Anthony Aguilera Not Guilty shooting man in back

[WaTcHeR]

09.15.2006 - LAWTON, Okla. - A Comanche County jury has found a former Lawton police officer not guilty in the shooting of a drunken driving suspect.

Officer Anthony Aguilera was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for shooting Jesse Robinson in the back in February 2005.

Robinson survived the shooting.

Defense attorney J-W Coyle says the jury deliberated about two hours before finding Aguilera innocent.

Aguilera says he shot in self-defense after Robinson attacked him.

Aguilera was fired after the shooting.

www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5412620

[Dwayne]

Officer Aguilera is my brother-in-law. In February 2005, he pulled over a vehicle on a routine DUI stop. He administered a field sobriety test, which the suspect failed. After calling twice for back-up, which showed up only long enough to watch the field sobriety test and then help him place handcuffs on the suspect, Tony placed him in the back of the cruiser. At the suspect’s request, Tony called his girlfriend so she could come get the car – he was trying to be nice and help these people out instead of impounding the car. He assured the girlfriend that the guy was okay, just drunk (it was later determined his blood alcohol level was .257!!!). While he was filling out paperwork in the front seat, he noticed that the suspect had moved the handcuffs below down his back and got them stuck below his feet; his knees were pressed tightly against his chest and he was unable to breathe. Tony immediately opened the back door and tried to readjust the handcuffs so the guy could breathe, but instead was kicked in the chest and knocked out of the car. When he regained his balance, he found himself face-to-face with the suspect, who began hitting him about the head and reaching for his weapon. The suspect fled on foot and Tony gave chase. The suspect again turned and hit him in his head, turning to run again. Tony fired his Tazer, which only angered the guy and did not put him down like it was supposed to do. The guy turned and again started hitting him. Finally, out of breath and energy, afraid for his life, Tony fired his weapon twice to stop the suspect (a previously convicted child rapist). It was 2:00 a.m. and it was very dark. All he could see was the guy’s outline; it looked to him like the guy was facing him, but he admits he couldn’t be sure (after all, this all happened in about 3 seconds); but he did know that he couldn’t keep the suspect from taking his weapon if he attacked him again. The suspect ran into the darkness and was found by his girlfriend a few blocks away (the same girlfriend Tony had called in an effort to be courteous). Tony got on his radio, reported the escape and indicated the suspect was possibly wounded. Moments later, police were coming in from every direction, and the suspect was located in someone’s backyard and taken by ambulance to the hospital.



The whirlwind started there. Tony was instructed by his Captain to write up the DUI, but not to put anything in his report about firing his weapon. He tried to tell the Captain what happened, but the Captain said, “don’t tell me.” NOBODY every asked Tony what happened. The next thing you know, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney (who was at the time involved in a scandal regarding a wayward Judge, his mistress, and methamphetamine), decided to prosecute Tony for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Tony was villified by the local media and was placed on unpaid administrative leave pending his trial. Of course, the State delayed the trial for 19 months, placing the lives of Tony and his family on hold. During the trial, his Captain, when questioned by Tony’s attorney, admitted he, too, would have shot the suspect under the same circumstances. Finally, on September 13, 2006, Tony was found NOT GUILTY by a jury of his peers. Wow – finally, we thought, justice has been done!!! Boy, were we wrong.



On the other hand, the suspect was released (a convicted child rapist – “sex by instrumentation” as he admitted in court), none of the charges against him (including assault on a police officer) were ever prosecuted, and he was paid a hefty six figure settlement to go away. At the time of the attack, he was a registered sex offender in Texas, but he was living in Oklahoma, a felony, but he was not prosecuted for that either. He has had at least three (that we know about) DUI arrests since this incident and has still not been prosecuted for any of those.



Meanwhile my brother-in-law, who was completely innocent, continues to be being abused by the system he swore to serve. He still faces an administrative investigation by the City of Lawton, which will most likely result in his termination as they are still trying to wipe the egg off their faces for having handled this whole thing so ineptly. Although he is due 19 months of back-pay, do you think they’re paying up? No – they are threatening that his termination, if it occurs, will be retroactive to February 2005. This man served 20 years in the United States Military on the Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He fought in Dessert Storm. After retirement from the military, he served on the Duncan, Oklahoma, Police Department and was then recruited by the Lawton Police Department. He had been a police officer for seven years at the time of this incident. He served the citizens of this country and then the citizens of the City of Lawton, only to be told he was not permitted to act in his own defense when confronted by someone intent on doing him harm.



There is so much more to this that I cannot express here, but anyone who has seen the details has said it boils their blood and something should be done. Can you believe he has still not been asked by the City of Lawton, the City Attorney, or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to tell his side of the story? He has never been asked for a formal statement from the police. They are still trying to ruin the life of this very good man as well as his family. Keep in mind that what has happened to Tony could happen to any police officer (if they lived in Lawton, I guess)