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. 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"He's heartsick, because he lost his daughter and he got charged with something he didn't do," Weiss said of Jones. Joseph Weekley shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones in 2010 Officer charged with involuntary manslaughter. This button displays the currently selected search type. The prosecution and defense have offered contradictory depictions of the events leading up to Stanley-Jones' death. "There is absolutely no evidence, none, that's in the least bit credible, that Officer Weekley knowingly created a danger or, more importantly, intended to cause injury," Fishman said in court Friday. 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. The only thing he saw upon entering the home on Lillibridge in Detroit was a "pile of clothes" on a couch by the entrance and a 19-inch TV flickering in the dark room. At the time, Weekley said, he didn't even realize he had fired his gun, thinking the shot had been fired by someone else. Judge Hathaway declared a hung jury after less than three days of deliberations. 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 . Ill never be the same, no.. That's wrong to me.'. Roland Lawrence of the Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee explained only one juror was African American and that he had 'no confidence in this jury' once he realized the racial disparity. The girl's father, Charles Jones, was convicted of second-degree murder for providing the gun used to kill Blake. Weekely could still face a third re-trial. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. Available for both RF and RM licensing. The jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the case againstOfficer Joseph Weekley who was accused of shooting Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a raid on a house for a murder suspect in Detroit. Besides the glaring presence of toys strewn about the lawn and front porch, it is unlikely that investigators could have missed the presence of four young children and multi-generational family in the opposite unit during their surveillance of the duplex. "I stuck my hands out the window. On the night of the shooting on May 16, 2010, police and the Special Response Team went to an address in Detroit's east side to carry out a search for a murder suspect. 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. Officer Joseph Weekley says the victim's grandmother grabbed his weapon during a midnight raid. 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. 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'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.'. Coward Cop breaks into the wrong home, blames grandmother for having his finger on the trigger and shooting their 7 year old child in the head The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to . One of the most important questions that jurors needed to answer was whether the discharge of the weapon was a result of the defendant's carelessness, recklessness or negligence. The law is a gray area at best. They kept firing.". The officers also claimed Few had a weapon, that was also a lie. Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but a judge dismissed that charge during a second trial in 2014. By
Chauncey Owens, whom police were searching for in the raid, was eventually arrested in a second-floor unit of the duplex where the girl and her family lived. 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 scuffle with her grandmother. A protester holds a sign referencing Aiyana Stanley-Jones at a rally for Trayvon Martin in Detroit on July 14, 2013. All rights reserved. During Weekleys first trial, a fellow officer, Shawn Stallard, testified that he did not see anyone struggle with Weekley. 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. Photo by Thomas Alex Graves. Ron Scott, founder of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, has represented Aiyana's family since the shooting. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Officer Joseph Weekley had been charged in the death of Aiyana Stanley Jones. Davis, the officer who tossed the stun grenade, said the team was unaware children were inside. 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. They were conducting a police raid in search of a murder suspect who lived at that address -- and being filmed for a reality TV show in the process -- when Officer Joseph Weekley accidentally fired his gun. Yahoo News Yahoo News . According to the Greenhouse and Stafford, the officers decided to conduct a traffic stop because Few had an outstanding warrant. (John T. Greilick/Detroit News via AP, File), FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2014, file photo, Dominika Stanley wipes away tears after Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway declares a mistrial after a jury said they cannot reach a verdict in a criminal trial against Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley, accused of shooting her daughter Aiyana Stanley-Jones, at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, in Detroit. That the ten-year-anniversary of Aiyana's death passed largely unacknowledged, . Weekley's fingerprints and DNA were also not found on the gun. The Huffington Post has compiled an extensive background on what we know happened before, and since, Aiyana Stanley-Jones lost her life. Police disputed the Westbrooks' version of events, according to the Free Press, but the case was settled late in 2010, some time after Aiyana's death. Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones four days before a civil trial was to begin. 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. 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. 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. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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. Nathan Weekley is the brother of Joseph Weekley, a former SWAT officer for the Detroit police force, who was reassigned after fatally shooting 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a May. All rights reserved. We believe today's settlement is fair because it balances the needs of Aiyana's family and our responsibility for the city's finances. According to Weekley, a fellow officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window, temporarily blinding him. If you need help with the Public File, call (313) 222-0566. DETROIT The city of Detroit reached an $8.25 million settlement Thursday with the family of a 7-year-old girl accidentally killed by a police officer during a 2010 raid. It was Owens they were after. In November 2015,Few's fiance came forward about her relationship to Greenhouse. On the third day of deliberations, loud voices could be heard coming from the jury room. Police1 is revolutionizing the way the law enforcement community 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. When Detroiters rallied last year for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen killed by a neighborhood watchman in 2012, Mertilla Jones addressed the crowd.
(John T. Greilick/Detroit News via AP, File)
Rep. John Conyers has also asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the girl's shooting death. Police neglected to account for or flatly disregarded the safety of any potential children that might be present. Two days before the raid 17-year-old Je'rean Blake was standing outside a neighborhood convenience store when he was shot to death following a dispute. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Joseph Weekley and is located at 141 Duesenberg Drive Ste 7b, Westlake Village, CA 91362. Detroit Police Media Relations Director June West said Weekley returned to active duty on a "restricted" basis "a couple weeks ago.". So why would they come in there like that? DPD Spokesman John Roach said the Detroit Police Department SWAT team member is 34-year-old officer Joseph Weekley. Fishman attempted to discredit her while requesting dismissal of the manslaughter charge. A former high school classmate of Dixon, Greenhouse had started messaging her on Facebook and had come by the house Few and Dixon were sharing at the time. The city of Detroit has reached an $8.25 million settlement with the family of . Moments earlier, Aiyana was sleeping beneath a "Hanna Montana" blanket on the couch next to her grandmother. Then-Police Chief Warren Evans resigned from his post several months later, after authorities discovered he was pitching a reality show called "The Chief.". Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but a judge dismissed that charge during a second trial in 2014. A Detroit police officer accused of manslaughter in the death of a 7-year-old girl will go on trial this week, as national attention remains focused on the militarization of U.S. law enforcement and police violence perpetrated against people of color. 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