Enquirer News Update - Updated 6:40 p.m.
Report: Fatal shot fired by police through side window
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OWENSBORO, Ky. - An internal police report released Thursday said an officer acted
inappropriately in the fatal shooting of a black motorist last fall.
The report was submitted to a Davies County grand jury, which on
April 4 refused to indict Officer Lorhn Frazier for shooting car
theft suspect Tyrone Clayton Jr.
Frazier shot Clayton Nov. 16 as Clayton was attempting to flee in
a stolen vehicle. Mr. Clayton originally had been stopped for
suspicion of reckless driving, had run away and jumped into an idling
vehicle just before his encounter with Officer Frazier.
Coroner Bob Howe, who criticized Frazier, released the report to
the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
Officer Frazier fired two shots at Mr. Clayton; the second shot
was the fatal one.
Just before the shooting, Clayton had struck Frazier in the leg
with the car. Clayton was driving toward Frazier in a car he had
found idling during the foot chase.
The officer fired the first shot through the windshield, the
report said, striking the suspect in the arm.
Frazier was on the driver's side of the car when he fired the
second shot, the report said. He shot through the drivers side
window, striking Clayton in the chest.
Civil Rights organizations had protested the shooting as
unnecessary.
Investigators ruled that Frazier acted appropriately by firing the
first shot, because he was in the path of the car and his life was in
danger.
Owensboro Police Capt. Steve Kimble said in his report that
Frazier was no longer in danger of being run over when he fired the
fatal shot. Kimble would not comment on the report Thursday.
In the report, Frazier said less than one second separated the
shots and that he fired at Clayton in self-defense.
"And without a doubt in my mind, if I didn't shoot that day and
shoot these two shots, I would be either in the hospital or dead
right now. I didn't shoot to stop him from getting away,'' Frazier
said in the report.
The report was part of nearly 600 pages in the investigation
turned over the grand jury.
Frazier returned to work Monday in the evidence collection unit.
Owensboro Police Chief Allen Dixon refused last week to release
the report on the internal investigation, saying the department was
still investigating Frazier for potential departmental violations.
Howe, the coroner, said he released the report because the
coroner's investigation was complete.
Kenny Riley, president of the local chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called for
disciplinary action against Frazier and Dixon.
"I think the leaders of this city need to take a serious look at
what has happened and take serious measures to bridge the gap that
now exists between the community and the police department,'' Riley
said.
