DETROIT — Police who carried out a raid on a family home that left a 7-year-old girl dead over the weekend were accompanied by a camera crew for a reality television show, and an attorney says video of the siege contradicts the police account of what happened. Police have said officers threw a flash grenade through the first-floor window of the two-family home, and that an officer’s gun discharged, killing the girl, during a struggle or after colliding with the girl’s grandmother inside the home.
But Fieger said the video shows an officer lobbing the grenade and then shooting into the home from the porch.
“There is no question about what happened because it’s in the videotape,” Fieger said. “It’s not an accident. It’s not a mistake. There was no altercation.”
“Aiyana Jones was shot from outside on the porch. The videotape shows clearly the officer throwing through the window a stun grenade-type explosive and then within milliseconds of throwing that, firing a shot from outside the home,” he said.
A&E spokesman Dan Silberman said neither he nor anyone else from the network would comment about the case, and he denied a request by The Associated Press for the footage. Fieger said the investigation into what happened during the raid “needed to go no further than the videotape.”
“The videotape shows clearly that the assistant police chief and the officers on the scene are engaging in an intentional cover up of the events,” Fieger said. He said more than one camera was recording at the scene, and that the footage includes sound.
Police arrested the target of the raid, a 34-year-old man suspected of killing a 17-year-old boy, in the upstairs unit in the two-family home. Police had warrants to search both properties, and family members of the slain girl were seen going in and out of both on Monday. The suspect has not been charged, and it was not immediately clear what relationship he had to the slain girl.
The department declined to say whether it was being paid by the television show.
Am I the only one to believe that being on camera had any influence in the cops actions? The presence of a video camera will only taint, or even drive any so called “reality”.
Things like this are why all cops should carry cameras at all times to monitor what they do, and what they see. If we are to be in an Orwellian society, the cops should be the focus.
Let’s see, no cameras and we have two options, maybe possibly perhaps the cop that shot would have not shot or the cop would have shot and there would be no evidence of what happened. I think I’ll take the reality tv…
interesting..
A warrant served at 430am?
FLASH BANG?? so persons were awake at that time?
2 cameras? with Flood lights wondering around??
DID someone investigate WHO was living at the residence?
Was this a pot bust? Thought I read TFA but can’t remember that part. A paramilitary operation with collateral damage—over what exactly?
coverup is one word
heartache is one word
one l in sequelae
In this case the presence of the camera is (hopefully) going to get this cop canned; and that is a good thing. I hate reality TV but in this this case it has redeeming qualities.
Remember when you were in high school and college? The guys who ended up as cops, or went the CJ route were generally the dullards in the class. That was my experience anyway.
The problem with SWAT teams is that they have to justify their training, guns and even their mere existence to keep getting funded. If they don’t use all their flashbangs then they won’t get more next year. If they don’t go out on raids, then they won’t get to go on expensive team-based training exercises every year or two. It’s like any government institution…once it’s created it’s sole purpose quickly becomes making itself relevant and indispensable.
# 34 t0llyb0ng said, “Was this a pot bust?”
So you have time to be the spelling police (in English AND Latin) but you couldn’t be bothered to read even the excerpt to find out the raid was to arrest a murder suspect? Thanks for being a resident dictionary, asshole.
Reality what? I have a TV….just sitting there until I want to watch a movie from my computer. 🙂
Seriously, being on DU is wasting precious time already why bother watching TV O.O