Weekley says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. , updated testified that he put his gun to her granddaughter's head and pulled the trigger, escorted from the courtroom after an emotional outburst directed at Weekley during her testimony, misdemeanor that might not carry a jail sentence if he is convicted. Coward Cop breaks into the wrong home, blames grandmother for having his finger on the trigger and shooting their 7 year old child in the head He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. In Michigan, such a crime carries a potential 15 year prison sentence. A Detroit police officer accused of manslaughter in the death of a 7-year-old girl will go on trial this week, as national attention remains focused on the militarization of U.S. law enforcement. Officers were briefed that theyd be entering a possible dope den, in which the suspect might be armed and might even possess dangerous dogs.. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. During the heartbreaking trial, Chris Few, Jeremy's dad, noted that Stafford and officer Norris Greenhouse Jr. immediately started firing with no warning when they stopped him on that fateful night. and The law is a gray area at best. She died a short time later. Watch: Who Is The Officer Involved In Girl's Shooting? Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones four days before a civil trial was to begin. Weekley shot and killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones on the night of May 16, 2010, as officers executed a search warrant on the duplex her family lived in. Associated Press. Dominika Stanley, left, the mother of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, sits next to Aiyana's father Charles Jones in attorney Geoffrey Fieger's office in Southfield, Michigan, Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Police staged a so-called safety briefing shortly before the raid; undoubtedly focusing on their own safety rather than the safety of unknown innocents behind the doors they were about to kick in. After two. Yahoo News Yahoo News . HuffPost reporter Radley Balko wrote last year that reality shows profiling police actions support a growing "police-industrial-entertainment complex": Over the last decade or so, the cable dial has been stuffed full of programming that serves to make us more comfortable with police units that treat neighborhoods like battlefields. One of the most important questions that jurors needed to answer was whether the discharge of the weapon was a result of the defendant's carelessness, recklessness or negligence. The pair later exchanged the marriage vows and tied the knot on June 22, 2019, in Denver, Florida. Officer Placed At Desk Job DETROIT - The SWAT team member whose gun, authorities say, killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones Sunday during a raid at her home has been. Especially for | 12 comentarios en LinkedIn Police1 is revolutionizing the way the law enforcement community DETROIT, MI -- It's been five years since Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley led a SWAT team in search of a murder suspect and fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Belinda Robinson for MailOnline. Joseph Weekley testifying at first trial in June, 2013. Joseph Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. and A surveillance unit had been monitoring the duplex in which he lived throughout the day and a no-knock raid was scheduled for just after midnight. 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The Detroit police officer who fatally shot a sleeping 7-year-old girl will not be retried, officials said Wednesday. Police found Owens in the upstairs flat and he was arrested. (CBS/AP) DETROIT - Joseph Weekley, a Detroit police officer charged in the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, testified Thursday that he still feels "devastated and depressed". Yetthe group of 12 was almost split down the middle over whether to acquit or convict Weekley on a misdemeanor charge of careless, reckless or negligent use of a firearm causing death. It was the first time any family member had stood in front of Weekley and directly accused him. City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. We do not practice law. The story of Aiyana Stanley-Jones' death really starts with Je'Rean Blake, a 17-year-old who was killed less than two days earlier. On May 16, 2010, plaintiff's decedent Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, was inside her Detroit home when she was shot in the head. "I'm out here to fight any way for the other Aiyanas that's to come," she said, "because it ain't stop at just my grandbaby.". So why would they come in there like that? Brown's death, and the extreme tactics of police amid ensuing local protests, have sparked national conversations about police brutality and institutional racism in police forces across the country. This Monday, jury selection began for Weekley's retrial. Officer Joseph Weekley will return to court Nov. 21, and Wayne County prosecutors now have six weeks to see whether they will seek to have Weekley tried for a third time. It said: No matter the outcome of any jury's decision, I have already been devastated and my life has been ruined irreparably by the events that occurred on May 16, 2010. "I would only pray that [the prosecutor] would only use the same zeal he used on my client, Charles Jones, in trying to get a conviction in [Weekley's] case," Weiss told HuffPost this week. To read the full Conyers story, click here. On the third day of deliberations, loud voices could be heard coming from the jury room. Jones had previously said the shot came from outside the house. According to Weekley, a fellow officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window, temporarily blinding him. Officer Weekley was indicted on October 4, 2011 by a Detroit grand jury, charged with Involuntary Manslaughter and Negligent Discharge of a Firearm in the tragic death of seven year old Alyania Stanley Jones in May 2010. Some jurors felt Weekley, should not have allowed his gun to discharge because of his training as a member of the Special Response Team, while others could not determine what happened. The Michigan Supreme Court last September cleared the way for a trial or settlement when it declined to hear an appeal after two courts ruled a jury could decide whether Weekley's actions amounted to gross negligence. They're looking to protect," said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing Wednesday. Then-Police Chief Warren Evans resigned from his post several months later, after authorities discovered he was pitching a reality show called "The Chief.". 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones four days before a civil trial was to begin. Prosecutors say that Owens then left the store. Sleeping 7-year-old girl shot in head during no-knock police raid on wrong home, Charges Dismissed Against Joseph Weekley, Cop Who Fatally Shot Sleeping 7-Year-Old, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QeD1uUgmKw. Weekley was first tried in connection with Aiyana's death in 2013, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Owens was suspected of having killed a teenager a few days earlier, a charge for which he would eventually be convicted. Part of HuffPost Crime. They came to kill, and they killed a 7-year-old.'. By He says he accidentally fired his gun during. A Detroit police officer accused of manslaughter in the death of a 7-year-old girl will go on trial this week, as national attention remains focused on the militarization of U.S. law enforcement and police violence perpetrated against people of color. Aiyana's parents, Charles Jones and Dominika Stanley, sued Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley on behalf of their daughter's estate. Sleeping 7-year-old girl shot in head during no-knock police raid on wrong home Whatever this website says about the law is presented in the context of how we or others perceive the applicability of the law to a set of circumstances if one of us (or some other author) was in the circumstances under the conditions discussed. Fishman said that for involuntary manslaughter to be proved, the prosecution would need to demonstrate that his client acted in a "grossly negligent manner" in the circumstances leading to Stanley-Jones' death. The afternoon of May 14, Je'Rean had just bought an orange juice at a liquor store when he had a confrontation with a man named Chauncey Owens, 38. DETROIT The SWAT team member whose gun, authorities say, killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones Sunday during a raid at her home has been identified, and details about his police record have been released. Weekley is being retried after a jury failed to reach a verdict last year in . Mertilla Jones testified that Owens lived in the upper unit with her daughter, LaKrystal Sanders. 'They knew there were children in there. Find the perfect carolina edgecombe stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. During a raid targeting the apartment on the floor above Stanley-Jones, Officer Joseph Weekley of a SWAT-like team, fired a hand grenade into Stanley-Jones' unit, burning her blanket. Final charges against Joseph Weekley, a police officer who shot dead a 7-year-old girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, in Detroit in May 2010, were dismissed on Friday, leaving a family bereft and raising serious concern among national groups over an increasingly militarized police force. The justice system did not work in this case, he said. The jury foreman, a pastor said:This has not been an easy case.. The raid commenced at roughly 12:40 a.m. Last week, a neighbor testified that he tried to tell officers before they raided the home that children were inside. Owens pleaded guilty in April 2011 to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Blake's slaying. Jury selection starts on Monday in Wayne County court, 15 months after Weekleys first trial ended with jurors unable to agree on a verdict. In at least one of those other raids, Weekley and his team were accused of using unnecessary force. "The only thing I heard was gunshots. Weekley was also cleared of wrongdoing in a non-fatal shooting in 2009, when he returned fire from a man aiming at officers, according to The Detroit News. The comments of visitors or guest authors to the website are their opinions and do not therefore reflect our opinions. 20:54 GMT 19 Jun 2013. Weekley squeezed his eyes to try and regain his sight, he told the court, and heard a high-pitched moan, like someone "out of breath" coming from beneath the pile of clothes. Daily Mail Reporter, 2010 raid was being filmed for reality TV show 'The First 48 Hours', Body found shot dead near home of New England Patriots tight end identified as another football player in semi-professional league, Parents beware: Children could be playing a Simpsons game that has 'hidden anti-gun messages' and 'mocks NRA', Would you want to live next door to this man? They sent three notes, the last one indicating they still couldn't reach a unanimous verdict on the third day of deliberations, despite encouragement from Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway. "I stuck my hands out the window. (Dkt. When Detroiters rallied last year for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen killed by a neighborhood watchman in 2012, Mertilla Jones addressed the crowd. Opening statements in Weekley's new trial are scheduled to begin this week in the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit. After two trials without result, police officer Joseph Weekley will not face another trial for fatally shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a sleeping seven-year-old, during a 2010 raid filmed by a . He also helped organize a recent event called Run With the Cops, Not From Them. As the Free Thought Project reported last week,Officer Derrick Stafford wasfound guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the horrific fatal shooting of the six-year-old with autism on November 3, 2015. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. That the ten-year-anniversary of Aiyana's death passed largely unacknowledged, . The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced. Officer on trial: Joseph Weekley testifies in his own defense According to the Advocate,Megan Dixon, Fews fiance at the time, said Few had a previous run-in with Greenhouse. The prosecution will file an emergency appeal with the Court of Appeals, according to the Detroit News. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. If convicted, Weekley could face up to 15 years behind bars. The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to move on from the tragedy. She said she'd initially been asleep on the couch with Aiyana, but that she was on the floor when Weekley shot his weapon, not close enough to touch the gun. Joseph Weekley shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones in 2010 Officer charged with involuntary manslaughter. Officer Weekley, who is white, is still free. Killing of Aiyana Jones. However, the Clerk of Court, the District Attorneys Office, Marksville Police Department, and City Court noted that they did not have any warrants against him. We do not give legal advice. An anonymous Detroit official told Mother Jones in 2010 that using the grenade was "not protocol.". At the beginning of the case, jurors were asked to decide the officer's fate. Prosecutor Rob Moran argued: 'His training says, keep your finger off the trigger. Fishman attempted to discredit her while requesting dismissal of the manslaughter charge. Weekley drives the SWAT team's armored personnel carrier. This website is to expose government corruption, law enforcement corruption, political corruption, and judicial corruption. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to move on from the tragedy. The Michigan State Police are investigating the shooting. All he had to do is follow his training and we wouldn't be here.'. The jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the case againstOfficer Joseph Weekley who was accused of shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a raid on a house for a murder suspect in Detroit. neither Jones' fingerprints nor DNA were found on the officer's gun. Charges officially dismissed against officer Joseph Weekley WXYZ 7 Action News is metro Detroit's leading source for breaking news, weather warnings, award-w. Another question asked whether jurors had seen reports of "the so-called military equipment by police departments here and elsewhere that might influence your decision in this case," drawing a parallel between the law enforcement methods used in Detroit and those employed by Ferguson police officers during the protests that followed Brown's death. "I knew it was my gun that went off because I was right there," Weekley said. Detroit Police Media Relations Director June West said Weekley returned to active duty on a "restricted" basis "a couple weeks ago.". Aiyana MoNay Stanley-Jones July 20 2002 May 16 2010 was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroits East Side who was shot in the neck and All rights reserved. Lexipol. Moments earlier, Aiyana was sleeping beneath a "Hanna Montana" blanket on the couch next to her grandmother. The only full justice would be to bring Aiyana back and I can't do that.". "This was essentially a military assault on a private dwelling," Ron Scott, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, told the Associated Press last year about the raid on the Stanley-Jones home. The prosecution and defense have offered contradictory depictions of the events leading up to Stanley-Jones' death. Atkins, Virginia Tack welded trailer frames, wired up refrigeration units and ran all the electrical components for each trailer. Jennifer Joseph Expand search. 18:48 GMT 19 Jun 2013 JOSEPH WEEKLEY, INC. JOSEPH WEEKLEY, INC. is a California Stock Corporation - Ca - General filed on August 12, 2003. 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