Post by KC on Jan 28, 2007 18:33:09 GMT -5
A woman present the night of a controversial police shooting says a Greene County deputy fired directly at her unarmed boyfriend when he fled on foot after a traffic stop.
Further, she claims the deputy told other arriving officers that the man was armed and dangerous and that they should "shoot to kill" during the manhunt that followed.
The woman, Lavonda Carraway, 23, of Jacksonville, gives a drastically different version of the incidents that took place June 18 in Greenfield, when sheriff's deputy Clifford E. Elliott pulled over her family's van for speeding.
Carraway's story flies in the face of claims that Elliott made after a grand jury hearing on Jan. 11. Elliott had said through his attorney, Elliott Turpin of Carrollton, that he fired two warning shots into the ground and not in the direction of the boyfriend, Joshua E. Wilson, 23. He also claims Wilson was armed.
The grand jury refused to indict Elliott on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and official misconduct, but Carraway said she was not asked to appear before the jury and did not know it had met until she read it in the newspaper.
Carraway said she's wanted to give the family's version of events for weeks but kept waiting for police and prosecutors to release their official reports of the investigation, which she said support her account.
Greene County State's Attorney Matt Goetten said he did not have a copy of the reports and referred to Special Appellate Prosecutor Charles Zalar, who declined to release the reports, saying he would be exempt from a Freedom of Information request. Illinois State Police said Thursday it would release the reports, acting on an FOI request, but would send them by mail.
Elliott has been on administrative leave since the incident, which prompted a massive manhunt for Wilson, who eluded capture and turned himself in at Illinois State Police District 18 headquarters in Litchfield.
At the time of the incident, Wilson was out on bond on charges of home invasion and aggravated battery in Jacksonville. Under terms of his bond, Wilson was not to leave his home without notifying the Morgan County Probation Department. After going to Greene County without prior permission, his bond was revoked. He remained jailed until pleading guilty Nov. 8 to the felony offenses that netted him a six-year prison sentence.
Goetten turned the investigation of the shooting over to Zalar, who reviewed the State Police investigative report, which included a videotape recorded by the squad car's camera.
Zalar said that, as a special prosecutor appointed by the court, he falls under the judicial branch and is not subject to Freedom of Information requests.
"Even if I could turn over the report, I would not do so at this time as it is my understanding that the (Greene County) sheriff may have administrative disciplinary action pending," Zalar said.
The deputy claims that Wilson, while fleeing, had his hand on a weapon, putting the deputy in a position where he had to fire, so he fired two warning shots into the ground.
Carraway said the family was returning from a trip to East St. Louis, where they had picked up other family members. In the van were she and Wilson; the couple's children, a 6-month-old daughter and a one-and-a-half-year-old son; a 17-year-old niece; and two boys, ages 12 and 13.
"We were on our way back from East St. Louis, and I guess it was about 7 p.m. when we got about to the Ford dealership (on Illinois 267) in Greenfield when Joshua was stopped by a cop. The officer said Joshua had been speeding and asked us all to get out of the car.
"The officer had his hand on his holster, and as I was getting the baby seat out of the car, he took Joshua to the back of the trunk and asked him if he had any weapons. He patted him down, then asked about any warrants, and that's when Josh took off running."
Carraway said that a second deputy who had pulled up and a woman who lived near the scene both saw what followed.
"It happened so fast. The officer (Elliott) was standing so close to me I could have used my arm to reach out and touch him, and he had already pulled out his gun and started to fire. All of us began screaming and yelling. Josh was running for his life as that officer shot at him. He didn't say halt or nothing."
When the deputy began firing, the second officer's mouth "just fell down" in shock, she said.
Carraway said the shooting drew lots of attention and that residents and other police officers immediately began showing up.
Carraway said she believes the deputy shot four or five times at Wilson, She said she didn't know if he'd gotten on his radio or what but that suddenly cars and trucks and people came out of the woodwork.
Elliott told those arriving that they had a convicted felon on their hands, "that he was armed and dangerous and they should shoot to kill," she said. She said the comment was directed in general at people arriving and that she didn't know if they were all off-duty police, some residents or a mix.
Later, as family members were at Greenfield Police Department while police were hunting for Wilson, she said another deputy repeated Elliott's "shoot to kill" order.
"We were so happy to get out of that town early the next morning, you just don't know," she said.
Carraway said Wilson passed a lie detector test, stating that he had no weapon on him.
"I offered to take one, too, but the Illinois State Police said it wasn't necessary," she said.
Carraway said she was not notified that the grand jury was being convened or that Wilson had been brought from prison to testify at the grand jury.
Carraway said she finally decided to go public after learning that prosecutors were keeping the investigative reports under wraps.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17773870&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=6
Further, she claims the deputy told other arriving officers that the man was armed and dangerous and that they should "shoot to kill" during the manhunt that followed.
The woman, Lavonda Carraway, 23, of Jacksonville, gives a drastically different version of the incidents that took place June 18 in Greenfield, when sheriff's deputy Clifford E. Elliott pulled over her family's van for speeding.
Carraway's story flies in the face of claims that Elliott made after a grand jury hearing on Jan. 11. Elliott had said through his attorney, Elliott Turpin of Carrollton, that he fired two warning shots into the ground and not in the direction of the boyfriend, Joshua E. Wilson, 23. He also claims Wilson was armed.
The grand jury refused to indict Elliott on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and official misconduct, but Carraway said she was not asked to appear before the jury and did not know it had met until she read it in the newspaper.
Carraway said she's wanted to give the family's version of events for weeks but kept waiting for police and prosecutors to release their official reports of the investigation, which she said support her account.
Greene County State's Attorney Matt Goetten said he did not have a copy of the reports and referred to Special Appellate Prosecutor Charles Zalar, who declined to release the reports, saying he would be exempt from a Freedom of Information request. Illinois State Police said Thursday it would release the reports, acting on an FOI request, but would send them by mail.
Elliott has been on administrative leave since the incident, which prompted a massive manhunt for Wilson, who eluded capture and turned himself in at Illinois State Police District 18 headquarters in Litchfield.
At the time of the incident, Wilson was out on bond on charges of home invasion and aggravated battery in Jacksonville. Under terms of his bond, Wilson was not to leave his home without notifying the Morgan County Probation Department. After going to Greene County without prior permission, his bond was revoked. He remained jailed until pleading guilty Nov. 8 to the felony offenses that netted him a six-year prison sentence.
Goetten turned the investigation of the shooting over to Zalar, who reviewed the State Police investigative report, which included a videotape recorded by the squad car's camera.
Zalar said that, as a special prosecutor appointed by the court, he falls under the judicial branch and is not subject to Freedom of Information requests.
"Even if I could turn over the report, I would not do so at this time as it is my understanding that the (Greene County) sheriff may have administrative disciplinary action pending," Zalar said.
The deputy claims that Wilson, while fleeing, had his hand on a weapon, putting the deputy in a position where he had to fire, so he fired two warning shots into the ground.
Carraway said the family was returning from a trip to East St. Louis, where they had picked up other family members. In the van were she and Wilson; the couple's children, a 6-month-old daughter and a one-and-a-half-year-old son; a 17-year-old niece; and two boys, ages 12 and 13.
"We were on our way back from East St. Louis, and I guess it was about 7 p.m. when we got about to the Ford dealership (on Illinois 267) in Greenfield when Joshua was stopped by a cop. The officer said Joshua had been speeding and asked us all to get out of the car.
"The officer had his hand on his holster, and as I was getting the baby seat out of the car, he took Joshua to the back of the trunk and asked him if he had any weapons. He patted him down, then asked about any warrants, and that's when Josh took off running."
Carraway said that a second deputy who had pulled up and a woman who lived near the scene both saw what followed.
"It happened so fast. The officer (Elliott) was standing so close to me I could have used my arm to reach out and touch him, and he had already pulled out his gun and started to fire. All of us began screaming and yelling. Josh was running for his life as that officer shot at him. He didn't say halt or nothing."
When the deputy began firing, the second officer's mouth "just fell down" in shock, she said.
Carraway said the shooting drew lots of attention and that residents and other police officers immediately began showing up.
Carraway said she believes the deputy shot four or five times at Wilson, She said she didn't know if he'd gotten on his radio or what but that suddenly cars and trucks and people came out of the woodwork.
Elliott told those arriving that they had a convicted felon on their hands, "that he was armed and dangerous and they should shoot to kill," she said. She said the comment was directed in general at people arriving and that she didn't know if they were all off-duty police, some residents or a mix.
Later, as family members were at Greenfield Police Department while police were hunting for Wilson, she said another deputy repeated Elliott's "shoot to kill" order.
"We were so happy to get out of that town early the next morning, you just don't know," she said.
Carraway said Wilson passed a lie detector test, stating that he had no weapon on him.
"I offered to take one, too, but the Illinois State Police said it wasn't necessary," she said.
Carraway said she was not notified that the grand jury was being convened or that Wilson had been brought from prison to testify at the grand jury.
Carraway said she finally decided to go public after learning that prosecutors were keeping the investigative reports under wraps.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17773870&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_id=25271&rfi=6