This Monday, jury selection began for Weekley's retrial. A member of an elite Detroit police unit is set to stand trial again for killing a seven-year-old girl during a 2010 raid on her house that was captured on video by a reality TV crew. Critics of police militarization have pointed to Aiyana's death when looking at ramifications of the increased use of SWAT teams among local law enforcement. Weiss is seeking a new trial for Jones, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 40 to 60 years. He insists he accidentally fired his gun during a. and The city of Detroit has reached an $8.25 million settlement with the family of Stanley-Jones, who was accidentally killed by Weekley during a 2010 raid. After prosecutors objected, the judge suspended her decision and ordered a recess until late morning. As he was trained, Weekley testified his finger was outside the trigger guard when he entered the home carrying a large ballistics shield that he dropped almost immediately after entering the home. This website expresses our OPINIONS. According to the Advocate,Megan Dixon, Fews fiance at the time, said Few had a previous run-in with Greenhouse. After two. 'This is a bittersweet outcome: Bitter because Weekley was not convicted, and sweet in that justice for Aiyana Jones will come soon,' said Roland Lawrence. Weekley was first tried in connection with Aiyana's death in 2013, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. In a statement released yesterday, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said after two mistrials,. She died a short time later. The raid was being filmed for an episode of The First 48, and many believe the excessive tactics used were employed simply to create drama and excitement for the camera. After two trials without result, police officer Joseph Weekley will not face another trial for fatally shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a sleeping seven-year-old, during a 2010 raid filmed by a . In Michigan, such a crime carries a potential 15 year prison sentence. The jury sent a note to Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway saying little progress had been made during the three days of deliberations over the fate of Officer Joseph Weekley, who faced charges of felony . Final charges against Joseph Weekley, a police officer who shot dead a 7-year-old girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, in Detroit in May 2010, were dismissed on Friday, leaving a family bereft and raising serious concern among national groups over an increasingly militarized police force. Sleeping 7-year-old girl shot in head during no-knock police raid on wrong home This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. Associated Press. ID 321.) The. Download the Yahoo News app. The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to move on from the tragedy. Belinda Robinson for MailOnline Weekley had not been on the force since 2010 when he shot a sleeping child in the head during a botched raid executed on the wrong home. 19:48 GMT 11 Oct 2014, A trial against a Detroit police officer accused of shooting dead a seven-year-old girl ended in a mistrial after the jury became 'hopelessly deadlocked.'. Lexipol. All too often we see police officers murder the innocent only to be exonerated by a grand jury or acquitted during a trial. She denies that she interfered in any way. The Michigan Supreme Court last September cleared the way for a trial or settlement when it declined to hear an appeal after two courts ruled a jury could decide whether Weekley's actions amounted to gross negligence. The pair later exchanged the marriage vows and tied the knot on June 22, 2019, in Denver, Florida. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Judge Hathaway told the jurors: 'These things happen., But the little girl's distraught uncle Londell Fields said: 'I don't understand how we can go through this again and have all this evidence brought forth and there not be a verdict either way. The fact that a police officer received such a hefty sentence is a win for victims of police misconduct across the country. In at least one of those other raids, Weekley and his team were accused of using unnecessary force. "I seen the light leave out of her eyes.". Detroit Police Chief James Craig told George Hunter of the Detroit News last week that Weekley was restored to active duty April 2. Officer Weekley was indicted on October 4, 2011 by a Detroit grand jury, charged with Involuntary Manslaughter and Negligent Discharge of a Firearm in the tragic death of seven year old Alyania Stanley Jones in May 2010. He also helped organize a recent event called Run With the Cops, Not From Them. Joseph Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. It was Owens they were after. By Police threw a stun grenade through a window, and Weekley was the first officer through the door. I understand there is a certain part of the public that is crying foul on this. Mertilla Jones, who witnessed Detroit police officer Joe Weekley shoot her granddaughter Aiyana in May 2010, speaks at Grand Circus Park on July 14, 2013 in Detroit. Here's the video A&E's cameras captured at the Stanley-Jones residence: The episode that would have featured footage from that night ultimately never aired. Check out footage (below) of the judge's ruling Friday: CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that attorney Steve Fishman said the defense would need to demonstrate Officer Joseph Weekley acted in a "grossly negligent manner" in the circumstances leading to Stanley-Jones' death. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. Officer Weekley, who is white, is still free. "I pulled the trigger of that gun, unintentionally, and I didn't even know it at the time," Weekley said in cout. The police officer responsible for the shooting, Joseph "Brain" Weekley, is a member of Detroit's SWAT team and was a frequent subject on A&E, whose film crews were also filming the investigation for the documentary TV series The First 48. The story of Aiyana Stanley-Jones' death really starts with Je'Rean Blake, a 17-year-old who was killed less than two days earlier. They're looking to protect," said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing Wednesday. "Aiyana's death was a tragic loss for her family and has been a heavy burden on our community. After Aiyana's death, the mayor banned police from working with reality TV crews. When Detroiters rallied last year for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen killed by a neighborhood watchman in 2012, Mertilla Jones addressed the crowd. "It's my gun that shot and killed a 7-year-old girl," Weekley told Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Moran during his first trial in 2013. Westbrook and his wife sued Weekley and other members of the SRT for assault, false imprisonment and gross negligence, alleging that officers came into the home without warning, shot and killed the family's two dogs for no reason and pointed guns at a child and infant, according to the complaint. City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. DragonEye Tech: Leaders in LIDAR Speed Measurement, The family was awarded $8.25 million for the accidental death of the 7-year-old during a raid. As the Free Thought Project reported last week,Officer Derrick Stafford wasfound guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the horrific fatal shooting of the six-year-old with autism on November 3, 2015. Joseph Weekley charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of Aiyana Jones after he was 'grossly negligent' with handling gun during a raid Claims pulled gun trigger accidentally during. Officer on trial: Joseph Weekley testifies in his own defense The raid was recorded for a police reality TV show, The First 48, but there was no footage from inside the house. Edward Carmack Email, Phone Number, Company, Colleagues, Competitors, Peers, Interests, Skills, Seniority Je'Rean called his mom to come pick him up, but before she arrived, Owens returned and shot the teen. Search query Jones had previously said the shot came from outside the house. Owned and operated by the Hernandez family UglyJudge.com UGLYJUDGE Copyright 2006-2023 All Rights Reserved Notice: "We, are not attorneys. According to Weekley, a fellow officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window, temporarily blinding him. During a raid targeting the apartment on the floor above Stanley-Jones, Officer Joseph Weekley of a SWAT-like team, fired a hand grenade into Stanley-Jones' unit, burning her blanket. HuffPost reporter Radley Balko wrote last year that reality shows profiling police actions support a growing "police-industrial-entertainment complex": Over the last decade or so, the cable dial has been stuffed full of programming that serves to make us more comfortable with police units that treat neighborhoods like battlefields. The Special Response Team arrived in its armored vehicle with a warrant to arrest Chauncey Owens, who was known to stay with his fiance at 4056 Lillibridge Street. The girl's father, Charles Jones, was convicted of second-degree murder for providing the gun used to kill Blake. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Weekley is also currently named along with other SWAT members in a federal lawsuit, filed in 2009, claiming they pointed guns at children and shot two dogs during a raid in 2007 that netted a man who is now serving seven to 15 years in prison for armed robbery. The Detroit police officer who killed seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones will not be retried. Weekley claims his MP5 sub-machine gun fired when Aiyana's grandmother, Mertila Jones, slammed his gun with her hand. Who Is DPD Officer Joseph Weekley? If convicted, Weekley could face up to 15 years behind bars. Sadly, for Jeremy Mardis, who will never see another Christmas or Birthday or throw the ball with his dad, the reason for the stop that night is irrelevant. The girl was shot in the head while she slept on a couch. After two trials without result, police officer Joseph Weekley will not face another trial for fatally shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a sleeping seven-year-old, during a 2010 raid filmed by a reality TV show. Greenhouse, whose defense team has been pulling insane tactics out of the woodwork up to and including demanding to know if any prosecution witnesses underwent hypnosis or any "truth-determining examinations," such as polygraph tests or sodium pentothal. He said the settlement "won't provide full justice. Brown's death, and the extreme tactics of police amid ensuing local protests, have sparked national conversations about police brutality and institutional racism in police forces across the country. FILE - In this June 18, 2013 file photo, Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in Judge Cynthia Hathaway's courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice during his criminal trial in the 2010 killing of Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a police raid in Detroit. 0:22 After two hung juries, the Detroit police officer charged in the death of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones will not be tried again. All he had to do is follow his training and we wouldn't be here.'. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. A protester holds a sign referencing Aiyana Stanley-Jones at a rally for Trayvon Martin in Detroit on July 14, 2013. All rights reserved. City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. Two days later, the decedent's father filed law suits in both the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Wayne County . He will serve the sentences concurrently. During Weekleys first trial, a fellow officer, Shawn Stallard, testified that he did not see anyone struggle with Weekley. What exactly caused him to fire is still a matter of dispute. The trial featured a multicultural jury made up of eight women and four men, four of whom were African Americans. "He's on vacation now, but when he returns, he'll be in a limited duty capacity," Craig told Hunter. A fellow officer is said to have thrown a flash-bang grenade, and Weekley fired his gun shortly after, killing the 7-year-old girl, who was sleeping on the couch. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Feast day: Mar 19 Officers were briefed that theyd be entering a possible dope den, in which the suspect might be armed and might even possess dangerous dogs.. I've got something for you." Police said Weekley came into contact with Aiyana?s grandmother, Mertilla Jones, when they busted through the door in the early hours of Sunday morning and his weapon accidentally fired. Weekley, a member of an elite police squad, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Aiyana, who was shot in the head in May 2010 while sleeping on her grandmother's couch. Officer Joseph Weekley, a member of the Detroit Police Special Response Team, was indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge after a nearly yearlong Michigan State Police investigation into . Copyright 2023 It is not clear what his role in the nonfatal shooting was, but Godbee said he was cleared and it was determined that he acted appropriately. "The guy was just pointing right there and Aiyana [was] hit," Jones testified last year. This button displays the currently selected search type. AP Photo by Carlos Osorio. Ellis was unarmed. Some video shot from the sidewalk was part of the evidence. 'There has not been one single day that has gone by since that day where I have not thought about the loss of Aiyana and I will be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of my life.'. Associated Press He said Tuesday plans to protest the return of Weekley are in the works but not finalized. According to attorneys for the Jones family, video evidence shows that at that point, Officer Joseph Weekley, a regular guest on reality television, shot inside the home, killing Aiyana. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Unfortunately, a beautiful little girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7, lost her life because of his reckless and violent actions. "Innocent people do not run from the police. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. Wake up to the day's most important news. Loud voices could be heard in the jury room in Wayne County, Michigan a few hours before jurors threw in the towel in the case of Joseph Weekley on Tuesday and were dismissed. "I stuck my hands out the window. Owens pleaded guilty in April 2011 to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for Blake's slaying. He says he accidentally fired his gun during. Not only wasthe justice system unable to hold Weekley accountable for the slaughter of a young girl but he wasreinstated to the force in 2015. DETROIT, MI -- It's been five years since Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley led a SWAT team in search of a murder suspect and fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current . According to ABC local afiliate WXYZ, evidence presented in court Thursday showed that neither Jones' fingerprints nor DNA were found on the officer's gun. 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