Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 16, 2007 13:44:44 GMT -5
Family members of an 18-year-old man killed by Detroit police after a brawl at the funeral of an alleged gangster told police commissioners Thursday that they want the officer suspended and prosecuted for murder.
"I charge you to prove that the actions of this officer were justified," Kia Jones, a friend of Artrell Dickerson, who was gunned down Monday, told commissioners and Chief Ella Bully-Cummings. "I charge you to prove that Artrell's death was not overkill."
Witnesses and reports obtained by the Free Press offer conflicting accounts of Monday's shooting.
Officer Kata-Ante Taylor, who has been with the force for almost 8 years, shot and killed Dickerson after police responded to an emergency call about fighting at the Cantrell Funeral Home on Mack Avenue in Detroit. About 250 people attended services for 23-year-old Dontell Martin, shot 13 times in a drive-by shooting Feb. 5.
Police officials describe Martin as a member of a gang called the White T-Shirt boys.
As officers pulled up to the funeral home about 2:15 p.m. Monday, a man reached under his shirt, pulled out a blue steel revolver, and passed it to Dickerson, reports said.
Dickerson took off running, police said, and Taylor followed.
One officer reported hearing five gunshots and said Dickerson was shot as he turned and pointed a handgun at Taylor. Police said a gun fell out of Dickerson's hand as he hit the ground.
A report by another officer says Taylor fired his gun four times -- while chasing Dickerson.
An autopsy report conducted by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office says Dickerson was shot three times -- twice in the back. The report doesn't indicate where the third shot hit.
Erica David, 25, a witness named in police reports, said in a telephone interview that Dickerson never turned around.
"The officer shot that boy in the back," she said.
Taylor did not return a call Thursday. He has been assigned to desk duty while the shooting is under investigation.
Dickerson's friend Jones, a 22-year-old Wayne State University medical student, went to Thursday's police commission meeting with 10 of Dickerson's family members to demand prosecution.
"Artrell Dickerson will not have died in vain," by the end of the investigation, she told the board, while crying.
Dickerson's older sister, Betty Dickerson, said her brother told family members he had to go to pay respects to a friend, but he never came home.
"There was no reason to shoot him dead," she said.
Dontell Martin's mother, Joanne Jackson, said she's still trying to get over the loss of her son, known to many as "D-Luv."
"Now, another child is dead, and I don't know why," she said.
What is clear, according to reports, is that when police initially arrived at the funeral home, the scene was chaotic.
One officer described a "large fight inside and outside Cantrell Funeral Home."
Jackson said she abruptly ended the funeral when a nephew arrived drunk at the service and became emotional at the sight of the open casket.
Erica David, who was inside the chapel, said the man started hugging the body and cursing.
When a minister asked him to quiet down, the man turned and said: "You don't know me to tell me to shut up," followed by more cursing.
There are differing accounts as to how out of control the service became.
David described the scene as a disturbance.
"He wanted to fight the minister," she said of Jackson's nephew. "There were a few people holding him back."
Jackson said she didn't see a fight.
"I closed the casket and left," she said.
Philippe Martinez, from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s office, read a letter at the funeral from the mayor expressing his sympathy and support for the family.
Police said Martin was killed Feb. 5 in front of Mai Tai nightclub on 8 Mile Road. No one has been arrested for his death.
At the time of his death, Martin had two cocaine-dealing convictions, a motor vehicle theft conviction and a receiving stolen property conviction on his record. He was on probation until 2008, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
He was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge in 2002 at a jury trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Erica David described Martin as extremely popular.
His funeral program read: "A true meaning of a born soldier."
"Some people say he was a bad seed," David said. "But he had a lot of homeboys."
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070216/NEWS01/702160346/1003
"I charge you to prove that the actions of this officer were justified," Kia Jones, a friend of Artrell Dickerson, who was gunned down Monday, told commissioners and Chief Ella Bully-Cummings. "I charge you to prove that Artrell's death was not overkill."
Witnesses and reports obtained by the Free Press offer conflicting accounts of Monday's shooting.
Officer Kata-Ante Taylor, who has been with the force for almost 8 years, shot and killed Dickerson after police responded to an emergency call about fighting at the Cantrell Funeral Home on Mack Avenue in Detroit. About 250 people attended services for 23-year-old Dontell Martin, shot 13 times in a drive-by shooting Feb. 5.
Police officials describe Martin as a member of a gang called the White T-Shirt boys.
As officers pulled up to the funeral home about 2:15 p.m. Monday, a man reached under his shirt, pulled out a blue steel revolver, and passed it to Dickerson, reports said.
Dickerson took off running, police said, and Taylor followed.
One officer reported hearing five gunshots and said Dickerson was shot as he turned and pointed a handgun at Taylor. Police said a gun fell out of Dickerson's hand as he hit the ground.
A report by another officer says Taylor fired his gun four times -- while chasing Dickerson.
An autopsy report conducted by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office says Dickerson was shot three times -- twice in the back. The report doesn't indicate where the third shot hit.
Erica David, 25, a witness named in police reports, said in a telephone interview that Dickerson never turned around.
"The officer shot that boy in the back," she said.
Taylor did not return a call Thursday. He has been assigned to desk duty while the shooting is under investigation.
Dickerson's friend Jones, a 22-year-old Wayne State University medical student, went to Thursday's police commission meeting with 10 of Dickerson's family members to demand prosecution.
"Artrell Dickerson will not have died in vain," by the end of the investigation, she told the board, while crying.
Dickerson's older sister, Betty Dickerson, said her brother told family members he had to go to pay respects to a friend, but he never came home.
"There was no reason to shoot him dead," she said.
Dontell Martin's mother, Joanne Jackson, said she's still trying to get over the loss of her son, known to many as "D-Luv."
"Now, another child is dead, and I don't know why," she said.
What is clear, according to reports, is that when police initially arrived at the funeral home, the scene was chaotic.
One officer described a "large fight inside and outside Cantrell Funeral Home."
Jackson said she abruptly ended the funeral when a nephew arrived drunk at the service and became emotional at the sight of the open casket.
Erica David, who was inside the chapel, said the man started hugging the body and cursing.
When a minister asked him to quiet down, the man turned and said: "You don't know me to tell me to shut up," followed by more cursing.
There are differing accounts as to how out of control the service became.
David described the scene as a disturbance.
"He wanted to fight the minister," she said of Jackson's nephew. "There were a few people holding him back."
Jackson said she didn't see a fight.
"I closed the casket and left," she said.
Philippe Martinez, from Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s office, read a letter at the funeral from the mayor expressing his sympathy and support for the family.
Police said Martin was killed Feb. 5 in front of Mai Tai nightclub on 8 Mile Road. No one has been arrested for his death.
At the time of his death, Martin had two cocaine-dealing convictions, a motor vehicle theft conviction and a receiving stolen property conviction on his record. He was on probation until 2008, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
He was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge in 2002 at a jury trial in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Erica David described Martin as extremely popular.
His funeral program read: "A true meaning of a born soldier."
"Some people say he was a bad seed," David said. "But he had a lot of homeboys."
www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070216/NEWS01/702160346/1003