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Family contests police shooting story
Brother: Cops fired too many shots for situation
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES
A Charles County sheriff's detective with the criminal investigations division, left, and a forensic technician investigate the area around a vehicle at the scene of an officer-involved shooting off of Nelson Point Road in Pisgah on Friday afternoon.
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A family member of the Pisgah man fatally shot last week by two sheriff's officers disagreed with the police account that his brother tried to grab a deputy's gun, saying on Tuesday that officers fired their weapons an unwarranted number of times.
The Charles County Sheriff's Office reported Cornelius Maurice Warren was shot after struggling with police and trying to flee a Friday afternoon traffic stop that had turned up a "large quantity" of marijuana in his Chevrolet Tahoe.
At about 3:25 p.m., sheriff's officers pulled Warren over at a gravel driveway less than a mile from his home on Nelson Point Road, stopping him for allegedly speeding. The officers learned there were drugs in his white sport utility vehicle and ordered Warren and a passenger out of the Tahoe, the report indicated. A third officer with a drug-sniffing dog was also called to the scene, said Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, and police found marijuana in the SUV.
The struggle with officers began when Warren reportedly tried to flee by jumping into the driver's seat and putting the SUV into gear, police reported.
When Warren attempted to grab an unholstered gun from one of the sheriff's officers, the deputy and a second officer fired on Warren, according to police.
A call went out over the police scanner around 3:45 p.m. for additional help at an "officer involved shooting." An officer was heard instructing someone to "get down on the ground."
At about 4 p.m., an officer told a police dispatcher that the victim had "four to the chest." It was unclear if the officer was speaking about gunshot wounds.
Sherwin Warren said he arrived at the scene minutes after his brother was shot. When he saw his brother's SUV, he started running toward the site of the shooting, but officers pulled him away and began cordoning off the area. Sherwin Warren said even from behind the police tape, he could see his brother was dead.
"I could tell he was already gone. His body was limp, and he was bleeding," he said.
An ambulance carried Cornelius Warren to Civista Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. Until rescue workers arrived, sheriff's officers had been using cardiopulmonary resuscitation in an attempt to revive Warren, Richardson said.
The sheriff's office has not released details about how the reported struggle between Warren and police unfolded or how many times he was shot.
"We're still in the process of obtaining interviews with everyone involved in the incident, and until we get all the information, we're not going to put out the information piece by piece," Richardson said.
The deputies have 10 days before they are required to give a statement to the sheriff's office, time they can use to consult an attorney, according to the provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, a Maryland law.
According to Sherwin Warren, several witnesses have disputed the police narrative of events.
Warren wouldn't disclose the identities of the witnesses, but said according to his information, the deputies continued firing on Cornelius even after he raised his hands to surrender and screamed, "Don't shoot me anymore. You got me."
Residents nearby the shooting, many of whom are familiar with Cornelius Warren and his family, reported hearing 25 to 30 shots fired, Sherwin Warren said. When contacted by a reporter, some people living near the scene said they did not hear the gunshots, but only saw police activity in the area. Others said they weren't home at the time of the incident.
"Whatever happened did not warrant them shooting him so many times," Sherwin Warren said.
The sheriff's office isn't releasing the names of the deputies involved in the shooting, according to Richardson. They are currently on administrative leave, in accordance with agency policy.
"Our investigation has led to developments that the officers' safety is of concern, so at this point, we're not releasing their names," Richardson said.
One of the officers has served with the sheriff's office for 10 years, and the other has been with the agency for three-and-a-half years, according to Richardson. Neither has previously been involved in an agency-related shooting.
Richardson said the shooting was "unfortunate" and said the sheriff's office will conduct a thorough, complete and fair investigation into the incident.
"We don't have many officer-involved shootings in Charles County," she said. "The officers encountered a situation in which they felt threatened. These are tough and dangerous times for police officers."
Warren pleaded guilty in 1997 to distributing fake drugs. He has also been charged with robbery, assault and malicious destruction of property, but the criminal counts were dropped, according to court records.
Charges are pending against the male passenger of Warren's SUV, according to Richardson. Police are not releasing the man's name until he is charged.
Commenting on the shooting, Cpl. Jason Hopkins, president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Charles County, said, "Our officers have a very dangerous job, and at times, they have only a second to react. The FOP is behind them and confident the investigation will find they did the right thing."
The last shooting involving sheriff's officers happened last year at the St. Charles Towne Center in Waldorf. In the September 2008 incident, the officer's gun discharged during a struggle with a Washington, D.C., man allegedly seen trying to break into a car, according to police. The D.C. man was wounded in the shooting.
Another county police shooting happened in March 2006 after Jonathan Zacharias Lyles reportedly fired a handgun during his arrest, according to previous reports in the Independent. A sheriff's officer fired a single shot back, fatally wounding Lyles, 24, of Oxon Hill once in the chest.
The family of Cornelius Warren, "Moses" to his friends, will hold his funeral Oct. 10.
A father of seven children, Cornelius Warren had worked detailing cars for years and recently started his own business, his wife said.
"He can't stand a dirty car. If someone pulls up in a dirty car, he'd be out there cleaning it," said Cornelius' wife, Michele Warren.
He was also an avid fan of the Washington Redskins and loved playing football and basketball.
Sherwin Warren described Cornelius as a gamester who could turn even a casual game of pingpong into a heated competition. Cornelius rarely lost, Sherwin said.
"He tried to be good at everything he did," Sherwin Warren said.
Staff writers Sara K. Taylor, Gretchen Phillips and Erica Mitrano contributed to this report.
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