THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 7, 1994 TAG: 9406070358
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN E. QUINONES MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940607 LENGTH: NORFOLK
The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office has cleared Officer M. L. Warren of any criminal wrongdoing for shooting Ronald Duck in the left shoulder, police spokesman Larry Hill said on Monday.
{REST} Duck, 37, a store custodian, was outside his apartment building in the 2100 block of Grandy Ave. about 10 p.m. Thursday when Warren pulled his patrol car behind a car that had just parked in the building's driveway.
Duck and another man, Chris Beaton, both said they saw Warren get out of the patrol car and extend his arms in Duck's direction. They heard a gunshot, and Duck was knocked to on the ground. The gun discharged by accident, police said Friday.
``My father came out of the house when he heard the commotion, and started crying when he saw me,'' Duck said on Friday. ``I was just hoping I wasn't going to die.''
Duck was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He was released Sunday.
Police said that Warren was in the area searching for a man involved in a shooting that had occurred a short time before about a block away. They said the officer got out of his car - gun in hand - to question the Duck and Beaton.
Neither man was a suspect in the earlier shooting, and neither was charged.
Warren remains suspended without pay. He still faces investigations by the Police Department's Internal Affairs Division and a departmental Firearms Review Board.
City Councilman Paul Riddick, who recently called for creation of a civilian review board to handle such cases, was critical of the commonwealth's attorney's investigation.
The office has no credibility, he said, referring to recent criminal trials during which prosecutors were found to have surpressed evidence.
``I have no confidence in the finding, because there is no telling what that office uses as guidelines in these matters,'' Riddick said.
``The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is too political and this city is too small for anyone to believe it will come up with a correct decision.''
Charles D. Griffith Jr., the commonwealth's attorney, could not be reached for comment.
Riddick said City Council will hold informal discussions today on creating a civilian review board.
{KEYWORDS} NORFOLK POLICE DEPARTMENT SHOOTING INJURY SUSPENSION INVESTIGATION INTERNAL AFFAIRS
by CNB