ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Above
BLACKSBURG OFFICERS didn't violate the civil rights of a man they fatally shot after he pulled a BB gun, the U.S. attorney decided.
Two Blacksburg police officers did not violate the civil rights of a New River Valley man who was shot and killed after he aimed a BB pistol at them as they tried to arrest him in August, the U.S. attorney in Roanoke said.
Maurice Taylor, 22, was shot 12 times after he pulled the weapon, which authorities said looked like a large, semiautomatic handgun. Blacksburg police officers were trying to arrest him after he failed to appear in court for violating his probation for a 1992 robbery conviction.
The Roanoke FBI office began its investigation in September. Agents finished their work last month and forwarded a report to the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C.
"Our conclusion, based on the investigation, is that ... the shooting was justifiable and was a lawful act performed by the officers in the performance of their official duties," Robert Crouch, U.S. attorney in Roanoke, said Wednesday afternoon.
The decision that officers J.E. Keene and T.D. Wimmer did not violate Taylor's civil rights goes along with the conclusion reached in October by a special prosecutor, who ruled that the shooting was justified.
After reviewing a state police investigation, Special Prosecutor Gino Williams, said that Taylor was responsible for his own death because pulling the BB pistol was a criminal act.
"Once he pulled the weapon, he placed the officers in peril, or at least in a position where they believed they were in peril. ... A police officer being faced with what he believes to be deadly force is trained to react in such a way as to protect himself," Williams wrote in his opinion to a Circuit Court judge.
Dave Burch, supervisor in charge of the Roanoke FBI office, said this week that his office's report, including Crouch's recommendation, would be reviewed by the Civil Rights Division. That division decides whether to accept the findings or ask for additional investigation, Burch said.
Patricia Arnold, Taylor's aunt, said Wednesday night that the family is not happy with the U.S. attorney's findings and plan to press the Justice Department to "investigate this thing further because it needs to be."
She said the Taylor's mother still grieves for her son and the family plans to file a civil suit against the Police Department and the officers who shot him.
The shooting took place in Revco drug store on Blacksburg's South Main Street. Keene and Wimmer fired at Taylor when he reached into his pants, pulled out the BB pistol and pointed it at them. A third officer, M.G. Mickey, did not fire his weapon, but two shots fired by the other officers struck him. One bullet hit his thigh; the other hit his police radio. He was hospitalized for several days.
The shooting - in particular, the number of shots fired - sparked community debate.
But law enforcement officers say they are trained to react to protect themselves and others, and, when using deadly force, to continue to shoot until the perceived threat is no longer there.
It's been "a long healing process for some in the community" and the families involved, Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown said Wednesday. "The incident was truly a tragedy and I hope that this community doesn't have to go through anything like this again."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB