Saturday, December 04, 1999
Cop keeps job despite killing
McCurley reprimanded for Carpenter's death
BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Brent McCurley
|
The Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot a man during a Northside traffic stop will keep his job.
Police and city officials on Friday said a written reprimand will go into Officer Brent McCurley's file, and he must attend 40 hours of remedial training for the mistakes he made leading up to the March 19 shooting of Michael Carpenter.
The death of the unarmed, 30-year-old African-American man sparked protests at City Hall by black activists, a continuing investigation by the FBI and a pending federal lawsuit filed by the Carpenter family.
In August, community groups submitted to City Council more than 3,000 signatures on petitions demanding Officer McCurley's resignation.
The other officer involved in the deadly traffic stop, Michael B. Miller II, resigned in June.
City Safety Director Kent Ryan and City Manager John Shirey had to approve the dis ciplinary actions, which were recommended by Police Chief Thomas H. Streicher Jr. “The past good record of McCurley, his actions and his conduct during the (disciplinary) hearing, all lead to my being able to support the recommendations from the chief,” Mr. Ryan said.
Also in response to the shooting, the division is crafting a tactical field manual for officers and issuing six- to 10-minute high-risk scenario training videos to be shown at roll call.
The Carpenter family's attorney, Ken Lawson, was unsatisfied.
“It essentially says nothing and basically does nothing,” Mr. Lawson said.
When asked if public reac tion to the shooting played any role in deciding the discipline, Mr. Ryan said: “We don't live in a vacuum and we don't make decisions in a vacuum, but our job is to make a fair decision based on the facts, and I believe that's what we've done.”
Chief Streicher could not be reached for comment.
Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Queen City Lodge, said the police union supports city and police officials on this decision. He offered condolences to the McCurley and Carpenter families.
“We are glad to finally see closure brought to this case for Officer McCurley, the police division and the community,” he said. “Just as I'm sure it has not been easy for the Carpenter family, it hasn't been easy for Brent or his family for him to be repeatedly called a racist and a murderer by some people simply because he reacted to a violent individual who dragged and injured his partner with a moving car.”
The controversy began almost nine months ago, just after 1 a.m. on a Friday morning.
Officer McCurley, a four-year veteran, and his rookie partner, Officer Miller, noticed Michael Carpenter acting suspiciously in a Circle K on Kirby Road. The officers followed him and tried to pull him over for an expired temporary license tag.
Mr. Carpenter did not stop his blue Pontiac immediately. He turned onto a dimly lit side street and stopped. When Officer Miller asked Mr. Carpenter to get out of the car, he refused. Officer Miller reached into the still-running car and tried to pull the man out. The car moved forward, and the officer was dragged and injured.
Officer McCurley said the car then lurched backward toward him, so he shot through the back window nine times to save his life and protect his partner. Meanwhile, Officer Miller pulled free and thought Mr. Carpenter was shooting, so he fired one shot. It missed.
The discipline was the city's final official step in a series of investigations since the incident. The homicide unit and Hamilton County prosecutor found the officers were justified in shooting.
But the Office of Municipal Investigations — a city agency that polices the police but cannot make binding rulings — found that Officer McCurley was unjustified in shooting.
The Cincinnati police Internal Investigations section said both officers committed procedural violations and tactical errors leading up to the shooting. The division said the two should have better investigated Mr. Carpenter before he left the Circle K parking lot.
Officer McCurley should not have fired while his partner was so close to Mr. Carpenter, the internal report said. And he should not have been standing behind the car, where he couldn't see Mr. Carpenter or cover for his partner.
The internal and OMI investigations are now under review by Cincinnati's newly formed Citizens Police Review panel. The panel will meet Monday at 6 p.m. in City Hall to continue its study of the thoroughness and accuracy of each investigation. Panel members have said the review could continue into 2000.
Earnest Winston contributed to this report.
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