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Post by KC on Aug 7, 2006 0:23:02 GMT -5
Officer Chad Butler August 06, 2006 - Harlan, Iowa — A man killed by a sheriff's deputy led the officer on a high-speed chase along remote country roads because he didn't want to spend the night in jail for traffic violations, the victim's 13-year-old daughter testified Wednesday. After seeing the patrol car of Shelby County Deputy Chad Butler turn and follow him with lights flashing, William Jens said to his daughter, Angela, "Let's see if we can try and lose him," she told jurors. The chase ended after about seven miles when Jens' daughter said she persuaded him to stop. Within seconds of pulling over, Butler rushed to the car, broke the driver's side window with a steel baton, and fired a single bullet into Jens' head, according to the witness. "When my dad stopped the truck, I heard the glass shatter and then something hit my head. I looked at him. He was dead ... I started screaming." Butler is charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting Jens, a 41-year-old trapper and farm worker. Jury selection concluded Tuesday afternoon, and the trial began Wednesday morning. During opening statements, the prosecution alleged that Butler used unnecessary force when he fired at Jens and that several officers were on the way to provide backup. Assistant Attorney General Charles Thoman acknowledged to jurors that Jens was driving illegally during the chase. "Mr. Jens knew if he got caught driving when he wasn't supposed to he was going to spend at least a night in the county jail." But the circumstances did not justify Butler's firing, Thoman said. "I expect the evidence will show on a cold winter night in rural Shelby County Iowa, Chad Butler shot and killed Dwayne Jens who was unarmed at the time." Lori Falk-Goss, Butler's attorney, told jurors that Butler feared for his life after the high-speed chase and that he acted according to his training when he saw Jens reach for something shiny. "He made that decision to protect his life. He made that decision, me or him," she said. If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Butler faces 10 years in prison. The jury will also have the choice of convicting Butler of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Cigarette still burning Sitting almost directly across from the man who killed her father less than half a year ago, Angela Jens appeared calm and unemotional as she testified about the night of the shooting. More of the story here: www.courttv.com/trials/butler/061505_ctv.html |
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Post by BIOHAZARD on Aug 7, 2006 1:45:31 GMT -5
The Verdict
A jury found sheriff's deputy Chad Butler not guilty of voluntary manslaughter for the shooting of an unarmed motorist after a high-speed chase across rural roads.
Hmm...the suspect's daughter testified that her father was reaching for a cellphone when he was shot. In the law enforcement community, this is a furtive movement. If you just got into a car chase with a guy and he reached into the seat, wouldn't you be afraid?
Tell all the fact next time
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Post by Photoman on Aug 7, 2006 5:45:29 GMT -5
The Verdict A jury found sheriff's deputy Chad Butler not guilty of voluntary manslaughter for the shooting of an unarmed motorist after a high-speed chase across rural roads. Hmm...the suspect's daughter testified that her father was reaching for a cellphone when he was shot. In the law enforcement community, this is a furtive movement. If you just got into a car chase with a guy and he reached into the seat, wouldn't you be afraid? Tell all the fact next time YOU EVER BEEN SHOT WITH A CELL PHONE? Whatever the jury heard (which was all the cops version and none of the dead man's version (Kind of hard to testify when your in a coffin) was one sided just as many cases that make it to trial! Are you posting this on the job? AT 2:45 AM either your on the job or you can't sleep due to the haunting memories keeping up up due to you fucking them over! BTW you cops have no grammar skills do you - even with a clearly listed SPELL CHECK you refuse to use it - almost every post from cops on this forum has either grammatical or spelling errors.... man what educated people you are - I would love to see the reports you fill out! |
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Post by GUEST on Aug 7, 2006 6:11:56 GMT -5
furtive
adj 1: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a lurking prowler"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"; "someone skulking in the shadows" [syn: lurking, skulking, sneak(a), sneaky, stealthy, surreptitious] 2: secret and sly or sordid; "backstairs gossip"; "his low backstairs cunning"- A.L.Guerard; "backstairs intimacies"; "furtive behavior" [syn: back-stair, backstairs]
After breaking out the driver side window with a baton - how could the officer even tell what he was grabbing for or even if he was grabbing for anything? This explanation does not even hold water dude
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Post by JF on Aug 7, 2006 9:56:01 GMT -5
"BIOHAZARD" is supposedly a cop in Texas, maybe in your neck of the woods Photoman. At that time in the morning I would say he's probably on duty, being paid by tax payers dollars to surf the web.
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Post by PHOTOMAN on Aug 7, 2006 11:03:58 GMT -5
"BIOHAZARD" is supposedly a cop in Texas, maybe in your neck of the woods Photoman. At that time in the morning I would say he's probably on duty, being paid by tax payers dollars to surf the web. Evidently so dumb he does not realize that the IP address is logged - maybe the owner of this board can post the IP address - I have a program that will ping and trace it and we can find out for sure! Admin Please post the IP address of BIOHAZARD - I want to see - if he did this from a PC that is owned by the tax payers I will report it to his Mayor - the one that signs his check! Maybe we can get one snot nosed cop off their payroll! |
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Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 7, 2006 15:50:50 GMT -5
This one of the first stories on the incident involving Deputy Chad Butler.
02.04.2005 - A grand jury's felony indictment against a Shelby County sheriff's deputy who shot and killed an unarmed speeder stunned residents and the officer's boss, who on Thursday described the deputy as a "real good person."
"Of course it was a real shock," said Sheriff Gene Cavenaugh, who heads the nine-member department. "He's very dedicated to his job. We've never gone through anything like this."
On Wednesday, grand jurors charged Deputy Chad Butler, 28, with voluntary manslaughter in the Dec. 30 shooting death of Dwayne Jens, 41, of Hancock.
Jens was unarmed, according to investigators. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Butler had been chasing him for speeding.
The charge, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years if Butler is found guilty, may be a first in Iowa because of its severity. Law officers almost never are charged in shootings in Iowa.
The last officer to be indicted in a fatal shooting was Davenport Police Officer Randy Willems in 1990, records indicate. He was charged with willful injury for shooting a man in a park. A jury acquitted him.
Jens' father, Herbert Jens, said he still is "very upset, very deeply hurt" by the deputy's actions.
"I'm sure he did something wrong, but I have no way of knowing what," Jens said Thursday. "This is a black eye for the county. It doesn't look good. It's pretty serious when you go and shoot a man who wasn't armed."
Cavenaugh said Butler, who had been with the department 51/2 years, has been on leave and was released without bond. He could not be reached for comment.
Drake University law professor Bob Rigg said the grand jurors sent a signal that the officer went too far.
"Grand juries have traditionally not indicted police officers in Iowa," Rigg said. "But if he walked up and shot someone in a vehicle . . . he may have been lucky they came back with only voluntary manslaughter and not something more."
The Omaha World-Herald quoted a 70-year-old grand juror as saying a videotape from the deputy's cruiser helped the panel reach its decision.
The juror said Butler was yelling as he moved to Jens' pickup truck, according to the article. He said the officer's baton broke the truck's window before the shooting, but it wasn't clear what was said because there was the blare of sirens.
Angela Jens, 12, who was in the vehicle with her father, was struck by flying glass, according to Herbert Jens.
"She got out of the truck with fragments of glass in her hair," Jens said. "She was screaming and crying. The deputy asked my son, 'Sir, are you all right? Are you all right?' Angie was so mad she said, 'He's dead.' "
The daughter said earlier that her father had a cell phone in his hand at the time of the shooting.
Dwayne Jens had been checking raccoon and coyote traps before he was pursued for speeding, the elder Jens said Thursday.
"Knowing Dwayne, he tried to get away from him. When he saw he couldn't get away, he parked the vehicle in a farm driveway," Herbert Jens said.
Known as "Mountain Man" among friends, the single father made a living trapping and selling pelts and doing odd jobs.
Angela and her two brothers live with grandparents.
Meanwhile, the investigation into another western Iowa police shooting continued Thursday. Mills County Attorney Marci Prier said she still was awaiting toxicology reports from the Division of Criminal Investigation before deciding whether to hand the case to grand jurors.
In that Dec. 29 shooting, Brett Pace, a rural Mills County man suspected of weapons violations, was unarmed when law officers burst into his home and shot him twice in the chest. Pace, 46, had been watching television, officials said.
Council Bluffs Police Officer Tim Fullmer, who was part of a drug task force that had gone to Pace's home, fired the fatal shots, investigators said.
A lawyer for the family has called the shooting a murder.
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Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 7, 2006 15:54:11 GMT -5
The Verdict A jury found sheriff's deputy Chad Butler not guilty of voluntary manslaughter for the shooting of an unarmed motorist after a high-speed chase across rural roads. Hmm...the suspect's daughter testified that her father was reaching for a cellphone when he was shot. In the law enforcement community, this is a furtive movement. If you just got into a car chase with a guy and he reached into the seat, wouldn't you be afraid? Tell all the fact next time We sort of figure if a person wishes to continue reading the story, they will click on the link provided for the rest of the story. PoliceCrimes.com actually did have the story on its site of the not guilty verdict. Here it is- 06/27/2005 - Nebraska - The tape of an officer-involved shooting last December was released Monday, and it shows how quickly the officer fired his weapon. A jury Friday cleared Shelby County, Iowa, Deputy Chad Butler of voluntary manslaughter charges. Butler was charged in the death of Dwayne Jens on Dec. 30. Jens, of Hancock, was initially stopped for speeding after a six-mile pursuit. The tape was presented to the jury during testimony last week. Some may find the images disturbing, but it was the pivotal piece of evidence in the case. The jury watched it over and over. The tape shows a seven-minute chase along dark county roads. Occasionally, Jens' truck can be seen as Butler pursues it. After seven minutes, Jens pulled over. The rest of the tape is just seconds long. It shows Butler approaching the truck and firing. Then, Jens' 12-year-old daughter exits the truck holding her head. Prosecutors told the jury that Butler acted emotionally, and that Jens' hands were up when he shot him. Butler's attorneys instructed the jury to view the tape again, convinced they would see that Butler had reason to believe his life was in danger. Butler testified that he had no idea Jens' daughter was in the truck. Despite his acquittal, Butler is not yet back on the job in Harlan. He needs to clear an evaluation, but hopes to return to work soon. |
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Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 7, 2006 16:03:40 GMT -5
"BIOHAZARD" is supposedly a cop in Texas, maybe in your neck of the woods Photoman. At that time in the morning I would say he's probably on duty, being paid by tax payers dollars to surf the web. Evidently so dumb he does not realize that the IP address is logged - maybe the owner of this board can post the IP address - I have a program that will ping and trace it and we can find out for sure! Admin Please post the IP address of BIOHAZARD - I want to see - if he did this from a PC that is owned by the tax payers I will report it to his Mayor - the one that signs his check! Maybe we can get one snot nosed cop off their payroll! Your request has been passed on to the Admin. of the site. I believe the Admin. has said that he would not post I.P. address's of anyone that visits the site even if they are a police officer, unless they are at "work" using "tax payers dollars" to surf the web. If this is the case he will post the I.P. Address. To see other "government" officials and police officers surfing the web at the expensive of the tax payers, you can click on below to view. policecrime.proboards28.com/index.cgi?board=qqqqqqqq&action=display&thread=1144901874 |
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Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 7, 2006 16:06:07 GMT -5
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Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 7, 2006 16:42:27 GMT -5
After doing a "little" research I have come up with the following. From what I gather Deputy Chad Butler had changed his story, from being an accident that the gun went off to shooting the man because he feared for his life. Deputy Butler allegedly gave two different versions to the state investigator. I'm sure a police officer always has a better chance in court with immunity from the government if he shoots and kills someone while fearing for his life versus the gun going off accidentally. Accidents don't happen if your finger isn't on the trigger. As Deputy Butler approached the truck he allegedly had his ASP in his right hand and his firearm in his left hand. Deputy Butler is supposedly right handed. The "accident" allegedly occurred as Deputy Butley had struck the window and at the same time his firearm discharged. The daughter received $300,000 for a wrongful death civil suit. My question is what kind of an idiot rushes up to a vehicle that is involved in a felony pursuit, without waiting for back up? Did Deputy Butler follow department policy? Does a department allow their officers to risk their life by rushing up to a vehicle like that? Deputy Butlers "back up" was only "seconds" away from arriving at the scene. I don't think that was the brightest thing for Deputy Butler to do, he put himself at risk. Is that the way he was trained? I seriously doubt it! Below is a link of another incident that Deputy Chad Butler was involved in. Deputy Butler not only doesn't follow proper police procedures, but Deputy Chad Butler has no regards what so ever to the U.S. Constitution! policecrime.proboards28.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=coptalk&thread=1154986705&page=1 |
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Post by PHOTOMAN on Aug 7, 2006 17:58:59 GMT -5
Thanks Watcher - I will stay on top of this also - I found the same information concerning the $300,000 award his daughter received.
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