. I am sad for the policeman, and for the police in general, but it is obvious to everyone, this was an unnecessary death, that cannot be excused or acquitted on grounds it hampers the police ability to judge a situation. Police need to be brave. They can be brave about the calls the armchair quarterbacks might make while they are at the being brave thing. Darla Lehman | Oct 27, 2009 10:11 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal LAW You tell me the correct charges? RCW 9A.32.030 Murder in the first degree. (1) A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when: (a) With a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) Under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life, he or she engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to any person, and thereby causes the death of a person; or (c) He or she commits or attempts to commit the crime of either (1) robbery in the first or second degree, (2) rape in the first or second degree, (3) burglary in the first degree, (4) arson in the first or second degree, or (5) kidnapping in the first or second degree, and in the course of or in furtherance of such crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants: Except that in any prosecution under this subdivision (1)(c) in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, it is a defense that the defendant: (i) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause, or aid the commission thereof; and (ii) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article, or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury; and (iii) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article, or substance; and (iv) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury. (2) Murder in the first degree is a class A felony. ============================================ RCW 9A.32.050 Murder in the second degree. (1) A person is guilty of murder in the second degree when: (a) With intent to cause the death of another person but without premeditation, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) He or she commits or attempts to commit any felony, including assault, other than those enumerated in RCW 9A.32.030(1)(c), and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subdivision (1)(b) in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, it is a defense that the defendant: (i) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause, or aid the commission thereof; and (ii) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article, or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury; and (iii) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article, or substance; and (iv) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury. (2) Murder in the second degree is a class A felony. Craig French | Oct 27, 2009 6:29 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal LAW You tell me the correct charges? RCW 9A.32.030 Murder in the first degree. (1) A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when: (a) With a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) Under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life, he or she engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to any person, and thereby causes the death of a person; or (c) He or she commits or attempts to commit the crime of either (1) robbery in the first or second degree, (2) rape in the first or second degree, (3) burglary in the first degree, (4) arson in the first or second degree, or (5) kidnapping in the first or second degree, and in the course of or in furtherance of such crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants: Except that in any prosecution under this subdivision (1)(c) in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, it is a defense that the defendant: (i) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause, or aid the commission thereof; and (ii) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article, or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury; and (iii) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article, or substance; and (iv) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury. (2) Murder in the first degree is a class A felony. ============================================ RCW 9A.32.050 Murder in the second degree. (1) A person is guilty of murder in the second degree when: (a) With intent to cause the death of another person but without premeditation, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) He or she commits or attempts to commit any felony, including assault, other than those enumerated in RCW 9A.32.030(1)(c), and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subdivision (1)(b) in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, it is a defense that the defendant: (i) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause, or aid the commission thereof; and (ii) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article, or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury; and (iii) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article, or substance; and (iv) Had no reasonable grounds to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury. (2) Murder in the second degree is a class A felony. Craig French | Oct 27, 2009 6:29 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal bullets Seven of the eight bullets hit him,sounds like murder to me? Officers are becoming way to trigger happy and he had milliseconds to react? He had conversations with him and even used a stun gun? Where is the millisecond in that picture? It doesn't add up. Shoot his tires out for godsakes,yank his keys out of the ignition? Jack up the back end of the car so he can't go anywhere? But don't fill him with lead just because he won't get out of his car.Cops need to calm down and get their finger off of the trigger! Paul Richarddson | Oct 27, 2009 4:37 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Shots Fired We have the facts and they seem to have stayed consistent with what we've been hearing all along. That said If this cop is not charged with murder what kind of a president does that set for our law enforcement? Seven shots to the back of an unarmed man.(in this country) Our troops can and have been charged with murder for this type of action. We have no choice. These charges must be upgraded. It is murder This is outrageous. scott Longstreet | Oct 27, 2009 12:55 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Day cops vs. night cops??? If you actually knew anything about police work you would know that there are more police shootings at night because that is when most violent crime occurs, including violence against police officers (murder, assaults, etc.). This is because the type of people are different. Gangbangers, drug addicts, drunks, stick up men and other predators usually are out at night, not during the day. Most police officers have to change shifts at some point so there is no such thing as a "day cop" or "night cop" it's usually the same officers who work both shifts. Just look at the statistics if you don't belive me. David Plotkin | Oct 27, 2009 11:49 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Some officers need to give up their Disney Card... ...it's only obvious some are NO Mouseketeers. Over the years, occasionally i have had to deal with police ---to protect me, solve crime, or they pulled my *** over. NO DOUBT there is a incredible difference between the "daytime" cop & the "nightime cop". Basically i look at it as this... good cop or bad cop. Nice cop or B|tch cop. Funny,sad, it seems all the police shootings happen under the "nightime" cop watch. GEE... is anyone pulled over by a nightime cop surprised? Nightime cops are the hunters. Daytime cops are the helpers. cme everett | Oct 27, 2009 3:40 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Police have a thankless job Easy to sit there and say what should have been done or what could have been done. This isn't football where you can plan your moves in the locker room before the game. This is a situation where you have to make a decision in a few seconds notice, if that. No ones knows what or how they would handle it unless they were actually in that position. I'm not related to a police officer but I do listen to the police scanner, and I listened that night too. It was sad it ended the way it did....for all, but the guy did bring it on himself....ALL he had to do was comply. If he had he could have gone home to his family and the cop could go home to his too. Most people have NO idea what kind of CRAP these police officers put up with. Not just crap but people that are not only a danger to themselves but to others also. People on drugs, alcohol, etc. that could care less if they harm anyone in their way. Listen to the scanner sometime, say on a Friday or Sat. and see what kind of scum they have to deal with over and over, they do the best they can given the situation. Actually, I'm surprised that there aren't more people shot! I feel sorry for the family's of both sides.... and the officer that had to make the decision. h i | Oct 27, 2009 2:36 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Milliseconds If Officer Meade did indeed say, "Enough is enough, I'm going to end this.", then that is a lot more then milliseconds. My question is why didn't the officers stick with the taser? I obviously incapacitated Meservey the first two times they used it. That would have been long enough until they could have pulled him out of the car. End of story. I do feel that police officers have a thankless job. One of which I would not want to do for what they get paid. Its a terrible situation for all involved. ian most | Oct 27, 2009 1:27 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Murder, not manslaughter Seven bullets in the back is murder. Jim Wikel | Oct 27, 2009 12:58 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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