, updated The only full justice would be to bring Aiyana back and I can't do that.". The girl was shot in the head while she slept on a couch. The base salary for News Anchor ranges from $51,971 to $85,465 with the average base salary of $64,795. 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. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. How A Police Officer Shot A Sleeping 7-Year-Old To Death, the militarization of U.S. law enforcement, charged with felony involuntary manslaughter, could have affected how the police executed their search warrant, prosecutors allege that Owens told Je'Rean, gave Owens the gun he used to kill Je'Rean, serving a prison sentence of 40 to 60 years, disputed the Westbrooks' version of events, cleared of wrongdoing in a non-fatal shooting in 2009. 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. Your source for Local information & breaking news across southeast Michigan plus 4Warn Weather providing you with accurate forecasts so you can plan your day. Anyone mentioned by name in any article is welcome to file a response. 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. A 17-question survey given to prospective jurors on Monday included four questions related to the Ferguson shooting, according to The Detroit News. Last year the city settled with Aiyana's family for $8.25 million. After prosecutors objected, the judge suspended her decision and ordered a recess until late morning. Ill never be the same, no.. 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. AP Photo by Carlos Osorio. In Michigan, such a crime carries a potential 15 year prison sentence. 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. Some video shot from the sidewalk was part of the evidence. Mertilla Jones, who. "I stuck my hands out the window. By They came to kill, and they killed a 7-year-old.'. All he had to do is follow his training and we wouldn't be here.'. Enter https://www.police1.com/ and click OK. (Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press via AP, File) Weekley says the MP5 only weighs six pounds and has almost no recoil, which is why he didn't initially know it had fired. Jury selection starts on Monday in Wayne County court, 15 months after Weekleys first trial ended with jurors unable to agree on a verdict. Nobody alleges that Officer Joseph Weekley intended to kill Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who had been sleeping on a couch near the front door when officers burst through around midnight in search of a murder suspect. 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. By Charges Dismissed Against Joseph Weekley, Cop Who Fatally Shot Sleeping 7-Year-Old. Weekley has said that the girl's grandmother, Mertilla Jones, who had also been asleep on the couch when police arrived, came up to him and grabbed his gun, causing him to shoot. I know in my heart and before God that what transpired that day was out of my control, but I will still have terrible grief weigh upon me every day for the rest of my life, his statement said. The trial featured a multicultural jury made up of eight women and four men, four of whom were African Americans. 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Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Weekley was first through the door, and saw what he thought was an empty room with a man standing in the far doorway, he testified last year. He claims he accidentally pulled the trigger when Aiyanas grandmother, Mertilla Jones, grabbed his gun. She was in her pajamas. According to Weekley, a fellow officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window, temporarily blinding him. Joseph Weekley testifying at first trial in June, 2013. DPD Spokesman John Roach said the Detroit Police Department SWAT team member is 34-year-old officer Joseph Weekley. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Aiyana was sleeping on one end of the couch, and her grandmother Mertilla Jones was on the other in May 2010 when an armed, black-clad and masked police officers stormed the apartment. 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. Belinda Robinson for MailOnline prosecution will file an emergency appeal, shot Stanley-Jones in 2010 during a botched police raid in search of a murder suspect. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office alleged that Weekley's negligence led to Aiyana's death. Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones (July 20, 2002 - May 16, 2010) was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroit 's East Side who was shot in the neck and killed by police officer Joseph Weekley during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team targeting a suspect in the apartment a . All too often we see police officers murder the innocent only to be exonerated by a grand jury or acquitted during a trial. Weekley's colleagues gave him the nickname "The Brain," according to The Detroit News, because he was always thinking. The trial for Weekley, a white officer, in the death of a black child has caused some to draw parallels to the case of Michael Brown, the unarmed teen fatally shot by Police Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, in August. Owens was later convicted of murder in the death of 17-year-old Je'rean Blake, who was fatally shot outside a convenience store days before the raid. Associated Press and We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. Weekley says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Jones had previously said the shot came from outside the house. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, If you need further help setting your homepage, check your browsers Help menu, New police chief hired at N.C. PD after entire police force resigned, 'It's a blessing': 24-year-old takes helm as N.C. police chief, Video: Bystander pins down drunk driver fleeing crash that killed a Texas police officer, SIG Sauer's ROMEO-M17: The future of the Red Dot revolution is here, 'You're going to die today': Driver traps Fla. cop inside car while speeding toward power pole, cleared the way for a trial or settlement, Open the tools menu in your browser. Photo by Paul Warner/Getty Images. Assistant Police Chief Ralph Godbee said Weekley was investigated after he was involved in a barricaded gunman shooting last summer. "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. Detroit Police Media Relations Director June West said Weekley returned to active duty on a "restricted" basis "a couple weeks ago.". His attorney, Leon Weiss, calls the verdict "contradictory and compromised," pointing out that it found Jones not guilty of having a gun and yet suggested that he was guilty of second-degree murder for giving Owens a gun. 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. "The guy was just pointing right there and Aiyana [was] hit," Jones testified last year. Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones four days before a civil trial was to begin. 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. 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. He spotted housemate Vincent Ellis standing in a doorway just before a stun grenade exploded, temporarily blinding him. However, the juryand the judge did not buy it. Je'Rean called his mom to come pick him up, but before she arrived, Owens returned and shot the teen. The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to . Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but a judge dismissed that charge during a second trial in 2014. The family's attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, said the settlement should allow the family, the city and Weekley to move on from the tragedy. 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. 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 . Shooting: Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley testifies during his first trial in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, Michigan, his second trial was declared a mistrial on Friday Judge. He said he was oblivious to the fact that the bullet was fired from his gun and suspected it was fired by Ellis' gun, whom he pursued into an adjacent bedroom. finds relevant news, identifies important training information, By the group of 12 was almost split down the middle over whether to acquit or convict Weekley on a misdemeanor charge of careless, reckless or negligent use of a firearm causing death. As a medical device rep, it's common knowledge that we have a lot of "window time". On the evening of May 16, 2010, the Detroit Police Departments Special Response Team (SRT) prepared for a surprise raid to arrest a wanted man. It's the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for law enforcement agencies and police departments worldwide. That Weekley 's colleagues gave him the nickname `` the guy was just pointing right there and Aiyana [ ]. Temporarily blinding him do is follow his training and we would n't be here. 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