THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406040240
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN E. QUINONES MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940604 LENGTH: NORFOLK
That was the question Ronald Duck asked a Norfolk police officer as Duck struggled to his knees from the ground Thursday night after being shot in the left shoulder in front of his apartment building.
{REST} On Friday, as Duck lay in a hospital bed, he was still waiting for an answer.
Police said it was an accident. The officer - whose name police withheld - has been suspended without pay, according to police spokesman Larry Hill.
Witnesses said the officer got out of his car, extended his arms, pointed his gun and fired. They said it was an example of how officers shoot first and then ask questions in the African-American community.
According to police, two officers in a patrol car heard gunshots as they passed the 3200 block of Princess Anne Road about 10 p.m. When they pulled into a parking lot, they found a man shot in the leg in front of Carter's - a nightclub that closed last year.
Witnesses told the officers the suspects had fled in a car. They provided a partial license number, Hill said.
While his partner continued to question the witnesses, one officer - with three years on the force - drove around to the back of the club building.
Duck said he was sitting in a folding chair at the edge of his apartment building's driveway in the 2100 block of Grandy Ave. when he heard the shots coming from Princess Anne Road, about a block away.
``I got out of my chair and headed toward the (apartment) building, because I know when shooting starts the safest place to be is in your house,'' the 37-year-old store custodian said.
A few minutes later, his neighbor, Chris Beaton, drove his white Nissan Stanza into the apartment building's driveway and Duck came out to meet him.
``I saw the police car driving behind Chris, and I saw the police car stop in the street, after Chris pulled in, but it didn't have its lights on so I didn't really pay it attention,'' Duck said.
Then, Duck said, he saw the officer get out of the car and extend his arms forward in his direction. He heard a ``pow,'' then fell to the ground.
``I was thinking `good Lord, I hope I ain't shot,' but then I realized I was,'' Duck said.
Beaton said he, too, saw the police car stop in front of his apartment building.
``The cop got out and walked behind his car,'' Beaton said, ``then he extended his arms and I saw he had a gun. Everything was so quick I didn't have time to do or say anything. Then he fired and Ron fell.''
Beaton said when Duck asked the officer why he had shot him, the officer admitted shooting him, but never said why.
Witnesses said the officer dropped the gun after Duck fell, picked it up, and then called on his car radio for backup support.
Other police officers responded quickly. The officer who fired the shot was whisked away in another patrol car. Hill, the police spokesman, said the shooting will be investigated by the commonwealth's attorney and by the Police Department.
The police confirmed that neither Duck nor Beaton are suspects in the earlier shooting.
Hill said the officer had stopped to question Duck and Beaton, and had gotten out of his car with his gun drawn. The gun discharged accidentally, Hill said.
``I don't understand why he had a gun out at all,'' said Beaton's wife, LaNette, who ran out of her house after the shooting. ``Even if he was looking for a suspect, it seems to me he should have asked questions before pulling out a gun.''
``It seems to me just another instance of cops getting scared when they go into a black neighborhood and acting crazy,'' said Flo Freeman, who works in the neighborhood. ``I'm just glad the poor man wasn't killed.''
The police officer was white.
Councilman Paul Riddick said in an interview Thursday before the shooting that he believes some police officers responding to calls in African-American neighborhoods act rashly.
``There's still some serious questions in terms of how white policemen deal with blacks in black communities,'' Riddick said. ``Some - not all, but some - think they should shoot first and ask questions later.''
Riddick called for the formation of a civilian review board after police in Norfolk shot and killed a mentally disturbed man who was wielding a knife in April. City Council will have informal discussions on the matter Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Duck, who hopes to get out of the hospital in a few days, is still waiting for someone from the Police Department to offer him an explanation.
Duck said, ``They came in here to question me about what happened, but they never did tell me why that police officer shot me.''
{KEYWORDS} NORFOLK POLICE SHOOTING RACE RELATIONS
by CNB