Anti Federalist
04-05-2012, 12:24 PM
Grand jury probe requested in Pat Cook shooting
http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2012/apr/03/grand-jury-probe-requested-pat-cook-shooting-ar-1814557/
3 April 2012
The special prosecutor assigned to review the Feb. 9 fatal shooting of local housewife Patricia Ann Cook by a Culpeper Police officer has requested a special grand jury investigate the matter.
Potential grand jurors from Culpeper could be summoned as early as next week to commence their work the first week of May, according to Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney James P. Fisher. The special prosecutor said he was hopeful the grand jury review and evidentiary review could be complete by the end of June at which time all the forensic and scientific evidence would also be finalized.
“Whether such an investigation results in prosecution or refusal to indict, such an investigative grand jury, while independent from the prosecutor, is a collaborative and additional investigative force,” Fisher wrote in paperwork filed in Culpeper County Circuit Court Monday morning. “An investigative grand jury will greatly aid the process of fully and expeditiously investigating the incident …”
Fisher’s filing does not name the Culpeper Police officer who fired his department-issued .40-caliber Glock multiple times, killing Cook, 54, after a reported physical altercation in a parking lot of Epiphany Catholic School on North East Street. According to the Virginia State Police, the officer’s arm was trapped in the driver’s side window of Cook’s Jeep Wrangler and he was being dragged as she drove away.
An eyewitness says the officer was not being dragged and his arm was never trapped. Cook managed to turn left out of the parking lot before crashing her Jeep into a utility pole about a block away.
In his court filing Monday, Fisher said the officer was called to a suspicious person’s complaint, and that during the investigation of the complaint he discharged his weapon killing Cook. In his filing, Fisher referenced the Virginia Code in requesting the investigative grand jury appointment saying, “such a grand jury may be convened to investigate any condition that involves or may involve criminal activity, either in the community or by any governmental authority, agency or official thereof.”
“In addition,” Fisher wrote in court documents, “an investigative grand jury fortifies the investigative process as well as the decision to indict or not to indict.”
He said in a release that an investigative grand jury would “provide an expanded dimension to the investigation” while “(providing) enhanced legitimacy to the ultimate issue, which is the existence or nonexistence of probable cause that would support the issuance of criminal charges.”
An investigative grand jury has seven to 11 members whose identities remain confidential. Such a grand jury has the power to subpoena witnesses, documents and records, according to Fisher, and issue formal indictments. A petit jury would prosecute any charges in court.
The officer under investigation in the shooting, a five-year veteran of the Culpeper PD, has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to the town. His name has not been released. According to the town, as standard practice the agency does not release the names of persons of interest or who are the focus of an investigation until such time as charges are placed or an arrest is made. If indicted by the special grand jury, the officer’s name would be made public.
The shooting incident continues to evoke strong emotion in small-town Culpeper as citizens demand answers into the circumstances that left an unarmed woman dead on an otherwise quiet Thursday morning nearly two months ago. According to written policy of the Culpeper PD, deadly force can only be used when an officer “reasonably believes that he/she is in imminent danger of death or serious injury” or when the officer believes another is in danger of the same.
According to Fisher’s news release, only several days per month can be set aside for grand jury work in Culpeper County due to the lack of a resident judge. Fisher was appointed special prosecutor in the Cook shooting the week after her death as Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close recused himself. Close, first elected in 1991, resigned last month following a different controversy surrounding local authorities’ investigation and prosecution of Michael Wayne Hash convicted of capital murder in the 1996 murder of Thelma Scroggins. Hash was let out of jail last month while a different special prosecutor decides whether to retry him.
Meanwhile, friends, family and the community continue to grieve Cook’s violent death in a neighborhood behind Main Street. It remains unknown why she was parked at the Catholic school on that particular morning or what transpired when the officer responded after school authorities reported her as a suspicious person.
Patricia Cook was a retired cosmetologist originally from Alton, Ill. She moved to Culpeper about eight years ago after marrying Gary Cook, who works for the federal government. Mrs. Cook was active in the children’s ministry at Culpeper United Methodist Church designing crafts and cooking in the kitchen for midweek services. At her memorial, Cook was remembered as someone who loved to read her Bible, collect seashells, care for her home and help others.
Mr. Cook, grief stricken over losing his wife, has retained attorneys and notified the town of a potential civil suit in the incident. Lawyer David Kendall of Charlottesville said Monday he was glad to hear of the request for a special grand jury in the matter.
“It’s good that there is finally movement on the investigation. It’s always positive to have some breaking developments in a case of this magnitude,” said Kendall, representing Gary Cook. “I just think the professional way to approach this is to let the special prosecutor and the state police take all the time that they need and do what is necessary for that portion of the process to go forward.”
Kendall said Mr. Cook, who could not be reached for comment Monday, feels the same way.
“We understand and Mr. Cook understands that we need to be patient,” Kendall said, adding. “If we drag on into seven months there comes a point where we will be pushing some limits there, but it hasn’t even been two months yet. We will continue to be patient and wait until the investigation is complete.”
Any civil proceedings would follow that process, he said.
Culpeper Police Chief Chris Jenkins said Monday they too continue to await the outcome of the VSP investigation.
“A thorough investigation is needed in this case, and the use of the special grand jury ensures that this case gets the attention it needs,” he said.
Fisher’s documents requesting a special grand jury were officially filed in the Culpeper County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office Monday at 8:45 a.m., according to the stamp bearing the name of Circuit Court Clerk Jan Corbin. The clerk’s office, however, would not release the papers Monday saying the judge had to sign off on them first. Corbin said she did not have the filing.
Fisher provided a copy of his filing to the Star-Exponent.
http://www2.starexponent.com/news/2012/apr/03/grand-jury-probe-requested-pat-cook-shooting-ar-1814557/
3 April 2012
The special prosecutor assigned to review the Feb. 9 fatal shooting of local housewife Patricia Ann Cook by a Culpeper Police officer has requested a special grand jury investigate the matter.
Potential grand jurors from Culpeper could be summoned as early as next week to commence their work the first week of May, according to Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney James P. Fisher. The special prosecutor said he was hopeful the grand jury review and evidentiary review could be complete by the end of June at which time all the forensic and scientific evidence would also be finalized.
“Whether such an investigation results in prosecution or refusal to indict, such an investigative grand jury, while independent from the prosecutor, is a collaborative and additional investigative force,” Fisher wrote in paperwork filed in Culpeper County Circuit Court Monday morning. “An investigative grand jury will greatly aid the process of fully and expeditiously investigating the incident …”
Fisher’s filing does not name the Culpeper Police officer who fired his department-issued .40-caliber Glock multiple times, killing Cook, 54, after a reported physical altercation in a parking lot of Epiphany Catholic School on North East Street. According to the Virginia State Police, the officer’s arm was trapped in the driver’s side window of Cook’s Jeep Wrangler and he was being dragged as she drove away.
An eyewitness says the officer was not being dragged and his arm was never trapped. Cook managed to turn left out of the parking lot before crashing her Jeep into a utility pole about a block away.
In his court filing Monday, Fisher said the officer was called to a suspicious person’s complaint, and that during the investigation of the complaint he discharged his weapon killing Cook. In his filing, Fisher referenced the Virginia Code in requesting the investigative grand jury appointment saying, “such a grand jury may be convened to investigate any condition that involves or may involve criminal activity, either in the community or by any governmental authority, agency or official thereof.”
“In addition,” Fisher wrote in court documents, “an investigative grand jury fortifies the investigative process as well as the decision to indict or not to indict.”
He said in a release that an investigative grand jury would “provide an expanded dimension to the investigation” while “(providing) enhanced legitimacy to the ultimate issue, which is the existence or nonexistence of probable cause that would support the issuance of criminal charges.”
An investigative grand jury has seven to 11 members whose identities remain confidential. Such a grand jury has the power to subpoena witnesses, documents and records, according to Fisher, and issue formal indictments. A petit jury would prosecute any charges in court.
The officer under investigation in the shooting, a five-year veteran of the Culpeper PD, has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to the town. His name has not been released. According to the town, as standard practice the agency does not release the names of persons of interest or who are the focus of an investigation until such time as charges are placed or an arrest is made. If indicted by the special grand jury, the officer’s name would be made public.
The shooting incident continues to evoke strong emotion in small-town Culpeper as citizens demand answers into the circumstances that left an unarmed woman dead on an otherwise quiet Thursday morning nearly two months ago. According to written policy of the Culpeper PD, deadly force can only be used when an officer “reasonably believes that he/she is in imminent danger of death or serious injury” or when the officer believes another is in danger of the same.
According to Fisher’s news release, only several days per month can be set aside for grand jury work in Culpeper County due to the lack of a resident judge. Fisher was appointed special prosecutor in the Cook shooting the week after her death as Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary Close recused himself. Close, first elected in 1991, resigned last month following a different controversy surrounding local authorities’ investigation and prosecution of Michael Wayne Hash convicted of capital murder in the 1996 murder of Thelma Scroggins. Hash was let out of jail last month while a different special prosecutor decides whether to retry him.
Meanwhile, friends, family and the community continue to grieve Cook’s violent death in a neighborhood behind Main Street. It remains unknown why she was parked at the Catholic school on that particular morning or what transpired when the officer responded after school authorities reported her as a suspicious person.
Patricia Cook was a retired cosmetologist originally from Alton, Ill. She moved to Culpeper about eight years ago after marrying Gary Cook, who works for the federal government. Mrs. Cook was active in the children’s ministry at Culpeper United Methodist Church designing crafts and cooking in the kitchen for midweek services. At her memorial, Cook was remembered as someone who loved to read her Bible, collect seashells, care for her home and help others.
Mr. Cook, grief stricken over losing his wife, has retained attorneys and notified the town of a potential civil suit in the incident. Lawyer David Kendall of Charlottesville said Monday he was glad to hear of the request for a special grand jury in the matter.
“It’s good that there is finally movement on the investigation. It’s always positive to have some breaking developments in a case of this magnitude,” said Kendall, representing Gary Cook. “I just think the professional way to approach this is to let the special prosecutor and the state police take all the time that they need and do what is necessary for that portion of the process to go forward.”
Kendall said Mr. Cook, who could not be reached for comment Monday, feels the same way.
“We understand and Mr. Cook understands that we need to be patient,” Kendall said, adding. “If we drag on into seven months there comes a point where we will be pushing some limits there, but it hasn’t even been two months yet. We will continue to be patient and wait until the investigation is complete.”
Any civil proceedings would follow that process, he said.
Culpeper Police Chief Chris Jenkins said Monday they too continue to await the outcome of the VSP investigation.
“A thorough investigation is needed in this case, and the use of the special grand jury ensures that this case gets the attention it needs,” he said.
Fisher’s documents requesting a special grand jury were officially filed in the Culpeper County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office Monday at 8:45 a.m., according to the stamp bearing the name of Circuit Court Clerk Jan Corbin. The clerk’s office, however, would not release the papers Monday saying the judge had to sign off on them first. Corbin said she did not have the filing.
Fisher provided a copy of his filing to the Star-Exponent.