EVERETT – The Everett police officer accused of fatally shooting an intoxicated Stanwood man in June made his first court appearance today.
Troy Meade, 41, pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter this afternoon in Snohomish County Superior Court. He remains free on his own personal recognizance. Prosecutors don’t consider Meade a flight risk.
Superior Court Judge Eric Lucas ordered Meade to stay in the state unless he gets approval from the court to leave. He also is not allowed to possess any weapons, including firearms.
Meade nodded his head and smiled at more than a dozen Everett police officers who showed up for this afternoon’s hearing. More than a dozen Everett police officers, all out of uniform, came to support Meade, his attorney David Allen said.
“He his heartened by the support from his fellow police officers,” the Seattle attorney said.
Meade was charged last week after a four-month investigation into the shooting death of Niles Meservey, 51, outside the Chuckwagon Inn, 6720 Evergreen Way. Authorities decided that Meade wasn’t justified in shooting Meservey and accused the 11-year police veteran of recklessly causing the Stanwood man’s death.
Meade has declined to provide investigators a statement about the incident. Allen said he expects the officer will win acquittal at trial.
The officer was charged after a special team of homicide detectives investigated the case. The Snohomish County Multiple Response Team interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, took hundreds of pictures, inspected three vehicles and used computers to reconstruct the crash and shooting.
Investigators believe Meade was attempting to prevent Meservey, who was drunk, from driving off in his Corvette. The car was parked outside the Chuckwagon restaurant where Meservey had been drinking that night.
Patrons twice called police to report that Meservey was intoxicated and attempting to drive. Police who first arrived at the scene didn’t find Meservey in the area. Investigators believe he was drinking at another nearby tavern.
Meade responded to a second call and found Meservey sitting inside the Corvette.
A second Everett police officer, Steve Klocker, also arrived at the scene. He told investigators Meade was trying to get Meservey to get out of the car. Meade fired his electric stun gun at Meservey through the driver’s window and shocked the man twice. Meservey quickly recovered and started up his car and rammed into a chain-link fence.
Klocker told investigators Meade then took a big step backward and opened fire. Meservey was struck seven times. He died at the scene.
Klocker first told detectives he remembered Meade said something like, “Time to end this; enough is enough,” just before the shooting. The officer said he believed Meade was speaking to him — not the driver — before he opened fire.
Klocker also told investigators that immediately after the shooting, Meade said he believed their lives were in danger.
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