NOPD chief re-assigns nine officers involved in shooting
Comment:
The police officers involved in this shooting deserve the right to a thorough independent investigation to vindicate their actions if there was no wrongdoing. If they were found to have shot Grimes without justification, they should be prosecuted. Let’s wait for an independent investigation to reveal the facts. -BD
Seven officers fired at man during ‘gunbattle,’ chief says
by Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune
Saturday January 03, 2009, 9:47 PM
Seven New Orleans police officers fired their weapons at a 22-year-old man who was killed early Thursday while sitting in a car outside his grandmother’s house, Superintendent Warren Riley said Saturday.
The seven were among nine officers reassigned in the wake of the fatal shooting.
Riley said Adolph Grimes III sparked a “gunbattle” with officers when he fired at an unmarked police vehicle that pulled up next to his car. The officers, who were involved in undercover patrols, were wearing street clothes.
Grimes died in the shooting near North Claiborne Avenue and Gov. Nicholls Street.
Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard said Grimes was struck by 14 bullets, with two hitting him in the front torso. The other 12 wounds were in his lower back and legs, Minyard said Friday.
At a news conference Saturday, Riley disputed that characterization, saying Grimes was hit in the front, on the side under the arm and “near the back.” Although he said “numerous” rounds were fired, Riley said he could not give an exact number.
Grimes’ relatives have questioned police accounts of the shooting, with several saying he had no reason to shoot at police. The Brother Martin High School graduate has lived in Houston, where he worked as a cable installer, since Hurricane Katrina, his family said. He was in town to visit family.
Adolph Grimes Jr. said he has asked the FBI to investigate his son’s shooting. An FBI spokeswoman said Friday that the agency has not decided whether to open an investigation.
Officers reassigned
All nine officers involved have been reassigned to desk duty pending the homicide division’s investigation of whether the shooting was justified, Riley said. He refused to identify the officers, saying it is “inappropriate” unless the department determines they did something wrong.
The nine officers, part of a 1st District narcotics unit working undercover to target armed robbers, included three women and six men. They were dressed like tourists, and the women would pose as “decoys” — potential victims — for robbers, Riley said.
The unit received a report around 2:45 a.m. of a shooting outside Club Fabulous at 810 N. Claiborne Ave., he said.
The officers headed to the club and saw a black vehicle leaving from under the elevated Interstate 10, Riley said. One group of officers went to the club, while another started canvassing the area, coming upon a black Toyota Camry, with Grimes inside, in the 1700 block of Gov. Nicholls Street.
As officers came up beside the car, Grimes fired a shot at them, Riley said. He would not describe the officers’ unmarked vehicle, saying it will be used in future undercover operations.
The officers got out of their vehicle, and Grimes exited his car on the passenger side, Riley said.
“A gunbattle or gunfight ensued, which resulted in the death of this young man,” Riley said.
Grimes pointed his gun at officers, Riley said, but he could not say whether he fired more than once.
Riley said police are investigating what the officers said as they left their vehicle. “I don’t know if he knew they were police when the first shot was fired,” he said.
Grimes’ body was found around the corner, about 40 paces away, in front of a house facing North Claiborne Avenue.
Although Riley said two groups of officers in two unmarked cars were involved, he did not say when the second vehicle arrived.
Details conflict
An attorney for the officers provided slightly different details. Eric Hessler, an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police and several of the reassigned officers, said the officers pulled up to Grimes’ car in two unmarked vehicles and turned on blue flashing lights on their dashboards.
The officers saw Grimes pull a gun, Hessler said. Then Grimes fired a shot through the rear window of his car, he said.
“Obviously, they are trained to defend themselves,” Hessler said. “The one thing all seven of these officers had in common is that they all felt threatened,” he said. “All seven, unequivocally, fired several rounds.”
Hessler said the officers reported that Grimes left his vehicle and, carrying his gun, ran away from one group of officers and toward the other group. “The way it was described to me, quite honestly, I’m surprised he wasn’t hit more,” Hessler said.
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