Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 20, 1995 TAG: 9509200063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Speaker after angry speaker vilified the Police Department's handling of the case, urging the release of information about the fatal shooting of Maurice Taylor that has been withheld from the family and the public for six weeks.
While Taylor's family has not made race an issue, the anger expressed by most of the speakers and the vocal support from the predominantly black audience sent a clear message to the Human Relations Council of Montgomery County that at least a segment of the population believes law enforcement overreacts when minorities are involved.
But those seeking answers found none at the meeting. The council collected comments to pass on to town officials and to use as a basis for future meetings. Although two council members and Blacksburg Town Manager Ron Secrist sat quietly in the audience, no representative of the Police Department attended. No town or police official responded to the two hours of angry criticism and the call for answers from family members and friends.
"The venting was essential,'' said Oscar Williams, chairman of the council, noting that even the most passionate speakers at Monday's meeting apologized later in the evening for their remarks and made assurances they wanted answers, not confrontation. "That's a clear indication that things have cooled off considerably."
While family and the public are demanding answers, the Police Department - citing an ongoing investigation by state police - has declined comment on any aspect of the shooting beyond what was initially released, refusing even to name the two officers who fired their weapons.
To police and many in the community, the shooting was a straightforward case of self-defense in the line of duty. Taylor pulled a weapon - which later turned out to be a BB pistol that looks strikingly like a .50-caliber Desert Eagle weapon - on three officers as they tried to serve papers on him for failing to appear in court on charges he had violated probation. Taylor had been convicted in 1992 of robbery and served time in jail before being released on probation.
The shooting came as Officer Michael Mickey was struggling with Taylor, trying to wrestle the gun away. When Taylor pointed the gun at the two officers in front of him - identified by other sources as J.E. Keene and T.D. Wimmer - they drew their weapons and fired.
Mickey, who was behind Taylor, was shot in the left thigh by one of the other officers. Taylor was shot 12 times.
Two speakers who tried to quell concerns about excessive force were not received warmly by the crowd at Monday's hearing. One man, who asked for a moment of silence for Taylor before asking the same for police officers - and who mentioned that Taylor had pulled a gun and might have been using drugs - was loudly booed, told his time was up and then labeled a "racist dog" by one audience member who later apologized for his reaction.
The officers remain on administrative leave pending completion of the investigation.
Police may see the shooting as justified, but to family and friends and other community members, there are many other issues involved.
They question why officers went into a drug store to serve the papers on Taylor instead of seeking him at home. Police say Taylor had run on them before and they thought the store was their best opportunity.
They question why so many shots were fired.
They question why the investigation has taken so long and why no one will answer their questions about how the shooting unfolded.
Until then, one family member said, they can't even believe that Taylor pulled a gun.
What is perhaps most disconcerting to relatives of Taylor - a black man whose mother is white - is a feeling that they are being stonewalled by Police Chief Bill Brown, who says he had known Taylor since Taylor was a baby.
Brown, who became the New River Valley's first black police officer when he joined the department in 1970, was roundly praised when he was tapped as chief in 1994 after beating out 139 other applicants from across the country to become the region's first black police chief.
As captain of the Police Operations division, he helped shape department policy on and response to Ku Klux Klan marches, racial issues in the town-university community and media relations.
But Brown's past achievements mean little to community members who spoke out at the forum. To them, his silence speaks louder.
"Their silence in this whole process is just indicative of what a poor job the Blacksburg Police have done" of providing information throughout the investigation, Joe Hardy, a family spokesman, said the morning after the forum.
With no new information since the day following the shooting, family members say they are left to believe there is a reason for the silence.
"I think deep down inside, he [Brown] realizes his officers didn't do what they should have done," Hardy said.
Brown has had little to say about the shooting since referring the investigation to state police. But in the beginning, he said police are trained that if they pull their weapon in fear for their life or the lives of others, they shoot until the threat is gone.
Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith said Tuesday he has asked state police to make completion of the investigation a priority. State police told him the report is all but finished except for lab analysis - primarily ballistics reports.
Keith said the lab is being asked to step up the work so state police can forward the report to him.
Hardy said the family is not making the shooting a racial issue. "It's never been a race card for us, for the family," he said. "I hope to God it never comes in. You can't prove it. It's too touchy."
But some speakers at Monday's forum did bring race into the shooting. They spoke of Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles police officer who has become a central figure in the O.J. Simpson trial. They spoke of perceptions of fear and overreaction when blacks are stopped, either for minor traffic offenses or on suspicion of more serious crimes.
Hardy said it's likely the family will not be satisfied with a state police investigation that clears the officers. That means they will seek an investigation at the highest levels.
"FBI to the top. It's that simple," Hardy said.
Williams, chairman of the Human Relations Council, looks forward to involving many people who were at the forum in deciding what happens next. The views expressed indicate that the community's concerns go beyond Taylor's shooting, Williams said.
He said he would like to pull in youth groups, business leaders and other segments of the community for more forums that address the larger issues.
He called Brown "very forward-thinking" and said he felt the chief would welcome this kind of discussion.
"I'm on record as saying this is one of the best law enforcement organizations in the country," Williams said. "I've got to help make that real."
While Brown took some hits by speakers who were angry that he was not at the meeting - one going so far as to call him "a house slave" - Williams said it's not all personal.
"We've heard this before," he said. "This is not about Brown. Brown just happened to be in the chair.... With all that's going on across the nation, it's a rough time being a policeman."
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB