The jurys decision is a declaration that an Arkansas law enforcement officer, in full uniform, unlawfully killed Hunter Brittain, the attorneys said. "I don't think it's fair. Details about when the camera was activated and what footage was captured arent publicly known because Freedom of Information Act requests for the footage have been denied. Brittain turned into a nearby parking lot and jumped out of the backward moving vehicle and reached into the back of the truck, he said. During the early morning hours of June 23, Davis spotted Brittain driving a vehicle that was smoking heavily and an engine that was knocking, Newcomb said Wednesday. Davis claimed he didn't realize he didn't turn on his body camera until after the shots were fired. attracted the attention of Black civil rights leaders. Newcomb, a Little Rock attorney who often represents police officers, requested a grievance hearing on behalf of Davis from Lonoke County. Multiple Brittain family members rushed from the room as graphic images of the 17-year-old played out on a screen. As they were getting pulled over, King said they were laughing and thought it was funny because the truck was smoking. King, 16 at the time, said the teens had previously used a coolant container to stop the truck from rolling back. The last witness called in by prosecution was Davis' former boss, Sheriff John Staley, who told the jury that Davis had issues with turning on his body camera in the past. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The only one who has been accurate on that is Sgt. While investigating the incident, Lonoke County Sheriff's Office discovered that Davis' body camera footage had only been turned on after Brittain had been shot. All rights reserved. Because of the great public interest in this case, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has made the video available, but with two alterations: The view of the victims body has been blurred by our staff out of sensitivity, and the video, which is nearly 19 minutes long, has been shortened to about 15 1/2 minutes to eliminate portions that had no audio or meaningful video. What happened to the officer who shot Hunter Brittain? The Brittain family is being represented by Ben Crump, the same civil rights lawyer who represented George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer last summer. Graham filed the motion for a special prosecutor on July 8, a week after a conversation with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Brittain was transferred to a nearby hospital where he died from the gunshot wound. They always seem to have their body cameras off. Brittain was fatally shot by a deputy during a traffic stop . There are no cameras allowed inside the courtroom and that's how it's going to be for the remainder of the week and for the rest of this trial. The document says what it says, Jacob said. Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley last week fired Davis for not turning on his body camera until after he had shot Brittain. He told the state police when he was interviewed by them that he shot one time and why. Taped interviews with Staley and Davis were still being redacted by the state police as of Friday and will be released at a later date. "I didn't say that this defendant was a bad guy. He claimed in documents filed in Lonoke County Circuit Court that Davis has had a very close working relationship with most members of the prosecutors office and has recently testified for the state in at least one jury trial. The motion was granted by 1st Division Circuit Judge Barbara Elmore the same day. Davis shot Brittain once while Brittain's hands were still in the truck bed, according to Davis' statement to state police investigators and his testimony while on the stand. Robert Newcomb, Daviss attorney, said he planned to challenge the standard jurors used to determine whether Davis was negligent. Crump questioned Grahams involvement in the case in response to inquiries Wednesday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Davis and King have said that Brittain jumped out of the truck as soon as he stopped for Davis. According to an affidavit read by Phillips at a press conference, Brittain was test-driving a pickup truck with his cousin that the two spent the night tinkering on at a local repair shop. Brittains family has said the teenager was unarmed and was holding a jug of antifreeze when he was shot. Videos from body cameras show moments after deputy fired fatal shot, The Arkansas State Police released video Friday from the body camera of former Lonoke County Deputy Michael Davis, taken the night 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was fatally shot during a traffic stop near Cabot. Arkansas State Police are investigating Brittains death. Killing of Hunter Brittain Read Edit View history At approximately 3:00 am ( CDT) on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 17-year-old Hunter Brittain, who was unarmed, was shot by Lonoke County sheriff's deputy Sgt. Hunter did nothing wrong, just like we felt George Floyd did nothing wrong, Sharpton told reporters before the memorial. The first witness called to the stand by the prosecution team was 16-year-old Jordan King. "Now, what's gonna happen? Davis testified that he thought the teen was grabbing for a gun. It also attracted the attention of Black civil rights leaders like attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Brittains family, and has stood alongside them as theyve called for justice. This is the ideal, Marque Heydari said. Brittain made his way to the truck bed, where he grabbed a blue coolant jug. Weeks later the investigative file was sent to his office, and the state polices denial regarding the release of body-camera footage related to the shooting cited Grahams opinion on the issue. The email went on to state, Chuck Graham, Lonoke Prosecuting Attorney, has further opposed the release of the body camera footage related to this incident at this time. When asked by the Democrat-Gazette, Graham confirmed that he continued to communicate with the state police agency up until filing his recusal. The biggest thing about his testimony was that he said he never heard Davis give any verbal cues until after Brittain was shot. As I have said since day one, this was a tragic event and we all need to continue praying for those involved," Staley said. Im his grandmother. The law states that records, files and information kept, obtained or retained by the lab are privileged and confidential and that only a defendant, attorney of defendant or prosecuting attorney can be granted access to records pertaining to a defendants criminal case.. Special prosecutors, who dont have connections to the police agency, are then appointed by the Arkansas prosecutor coordinator, Bob McMahan. The document says what it says, Jacob said. CPR is started almost immediately. The passenger in Brittains truck said he and the teen had been working on the pickups transmission. Melissia McMahan, who is the Brittain familys mail carrier and knew the teen since he was a toddler, said she had thought about the need for police reform before Brittains death but hadnt thought it was something her own community would face. "I was hoping for a not guilty verdict on both charges. Its about right and wrong.. Jury deliberations lasted less than three hours. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. The civil rights attorneys, who represented George Floyds family after Minneapolis police killed him in May 2020, said: Hunter deserved better. She said that is easier for larger prosecuting offices to implement. The following day on March 18, the jury found Michael Davis guilty of negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of Hunter Brittain after 2.5 hours of deliberation. In an interview with investigators, Davis said that before he could put his own car in park, Brittain jumped out and moved to the rear of the truck and began reaching into the bed as it slowly rolled backward. Video at arkansasonline.com/mdavis/. Davis did not report at the time that he was in pursuit because he realized the truck was attempting to turn left into the body shop. Hopefully, Hunter and his untimely death will finish what Hunters brother George Floyd and his death started, Jacob said. The report said that a sergeant with the Lonoke County sheriffs office who has been identified as Michael Davis conducted a traffic stop at Arkansas 89 and Tower Road when the decedent [Brittain] got out of the vehicle and got something out of the back before moving toward the sergeant, after which the sergeant fired his weapon. But we are going to change that. Alissa Marque Heydari, deputy director for the Institute of Innovation in Prosecution at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, says it is recommended that if a prosecuting office is involved in an investigation, the office is staffed by prosecutors and investigators who are completely internally separate from the rest of the office. The county has not decided whether to grant the hearing, County Attorney Allen Dodson said Wednesday. The issue of policing is not about Black and white, Sharpton told a packed auditorium at Beebe High School, where Brittain was a rising senior. Mike Davis near a body shop in Cabot. Its time they start letting us know something., Community members also rallied behind the Brittain family, demanding Justice for Hunter.. I never expected anything like what happened, especially not just a country boy working on his truck and taking it for a test drive, she said. I just said that he was a good guy that made a really horrible decision and choice and so that makes it even worse," Prosecuting attorney, Jeff Phillips said. It's not that this isn't a shocking and tragic. Michael Davis of the Lonoke County sheriff's office are shown in this undated combination of courtesy photos. Al Sharpton, who spoke at Brittain's funeral July 6 at Beebe High School, where the teen attended school. Hunter Brittain, the 17-year-old killed by a Lonoke County sheriffs deputy in June, died of gunshot wounds in his neck and arm, according to a coroners report released Wednesday. Brittain had been fatally shot by a Lonoke County sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop early that morning. Hunters family is already distrustful because they havent gotten any answers whatsoever, Crump said. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. But it turned out to just be a jug of antifreeze. After the verdict was announced, Brittains family and friends chanted Justice for Hunter outside the national guard facility used for the trial. The former deputy said Brittain wasn't listening and his hands were in the back of the truck and that's when Davis fired at Brittain. 1, we dont have situations like this very often, he said. Former Arkansas deputy Michael Davis was found guilty of negligent homicide in the shooting death of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. The state rested their case and the defense will start on Thursday, March 17, at 9 a.m. During the third day of trial, the defense brought up their witnesses. There's no way around it and nobody's gonna change my mind about it," he said. The next day, the Arkansas State Police passed the investigation file to Grahams office. The family of Brittain has hired Devon Jacob and Benjamin Crump to represent them in the case. You know, he'll go back to force," she said. The civil-rights attorneys also represented the family of George Floyd, who died in 2020 while in police custody in Minneapolis. On Friday, the Arkansas State Police released the law enforcement video of the aftermath of the June 23, 2021, shooting death of Hunter Brittain in Lonoke County. He took a life.. The charge was brought by special prosecutor Jeff Phillips of the 5th Judicial District after Lonoke County prosecutor Chuck Graham recused himself from the case. It wont require a recusal, Abdul-Bey said. As Brittain did this, Davis shot one round at Brittain in his lower right neck. During his instruction it states that you must tell the subject you are going to shoot them before "if possible." Michael Davis guilty of negligent homicide in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham said he had received the Arkansas State Police case file on the deadly shooting of the teen during a June 23 . The coroners report does not specify how many times Brittain was shot but does list the immediate cause/manner of death as gunshot wound of neck and arm. The firearm was listed as a police-issued, semi-automatic pistol. Davis, Newcomb said. You could always say Mr. Graham should have stepped away immediately but that is hindsight, Newcomb said. On July 1, over a week after Brittain's death, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley announced through a Facebook video Thursday that former Sergeant Mike Davis was fired due to policy violations. The family of Brittain has hired Devon Jacob and Benjamin Crump to represent them in the case. An investigator with the Arkansas State Police was called to the stand after. He remains free on bond pending appeal. Al Sharpton and attorneys for George Floyds family on Tuesday mourned a white Arkansas teenager fatally shot by a sheriffs deputy, as they urged support across racial lines for efforts to reform police practices. The memorial included calls to pass federal legislation in Floyds name to overhaul police practices. Chuck. Text messages sent later that day and on June 28 were redacted by the state police agency. After Phillips announcement that a warrant would be issued for Davis arrest on Friday, the courtroom burst into cheers. The teen was having trouble shifting the truck into park, according to a friend in the car at the time, so Mr Brittain jumped out of the car to retrieve a jug in the trucks bed he used as a backstop for the ageing vehicle. Pierson pled guilty to one count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Davis mentioned Brittain's 'loud' and 'smoking' truck, along with their interaction happening 3 a.m. In June, at 3 a.m. on a dark stretch of a highway in rural Arkansas, 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was shot and killed by a sergeant from the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office. He wont be an officer no more and he cant kill no more kids.. They know exactly what they are doing. A Freedom of Information Act request for communication between Graham and the Arkansas State Police shows there was some contact between the two agencies between the time of the shooting and Grahams recusal. His instruction it states that you must tell the subject you are going to shoot them before `` if.... 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