Harrison said he is expecting a lawsuit. Hours before Ayers was killed, police say Johanna Barrett sold undercover officer Chance Oxner $50 worth of crack cocaine. He died at the hospital. And using a SWAT team to go after a small-time drug dealer is bad police work. Another then opened fire, killing him. But a lot more shooting was done by the officers: a total of 39 shots were fired, several of which hit her. The woman who was in the car with Ayers was taken into custody and faces drug charges, Bankhead said. And even today, police acknowledge he was not using or trafficking in illicit drugs. Had the narcotics officers who confronted Ayers been wearing uniforms that made them easily recognizable as cops, its possible that he would not have fled and would still be alive today. No drugs and nothing else illegal was found in Ayers' car, Bankhead said, "even though what occurred would make any undercover officer working drugs think that was a possibility. A 34-year-old Snellville woman has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting that occurred at her place of employment in the Centerville area on Friday. Spotting the vehicle parked outside a gas station and recognizing Ayers as the man they had seen earlier, officers rushed to question him, blocking him in as he started to back out of a parking space. Mellontree, in a 1992 interview, told the New York Times: People cant accept the idea that a 84-year-old grandmother gets shot in her bed, and its not even worth a negligence charge.. "People are so ramped up and emotional," Mike Ayers of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told the AJC. Dixon, who was a paraplegic and was battling pneumonia, was in her bedroom when narcotics officers raided her home at 2am; an informant claimed he had bought drugs from Dixons granddaughter. In 1999, Al Robison (president of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas), denounced the killing of Navarro as a very clear illustration of the insanity of our current drug policy. The officers who raided Navarros home violated department policy by failing to obtain a search warrant. 2023 Baptist News Global. By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. An 18-member grand jury in Stephens County in northeast Georgia ruled that the officer who fired two shots that fatally wounded Jonathan Ayers, pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia, Ga., was justified in using lethal force because he reasonably believed he was in physical danger. When Ayers left a gas station/convenience store after using an ATM and saw three plainclothes officers pointing their guns at him, he had no idea they were cops. Previous story (with links to earlier coverage), Widow files lawsuit in police shooting of slain Baptist pastor, Review: Second Thoughts About the Second Coming, West Virginia GOP Majority House OKs Religious Freedom Bill, 30 Years Later, Waco Siege Still Resonates Especially Among Anti-Government Extremists. Rickman was unavailable for comment Friday. A Stephens County grand jury decided that narcotics officers Billy Shane Harrison and Kyle Bryant were justified in shooting Jonathan Ayers, 28, pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Lavonia, Ga., in a botched drug arrest on Sept. 1, 2009. Ayers widow, Abby Ayers, lives in Gainesville and has retained a local attorney in the case. 6. He died four hours later at the local hospital of his gunshot wound. Grand jury clears officers in minister shooting, Officials claim law enforcement fatally shot pastor after he drove car in threatening way, SPONSORED: How to start a hiking, backpacking habit in 2022. WebLOGAN A 29-year-old Ogden man has been arrested for allegedly shooting at a group of teenagers in Providence Canyon. Attorney General Eric Holder recently addressed the war on drugs during a speech for the American Bar Associations annual meeting, calling for the United States to seriously reevaluate its harsh policy of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent, low-level drug offenses. In fact, the 75-year-old minister was a substance abuse counselor in Boston and had a long history of doing good work in that citys African-American community. The decision to raid the Paz home, according to Ankeny, was made after narcotics officers found some bills and Department of Motor Vehicle records containing the familys address among the possessions of a drug suspect named Marcos Beltrn. It ought to cast more doubt on the already dubious notion that police shootings should only be investigated by other police officers. GAINESVILLE, Ga. (ABP) Two north Georgia police officers have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against them for their use of deadly force in a 2009 shooting that claimed the life of a Baptist pastor. Copyright 2010 - 2023 CacheValleyDaily.com LLC, all rights reserved. Not surprisingly, no drugs were found in either Ayers vehicle or on his dead body, although one of the officers claimed that before the killing, Barrett had sold him $50 worth of crack cocaine. Mike Franklin with The Torch, the Church of God located in Demorest, Ga., knows Harrison and Oxner and also knew Ayers. According to a report of the proceedings on Rickman's website, the Stephens County district attorney, whose office overseas the drug task force, explained to grand jurors his consideration of legal and ethical obligations to remain the chief prosecuting officer in the case, including consultation with members of Ayers' family. Published: Jul. According to a 1,100-page Georgia Bureau of Investigation report made public after the Dec. 15-18 grand jury probe, undercover officers were in the process of purchasing crack cocaine from a known drug user in hopes of identifying her supplier. "Tell your boss we demand justice for these murdering thugs,'" was one of the first messages left for him, Rickman said. He called the charges a self-defense case but didnt provide any further details. Smith and Junnier both pled guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter; Smith also pled guilty to perjury and admitted he planted the marijuana in Johnstons house. Apologists for the killing claimed that Mena (a Mexican immigrant) had a gun, and LeRoy Lemos (a community activist) responded: If police hadn't gotten the wrong house, Mena would be alive. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He shouldn't have been killed," Turpin told the AJC. A cafeteria-style restaurant leads this list of 12 popular spots, SPONSORED: See the Great Smoky Mountains in style. This would have been a grossly disproportionate way for these cops to have approached Barrett, their actual suspect, much less a guy they sought to question only about the 10 minutes he'd just spent in the car with her. Confusion and self-preservation is not only understandable, it ought to be predictable, even expected. Idexx Laboratories Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ayers is taking a medical leave of absence following what the company said was a serious bicycling accident on June 27. In February, I posted about a settlement in the death of Jonathan Ayers, an innocent pastor that this same drug task force killed in a drug operation in 2009. WebThe shooting in a convenience store parking lot, captured on video by a surveillance camera, has been the subject of an unrelenting debate that has, at times, been ugly in this A federal jury in Gainesville, Ga., said a reasonable officer would have realized that Ayers' Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. Rickman also cleared the cops in the Ayers case. Its also a bit much to call Thonetheva a terrorist shortly after his own officers have just burned a baby. The task force followed Ayers to a convenience store, where he went in to get money from an ATM. The officers saw the woman in a car with Ayers and saw what they believed was a drug transaction, Bankhead said. (She had allegedly sold an undercover officer $50 worth of cocaine.) At an inquest, a predominantly white jury decided that the shooting was accidental and that Baggett should not be charged with anything. Friends said Ayers had been ministering to the woman trying to convince her to get off drugs. Drug raids are often conducted based on information from informants (many of them drug users and/or low-level drug dealers), but all too often, the information is unreliable and costs innocent victims their lives. Ayers widow believes her husband thought he was being robbed and tried to get away. The two outside prosecutors were asked by Rickman to review the case and talk to the grand jury about the case and the law. "He was an unarmed man. In the end, the jury decided the shooting was justified. Ayers maintained a blog, in which he wrote that he had three loves in life: "Jesus Christ, my wife Abby, and the Church.". She also received Harrison fired shots, and one struck Ayers in the abdomen. Ayers then pulled into a nearby gas station to withdraw money from an ATM. Enter your email below to start! The Rev. Most damning: The police officer who killed Ayers wasn't even authorized to be carrying a gun or a badge. Jonathan Ayers, a 28-year-old Baptist minister from northern Georgia. Holder acknowledged that too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long and for no truly good law enforcement reason, and he pointed out that according to one report, black males convicted in drug cases typically receive sentences that are 20% longer than the sentences imposed on white males for similar offenses. Ayers likely had his windows up and his air conditioning on. 3.1.2023 8:00 AM, J.D. These officers jumped from an SUV waving their guns commando-style over a possible $50 drug transaction. This testimony persuaded the grand jury not to indict the officers who killed Ayers. This article originally appeared on Alternet. 10. Three officers, all undercover, got out of the vehicle and pointed their guns at Ayers. Shes the widow of Jonathan Ayers, a Northeast Georgia pastor fatally shot by then-Stephens County Deputy Billy Shane Harrison in September 2009. 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Authorities have identified a man accused of standing on Interstate 71 northbound and shooting at vehicles Friday morning near the Gemini Place interchange. Garcia had been in the Army since October 2002. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. After causing Spruills death, the officers realized that they had just killed an innocent person. The pastor may have fled the police, the grand jury concluded, because he feared his reputation would be ruined if his relationship with Barrett were exposed. They say Ayers backed his car into one agent and another fired at him as he maneuvered his car in a threatening manner. He says he and his wife have been followed, even down the mile-long dirt road to their house. WebAn 18-member grand jury in Stephens County in northeast Georgia ruled that the officer who fired two shots that fatally wounded Jonathan Ayers, pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, N.C., before reporting to the 173rd in July 2006. "We are in the process of gathering all the facts surrounding this terrible incident," Stroberg said. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Bob Allen is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press. I knew then that no matter what the investigation showed, it was going to be a terrible situation, said Brian Rickman, the district attorney for the Mountain Judicial Circuit, which includes Stephens and two other counties. Watch surveillance video of Ayers' car hitting officer . WebA federal jury awarded more than $2.3 million Thursday afternoon to the family of a Toccoa pastor shot and killed by a sheriffs deputy. More astonishing, Harrison apparently had no training at all in the use of lethal force. Michael Walker, the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement officer who fired the fatal shot, was charged with voluntary manslaughter but was acquitted by a San Jose jury in 2005. The person I blame in this whole thing is the person selling the drugs, Terrell said. The pastor, understandably, attempted to escape. But with the war on drugs, the concept of innocent until proven guilty has fallen by the wayside on countless occasions. | WebJonathan was shot by police in 2009. That substance abuser was a police informant who gave Boston narcotics officers the address of an alleged drug dealer who lived in the same building as Williams, but a SWAT team raided the wrong apartmentWilliams apartmentand after being violently shoved onto the ground and handcuffed, the minister began to vomit. A total of 30 bullets were fired, and Navarro was shot 12 times. In Denver, one such person was 45-year-old Ismael Mena, who was shot and killed by a SWAT team during a no-knock raid on September 29, 1999. Her lawsuit claims that the officers decision to wait until he returned to his car and then - in video captured on a surveillance camera - speed to a stop beside him and jump out of a black SUV wearing plain clothes with weapons drawn would cause a reasonable person to assume they were not police but criminals. SALON is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon.com, LLC. The shooting in a convenience store parking lot, captured on video by a surveillance camera, has been the subject of an unrelenting debate that has, at times, been ugly in this northeast Georgia town of 9,000. Worse, the man they pounced upon wasn't the target of their investigation. One such victim was 22-year-old Pedro Oregon Navarro. If the story ended there, it would merely be enough to boil your blood. A cafeteria-style restaurant leads this list of 12 popular spots, SPONSORED: See the Great Smoky Mountains in style. Chavalia later said he thought shots were coming from that bedroom, but the fact that he killed an unarmed woman holding a baby was inexcusable, especially in light of the fact that Wilson, according to her sister Tania Wilson, was not involved in drug sales herself. On January 4, 2008, narcotics officer Joseph Chavalia shot and killed 26-year-old Tarika Wilson in Lima, Ohio. The grand jury also heard from Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter and former Stephens County District Attorney Mike Crawford. On one side are those who believe the district attorney, the Stephens County sheriff, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, area law enforcement and the grand jury were corrupted because they were determined to protect one of their own. 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The initial civil complaint also states Harrison had not met the training requirements necessary to act as a peace officer, and was not acting in his scope of authority on the date of the shooting. In the end, Ayers was innocent, and a federal jury awarded his widow a $2 million settlement. By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. And while Johnston was lying on the floor dying, Smith handcuffed her. They pulled up behind him in an unmarked black SUV. Officers claimed Navarro had a gun and fired at them, but ballistics tests proved that all 30 shots were fired by the officers. And all three of them pled guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to violate her civil rights. But Abigail Ayers' civil suit (PDF) calls that assessment into question. When they approached to question him, Ayers reportedly tried to flee and his car struck one of the officers. A national expert on police shootings was consulted. Pedro Oregon Navarro; Houston, Texas, 1998. In hostage situations, for example, a SWAT team can save lives. Narcotics officers who kill innocent people in the war on drugs often dont even face suspensions, let alone criminal charges. Bob Claytor, pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Toccoa. Au total il y a 112 utilisateurs en ligne :: 3 enregistrs, 0 invisible et 109 invits (daprs le nombre dutilisateurs actifs ces 3 dernires minutes)Le record du nombre dutilisateurs en ligne est de 850, le 05 Avr 2016 19:55 Utilisateurs enregistrs: Google [Bot], Senuphile, Yahoo [Bot] 8. It was refreshing to hear an attorney general make those statements; also encouraging is a recent Rasmussen poll finding that 82% of Americans see the war on drugs as a failure. 345 homes proposed in this area at Hall-Gwinnett County line, Man indicted in strangling death, attorney says he maintains his innocence, These Hall high schools named Honor Schools for success in AP classes, Georgia Senate seeks to allow rural hospitals without permit. And not too many cases were it's obvious the shooting was bad or even unnecessary. The raid was conducted based on bad information from an informant, but a thorough search of the house turned up no evidence of drug dealingand an autopsy showed no evidence of drugs in Menas body. Barley didnt speak during the brief arraignment hearing. But the raid itself was conducted by the Habersham County Special Response Team. Associated Press articles: Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. The grand jury hearing was the most one-sided miscarriage of justice that I have ever heard of. Although Paz was a gun owner, he never shot at the officershe didnt live long enough. I can't get into that, but that's what we're looking at.". Heres when your childs school will get one. The complaint alleges that Officer Harrison, the cop who shot Ayers, wasn't even authorized to arrest him. A concussion grenade was thrown into the apartment; Spruill, a city employee who was getting ready to leave for work, suffered a heart attack and died. Barley was arraigned virtually before a judge in 1st District Court, appearing by web conference from jail Monday afternoon. Subscribe to Reason Roundup, a wrap up of the last 24 hours of news, delivered fresh each morning. We hope you will! The leader of veterinary diagnostics company IDEXX is out of commission because of a serious bicycle crash. Those were bad. 3. When they broke in, Johnston (who lived alone in a high-crime area of the city and kept a gun in her house for protection) assumed she was being the victim of a home invasion and fired a shot. And a Plains teen girl borrowed Jimmy Carters clothes. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on March 25, 1994, Williams efforts to help a substance abuser led to his death. 3.23.2010 7:00 AM. 3.1.2023 4:00 AM, John Stossel Ayers was shot in the liver and later died in a hospital operating room.
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