A Detroit police officer charged with fatally shooting a 7-year-old girl while she was asleep on her couch will stand trial in June. The fatal gunshot was recorded by a reality TV crew, which was filming an episode of “The First 48.”
Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year-old girl from Detroit, was shot in
the head while a SWAT team conducted a midnight raid of
her two-story home, tossed a flash grenade through a window,
fired the bullet that killed her, and burst through the front
door on May 16, 2010.
Police officers were searching for a murder suspect accused of
killing a 17-year-old boy and were accompanied by a camera crew
recording the raid for a reality A&E TV show called “The
First 48” — a show that closely resembles “Cops”. The TV show
tracks murder investigations in the immediate aftermath of a
slaying, and provides viewers with real-life police drama.
But that quest for drama overstepped its boundaries on that fatal
night three years ago. Officer Joseph Weekley, a then-member of
the Detroit Police Special Response Team, was carrying the gun
that shot that little girl. Police claim that the weapon
accidentally discharged after Weekley bumped into the girl’s
grandmother. But if convicted of involuntary manslaughter,
Weekley could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The cop has been accused of acting with gross negligence by
failing to prevent his gun from firing. The victim was one of
four young children that were in the home at the time of the
raid. Video footage gathered by the A&E camera crew will
serve as evidence in the case, but videographer Allison Howard is
also facing charges. The camerawoman was indicted on perjury and
obstruction of justice charges after she was accused of
withholding crucial video footage from authorities, while sharing
it with unspecified “third parties”.
The shooting, together with the presence of “The First 48” camera
crew, shocked and outraged Detroit residents and prompted Mayor
Dave Bing to ban reality TV crews from shadowing police in
Detroit. He also prompted then-Police Chief Warren Evans’
resignation for failing to inform the mayor that he was allowing
TV cameras to accompany police raids. Evans was allegedly also
planning to partake in a different reality TV show, in which he
would be the star, AP reports.
“Police work is not television, and television work is not
police work,” Ron Scott, spokesman for Detroit Coalition
Against Police Brutality, told AP. “The two combined to make
it a horrific night.”
Scott also referred to the raid and the shooting as a
“military assault on a private dwelling”.
On Friday, Weekley appeared at a Detroit courthouse to file a
motion for dismissal of the case against him. About 30
protesters, led by the victim’s family, gathered at the
courthouse, chanting “Justice for Aiyana” and “No Justice, No
peace”. Weekley’s motion was dismissed, and a jury for the case
will be selected May 29.
“It shouldn’t have taken three years for this to come to
justice when a little girl died,” Scott told MLive.
This article originally appeared on: RT