THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 24, 1996 TAG: 9608260293
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 47 lines
A police officer has been cleared by the commonwealth's attorney's office of criminal wrongdoing for shooting a man suspected of an armed burglary, police said Friday.
Officer George E. Yates still faces an internal review for shooting Shawnta L. Ward, police spokesman Lou Thurston said.
Ward, a Portsmouth man who was accused but never convicted of two murders and three shootings in that city last year, was in a stolen truck when Yates stopped him Aug. 12. A citizen had identified Ward as one of several men leaving the scene of an armed burglary.
Police found a gun in the stolen truck, but Ward was not armed when he confronted Yates, police said.
Yates fired once. Ward is recovering and has not been charged in the burglary.
Thurston said Yates has maintained consistently that when Ward got out of the truck he acted in a way that caused Yates to fear for his life. A letter from Commonwealth's Attorney Bob Humphreys to Police Chief Charles R. Wall said there was ``insufficient evidence'' to pursue a criminal case against Yates, a 43-year-old officer assigned to the Third Precinct.
A suspect does not need to be armed for a police shooting to be justified, police guidelines show.
An internal investigation into the shooting is ongoing, Thurston said. The goal of that investigation is to see if Yates broke any department rules for using his gun.
The results of the internal investigation won't be released to the public, Thurston said.
Yates was assigned to administrative duties after the shooting. His status Friday wasn't available.
The shooting happened at about 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12 in the A&G Auto Sales lot at Newtown and Baker roads.
Ward, the victim, has a long list of felony arrests in Portsmouth, including two arrests for murder, but that city's commonwealth's attorney has never pursued those charges, according to court records.
Ward's shooting was the fifth time this year that Virginia Beach officers have wounded suspects. The Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney has cleared all of the officers involved.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT SHOOTING BURGLARY by CNB