Post by KC on Feb 7, 2006 23:04:57 GMT -5
02/07/2006 - A veteran Jacksonville police officer faces disciplinary action for failing to act when an agitated hit-and-run suspect last year crawled into a watery drainage pipe and died as rescuers stood by without attempting a rescue for more than 20 minutes.
In a report released Friday, Internal Affairs investigators in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office found that Officer Winn Winfrey, on the force more than 30 years, failed to take actions he should have as the man was unresponsive with his face in inches of water.
Winfrey and Officer Bradley Emerson were the first to arrive at the scene when Mark Henderson, 31, crashed his truck into a camper in Mandarin on June 18, and then started acting erratically and went into the pipe under a driveway.
When rookie Emerson stripped off his gun belt, shirt and bullet-resistant vest and prepared to get Henderson, Winfrey stopped him, saying the man could be armed.
After firefighters arrived, Winfrey ordered them not to attempt a rescue, arguing with the ranking fire officer, Lt. Cynthia Williams, who insisted they get Henderson. When firefighters finally pulled the man out about 22 minutes after police first arrived and 19 minutes after the rescue unit arrived, Henderson wasn't breathing and had no pulse. He died two days later when taken off a ventilator.
Citing a chaotic and dangerous situation, police investigators nonetheless said Winfrey should have re-evaluated the possible threat after not seeing Henderson move for several minutes. Henderson's family said he suffered from seizures and an autopsy showed he had seizure medication and alcohol in his system at the time of the incident.
While delaying firefighters from rescuing Henderson, police also claimed at the scene they were waiting on a canine team to arrive and flush the man out of the pipe, although Henderson's actions didn't meet Sheriff's Office criteria for when a dog can be used in an apprehension, investigators noted. Winfrey said he planned on using the barking police dog as a bluffing technique that would force the man out.
But investigators said that by waiting for a canine team's arrival that he knew couldn't go in the pipe, rather than preparing another plan, Winfrey caused "unnecessary delay." They also noted Winfrey couldn't recall many conversations other witnesses who were present at the scene did, including a conversation Williams, the ranking fire official, recalled during which she said Winfrey told her Henderson's life was "expendable" compared to theirs.
Internal Affairs Lt. Christian Smith said Friday that Winfrey will get a written reprimand in his personnel file, the result of an investigation sparked by concerns from both Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel and Sheriff's Office officials after the incident.
Winfrey will have a chance to appeal the Sheriff's Office decision on the reprimand.
John Henderson, Mark Henderson's father, said Friday he had not heard of the Sheriff's Office finding but "obviously something went wrong" the night his son died.
As part of the probe, investigators cleared Emerson of the same charge of failing to take action, noting he prepared to rescue the man before Winfrey ordered him not to and that he spoke with witnesses and searched Henderson's pickup truck during the incident, trying other ways of handling the situation.
Also investigated was whether Winfrey tried to interfere with the internal probe after Williams reported the officer went to her fire station and discussed the incident with another fire lieutenant who hadn't been at the scene that night on the same day some of the firefighters gave testimony to internal investigators. That charge wasn't upheld.
In a report released Friday, Internal Affairs investigators in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office found that Officer Winn Winfrey, on the force more than 30 years, failed to take actions he should have as the man was unresponsive with his face in inches of water.
Winfrey and Officer Bradley Emerson were the first to arrive at the scene when Mark Henderson, 31, crashed his truck into a camper in Mandarin on June 18, and then started acting erratically and went into the pipe under a driveway.
When rookie Emerson stripped off his gun belt, shirt and bullet-resistant vest and prepared to get Henderson, Winfrey stopped him, saying the man could be armed.
After firefighters arrived, Winfrey ordered them not to attempt a rescue, arguing with the ranking fire officer, Lt. Cynthia Williams, who insisted they get Henderson. When firefighters finally pulled the man out about 22 minutes after police first arrived and 19 minutes after the rescue unit arrived, Henderson wasn't breathing and had no pulse. He died two days later when taken off a ventilator.
Citing a chaotic and dangerous situation, police investigators nonetheless said Winfrey should have re-evaluated the possible threat after not seeing Henderson move for several minutes. Henderson's family said he suffered from seizures and an autopsy showed he had seizure medication and alcohol in his system at the time of the incident.
While delaying firefighters from rescuing Henderson, police also claimed at the scene they were waiting on a canine team to arrive and flush the man out of the pipe, although Henderson's actions didn't meet Sheriff's Office criteria for when a dog can be used in an apprehension, investigators noted. Winfrey said he planned on using the barking police dog as a bluffing technique that would force the man out.
But investigators said that by waiting for a canine team's arrival that he knew couldn't go in the pipe, rather than preparing another plan, Winfrey caused "unnecessary delay." They also noted Winfrey couldn't recall many conversations other witnesses who were present at the scene did, including a conversation Williams, the ranking fire official, recalled during which she said Winfrey told her Henderson's life was "expendable" compared to theirs.
Internal Affairs Lt. Christian Smith said Friday that Winfrey will get a written reprimand in his personnel file, the result of an investigation sparked by concerns from both Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel and Sheriff's Office officials after the incident.
Winfrey will have a chance to appeal the Sheriff's Office decision on the reprimand.
John Henderson, Mark Henderson's father, said Friday he had not heard of the Sheriff's Office finding but "obviously something went wrong" the night his son died.
As part of the probe, investigators cleared Emerson of the same charge of failing to take action, noting he prepared to rescue the man before Winfrey ordered him not to and that he spoke with witnesses and searched Henderson's pickup truck during the incident, trying other ways of handling the situation.
Also investigated was whether Winfrey tried to interfere with the internal probe after Williams reported the officer went to her fire station and discussed the incident with another fire lieutenant who hadn't been at the scene that night on the same day some of the firefighters gave testimony to internal investigators. That charge wasn't upheld.