Grand jury finds killing no crime

Police shot Pisgah man Oct. 2

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

The evidence presented to the jury included the autopsy report for Cornelius Warren, 44, DNA analysis of swabbings from an officer's gun and footage from the police-in car camera capturing Warren's traffic stop, according to a statement released Tuesday by Charles County State's Attorney Leonard C. Collins Jr. Statements from three sheriff's officers and the passenger in Warren's Chevrolet Tahoe were also available to the jury, the release stated.

Initially after the Oct. 2 shooting, only bits of information about the incident trickled out of the sheriff's office, which stated that an ongoing investigation prevented the agency from releasing more facts. But on Tuesday, a number of new details about Warren's confrontation with police emerged from Collins' press release.

Collins (D) outlined the narrative of events provided by the involved sheriff's officers and said the physical evidence and statement of a passenger in Warren's sport utility vehicle match the account: After sheriff's officers reportedly found drugs in Warren's SUV, the 44-year-old man drove his Tahoe away from the traffic stop on Nelson Point Road in Pisgah, dragging an officer who was at the rear passenger-side door. Another officer was struggling with Warren in the front driver's seat. At some point, the officer took the Tahoe out of the drive gear, and the SUV drifted to a stop.

After seeing Warren reach down beside his seat, the officer pulled his gun, worried that the Pisgah man might be searching for a weapon. Warren started to struggle with the officer for the gun, and the second officer fired a shot through the rear driver-side door. The shot struck Warren, who kept struggling, and both officers then fired multiple times in "rapid succession."

"The State's Attorney's Office has concluded that both officers' use of force was not unreasonable given the danger Mr. Warren presented when he grabbed the officer's gun," stated Collins in the release.

After the shooting, police reported that officers had initially pulled Warren over for speeding. During the traffic stop, they learned he had drugs in the SUV and used a police dog to search the Tahoe, reportedly discovering a large amount of marijuana. When Warren grabbed for the officer's weapon, two agency members fired 11 rounds in the incident, according to police.

Several weeks after the shooting, police reported that officers Stephen Miller, 39, a three-year veteran, Eric Leukhardt, 35, an 11-year veteran and Cpl. John Freeman, 36, a 10-year veteran were on the scene at the time.

According to the statement by Collins, the passenger in Warren's SUV was promised immunity from prosecution related to the drugs found in the Tahoe in exchange for his testimony about what happened at the traffic stop. In addition, because the drugs were found in the back seat and in a locked console of the SUV, it would have been difficult to prosecute the passenger, who was riding in the front seat, the release stated.

William Braxton, president of the Charles County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he isn't surprised by the grand jury's decision.

"Charles County is not going to indict one of its own," Braxton said. "It doesn't change my mind that the shooting was unwarranted."

County NAACP members organized a press conference Oct. 30 to announce that they are asking the Office of the U.S. Attorney General to investigate the shooting, and Braxton said his group is still seeking help from federal authorities.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Diane Richardson said officials were happy with the jury finding.

"We're pleased that the grand jury was able to quickly reach a decision regarding the criminal aspect of this investigation," she said. "And now we're moving forward with the administrative aspect of the investigation."

brodgers@somdnews.com