VA - Update on the Patricia Cook killing.

[Anti Federalist]

A little news from last week on this front.




Citizen Wants 'Open Investigation' Into Officer-Involved Shooting Of Patricia Cook

http://wusa9.com/news/article/204090/373/Citizen-Wants-Open-Investigation-Into-Officer-Involved-Shooting-Of-Patricia-Cook

CULPEPER, Va. (WUSA) -- It's been almost three months since a Culpeper Police Officer shot and killed a retired Sunday school teacher in a church school parking lot, yet there are still more questions than answers about what happened the day Patricia Cook was killed.

The investigation is now in the hands of Virginia State Police, a special prosecutor in Fauquier County, and a special investigative grand jury. But many people in Culpeper say the investigation is taking too long.

"I think it's a coverup," said Patricia Wise, a Culpeper resident as she walked past the site of the shooting Tuesday morning.

State Police say the officer, who's name has not been released, was responding to a report of a suspicious person sitting in a car in the Epiphany Catholic School parking lot. When the officer asked 54-year-old Patricia Cook for identification, she rolled up her window catching the officers arm inside, then drove off. Police say she was dragging him down the street when he opened fire.

But at least one eye witness says that account is incorrect:

"The window was halfway up. He said stop or I will shoot. I didn't think he was going to do it. But she got the window all the way up and that's when he shot her," said Kris Buchele.

So far, no charges have been filed against the officer. He is still on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The only thing the town spokesman will say is that: ""The investigation is in the hands of a special prosecutor and the state police. Like everyone, we await the results of that investigation."

That response doesn't sit will with James Jennings, a Culpeper resident and retired elementary school teacher.

"Something just doesn't add up. How could this woman, who is a retired homemakers and who was unarmed, how could she be shot to death in a church school parking lot?" asked Jennings.

Last week, Jennings started a "Justice for Patricia Cook" Facebook page. He's also started an online petition requesting that criminal charges be filed against the officer. So far, he's received almost 350 signatures.

"Our primary focus is to ensure that all the details, evidence, and eyewitness accounts are brought out into the open," said Jennings. "This should not be closed-door investigation."

But other people in town, like Wayne Rinker, say Jenning's is causing more harm than good.

"I think people should just be patient and let the judicial system run it's course," said Rinker.

Virginia State Police haven't given any timeframe as to when their investigation will be complete. The special prosecutor in Fauqier County says it will be the end of June at the earliest before the grand jury has reached a decision.

[Anti Federalist]

The FarceBook page mentioned:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Patricia-Cook/405709186116293

[phill4paul]

When government fails good men stand. I'll take James Jennings over 1k 'toe the blue line' L.E. any day. Seems the only way things are gonna get done. Soap box is past. Ignored. Ballot box is passing. Alternatives are getting slim.

[TheTexan]

No video didn't happen. I'll be very surprised if this cop is held accountable.

[JK/SEA]

Well, you would think that if there was any 'dirt' on Cook, it would have leaked out by now...

[TheTexan]

Well, you would think that if there was any 'dirt' on Cook, it would have leaked out by now...

Don't need dirt on Cook. The officer "was in fear for his life, doing his dangerous & heroic job". That's all he needs.

[JK/SEA]

I don't like lawsuits on cases like this because of reasons you all know about, but god damn, if this were my wife, sister, or mother, i would sue everyone i could including that scum cop and his family for as much as i could. A one, followed by 50 zeros.....money talks, and the only way this shits gonna end is to drain the coffers.

[Lucille]

Husband of Sunday School Teacher Killed by Culpeper Cop Files $5 Million Wrongful Death Lawsuit (http://reason.com/blog/2012/05/15/husband-of-sunday-school-teacher-killed)


Gary Cook, the husband of a retired Sunday school teacher who was shot and killed by a Culpeper police officer who then apparently lied about what caused him to shoot, has filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against Det. Daniel W. Harmon-Wright and the city of Culpeper, Virginia:


The suit, which was filed on behalf of Gary Cook on May 11 in Culpeper County Circuit Court, seeks $5 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages from the detective who shot and killed Patricia Cook on Feb. 9.

For the first time since the shooting, the suit identifies the officer involved in the shooting as Daniel W. Harmon-Wright, aka Daniel W. Sullivan. Cook and his legal team claim in the suite that the detective's actions "constituted an utter disregard of caution amounting to a complete neglect of the safety of another person."

The lawsuit alleges: "When Harmon-Wright drew his gun and fired, Mrs. Cook was not endangering his life...or any other person." Cook did not have a weapon.

[Anti Federalist]

"When Harmon-Wright drew his gun and fired, Mrs. Cook was not endangering his life...or any other person."

Contempt of Cop.

Sentence: summary execution.

[QuickZ06]

If only azxd was still around, today is his favorite day, Peace Officer's Memorial Day!

[gtrguy]

Thanks Phill, I started the Facebook page and petition because, at the 10 week mark, there had not been a single comment in our local paper or anywhere else for the 5 weeks prior to that. The officer is still on the payroll and no charges have been filed. We've now reached almost 900 signatures ( mine was the only one for a while ). The truly sad thing is how few people in our town have signed. Many are afraid, but most are just apathetic and simply want to not rock the boat. Thank you for your kind words. If you haven't already done so, please consider signing our petition. I plan on delivering it to the Special Prosecutor on June 1. We still need about 115 signatures to reach our original goal of 1,000 ( there's a petition about a dog being shot by a police officer in D.C. and they've got 33,000 signatures -- sad that a retired Sunday School teacher doesn't muster 1/33 of the sympathy for a shot dog -- not that that doesn't deserve sympathy, but she certainly deserves as much ). Obviously, the petition has no legal bearing on anything, but is an attempt to counteract the clear political pressure to bury this shooting. Not a single local official has called for any eventual release of information, and in VA, the special grand jury, has the authority to exonerate the officer and seal all testimony. This exact thing happened a few years ago in Appomattox, in a death where 6 sheriff's deputies swarmed an unarmed man and he died. It took 2 years to exonerate them all, never went to trial and no details were ever released. I'm cautiously optimistic that the Special Grand Jury ( which is expected to complete in mid-end June ) will do the right thing and either indict this officer, or release all the evidence, with a clearly justifiable reason for shooting Mrs Cook. That will be a difficult process as the death certificate makes it clear that she was shot in the arm, head, neck, and multiple times in the back.. and ballistics show that he followed her from the parking lot and continued to unload his glock into her vehicle as she attempted to drive away ( in one of the busiest parts of town, in the middle of the day ... endangering anyone who might have been passing by ).

[gtrguy]

As they say that new users must have at least 3 entries before posting a link, I guess I post some blank ones before I can post the link to the petition:

[gtrguy]

Here's the third. Unsure why you need at least 3 to post a link- guess I can post the links on the next one ( I thought that Ron was for deregulation :D )

[gtrguy]

http://www.change.org/petitions/special-prosecutor-bring-criminal-charges-against-police-officer-who-killed-patricia-cook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Patricia-Cook/405709186116293

[pcosmar]

http://www.change.org/petitions/special-prosecutor-bring-criminal-charges-against-police-officer-who-killed-patricia-cook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Patricia-Cook/405709186116293

I'll give it a look, and likely sign.

In reality though,, there are so many of these stories it is hard to keep up.

:(

Oh,, and Welcome.

[thoughtomator]

If someone wants to pay my way to go to this event Tuesday morning I'll print out any and all documents you want and personally hand them to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (who is also running for governor).

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=qm9moccab&v=001OOxHMyT1jj1LPzeFee2j9EzsPNo_sqgXXtI3EDphXBNy7 90dx6uXX6saTL1BpLBJlN0FXtiAv-pGJC-DGTnby0IDKbv3t4NbMcwbeUJ7hJutDvtZ_AEG7RVorUlDFmYl

[Lucille]

Culpeper officer indicted for murder in woman’s shooting (http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/05/29/culpeper-officer-charged-in-womans-shooting/)


Without commenting on the particulars of the investigation, over the course of the month of May, this special investigative grand jury heard from more than 45 witnesses, received more than 100 separate exhibits and were presented with reams of documentary evidence,” Fisher said in a statement Tuesday night.

In addition, the special investigative grand jury also handed down three counts of uttering and three counts of forgery of public documents against Harmon-Wright’s mother, Bethany P. Sullivan, 55, of Orange.

Through the course of the special grand jury’s investigation, a Virginia State police press release noted, evidence came to light concerning Sullivan’s role in forging public records in an attempt to purge Harmon-Wright’s personnel file of negative information.

via Balko

[pcosmar]

Culpeper officer indicted for murder in woman’s shooting (http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2012/05/29/culpeper-officer-charged-in-womans-shooting/)



via Balko

WTF???

This Cop had more aliases than me?
Curious.

[aGameOfThrones]

Harmon–Wright had been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.

But Mayor Chip Coleman said in a statement Tuesday night that the officer has now been suspended without pay.

After a 3 month vacation... Sigh.


In addition, the special investigative grand jury also handed down three counts of uttering and three counts of forgery of public documents against Harmon-Wright’s mother, Bethany P. Sullivan, 55, of Orange.

Through the course of the special grand jury’s investigation, a Virginia State police press release noted, evidence came to light concerning* Sullivan’s role in forging public records in an attempt to purge Harmon-Wright’s personnel file of negative information.

Sullivan was employed as an administrative secretary to the chief of police at the time of Harmon-Wright’s hiring as a police officer. Sullivan left the police department in 2010.

Sullivan was taken into custody without incident late Tuesday night. Sullivan was released on an unsecured bond of $5,000 on each count.

Oh mama.

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

Contempt of Cop.

Sentence: summary execution.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-37zWzhoXZlE/TsUl4DwmQ2I/AAAAAAAAAsc/mrOCuyC0gaI/s1600/Sylvester-Stallone_Judge_l.jpg

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

If only azxd was still around, today is his favorite day, Peace Officer's Memorial Day!

He's probably still here. Whether he was a paid cop defender or did it for fun, he likely had some sort of RPF addiction. I'm sure most people that get banned after being here so long come back in some form.

[Anti Federalist]

WTF???

This Cop had more aliases than me?
Curious.

And his mother got charged as well, apperantly for covering up his record to get him hired.

Just another bad apple.

[QuickZ06]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-37zWzhoXZlE/TsUl4DwmQ2I/AAAAAAAAAsc/mrOCuyC0gaI/s1600/Sylvester-Stallone_Judge_l.jpg

I am the law! Im think in 10 years and we will have a bunch of Judge Dredds on our hands, well we kinda already in a sense I guess. As some think they are above it.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

And his mother got charged as well, apperantly for covering up his record to get him hired.

Just another bad apple.


Actually, if your first sentence is true (sorry I haven't had time to look), then we are looking at a good example here. Kudos for that.

[phill4paul]

According to the Virginia State Police, Harmon–Wright has been charged with one count of murder, malicious shooting into an occupied vehicle, malicious shooting into an occupied vehicle resulting in a death and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Those are some SERIOUS charges! For a murder charge there has to be some damaging evidence otherwise it is usually prosecuted as manslaughter. May justice be prevail.

[pcosmar]

May justice be prevail.

From your lips (finger tips) to God's ears.

[phill4paul]

From your lips (finger tips) to God's ears.

Well, if it is going that high then I wish I had formed a coherent sentence. Think I got sun baked today. HE will know what I meant though. :D

[Brian4Liberty]

Those are some SERIOUS charges! For a murder charge there has to be some damaging evidence otherwise it is usually prosecuted as manslaughter. May justice be prevail.

Maybe they intentionally over-charged so they will get a not guilty.

[phill4paul]

Maybe they intentionally over-charged so they will get a not guilty.

I dunno. From what I understand Grand Juries only make a recommendation regarding a case. It is up to the states attorney general to actually bring the case in the manner they feel they can win it. I may be wrong.

[Brian4Liberty]

I dunno. From what I understand Grand Juries only make a recommendation regarding a case. It is up to the states attorney general to actually bring the case in the manner they feel they can win it. I may be wrong.

I'm not sure, just going by the charges that were listed.

[Anti Federalist]

Highly unusual.


The indictment, handed up by a special grand jury, is highly unusual. There have been few cases in the United States in which an officer has faced so serious a charge in connection with actions taken on duty.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/virginia-police-officer-indicted-on-murder-charge/2012/05/29/gJQAjBcO0U_story.html

Why is that? Why is the prosecution “highly unusual”? Because the investigation was unusual. First, a separate police agency was brought into the case. All too often the same agency ends up investigating itself. Second, a special prosecutor was appointed to the case. That was another important move. The local prosecutors work with the local police week to week. They depend on the police to help them win in court. Even if there is evidence of wrongdoing, prosecutors often look the other way so as not to “rock the boat.” Third, a special investigative grand jury was convened to hear from more than 45 witnesses. In sum, this seems to be the model for how questionable police killings should be investigated. The fact that this is the exception, not the rule, exposes a very serious problem that we must confront.

http://www.policemisconduct.net/

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Maybe they intentionally over-charged so they will get a not guilty.


I thought they usually overcharge to get a plea deal, but I see your point here. From what this case looks like, anyone normal person would be convicted of murder.

[phill4paul]

I had made a post concerning an update regarding this case. I'll just go ahead and repost it here which is probably where I should have since this is the 'Updates' thread....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...U_story_1.html


In Culpeper, mystery surrounds police officer’s fatal shooting of homemaker

By Justin Jouvenal, Published: May 31

CULPEPER, Va. — There was shouting, the police officer had his gun drawn and the Jeep Wrangler was rolling across a parking lot, said Kris Buchele, who took notice just in time to witness the deadly climax between the officer and a Sunday school teacher.

The officer, jogging alongside the Wrangler, tapped on the driver’s-side window with his gun as Patricia Cook rolled it up, Buchele remembered, and then the order came in a booming voice: “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

The Jeep kept moving, and the officer fired at point-blank range into the Jeep, Buchele recalled. He said that Cook made a left and that Officer Daniel Harmon-Wright darted into the street, taking five more shots at the back of the vehicle as it drove away.

Adam Forster, another witness, saw the Wrangler plow into a telephone pole. Cook, 54, of Culpeper, was declared dead soon after on that February morning.

“Why did she do it? Why did she do it?” Forster recalled Harmon-Wright telling other officers who arrived.

Buchele’s and Forster’s accounts were key to a special grand jury in Culpeper County issuing a rare indictment against a police officer this week: committing murder while in the line of duty.

But an attorney for Harmon-Wright, 32, of Gainesville, offered a dramatically different version of events, saying eyewitnesses saw only the tail end of the encounter. He said his client, a former Marine and Iraq war veteran, fired because he feared for his life. By Daniel L. Hawes’s account, Cook was the aggressor and might have been seeking to take her own life.

When Harmon-Wright fired, Hawes said, his fingers were trapped in the window of the moving Jeep and Cook had refused his order to stop.

A community shaken

The killing has shaken and outraged the 16,000 residents of Culpeper, a town that has not had another fatal police shooting since its department was created in 1956. It has also left an enduring mystery: How could an encounter between a homemaker with no criminal record and a police officer responding to a routine call end in death?

“I miss the conversations, making plans to go here or there, no longer having a future to look forward to,” Gary Cook, Patricia Cook’s husband, wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post. “It’s very lonely at home. The apartment is dark, quiet. There’s no cheer in my life.”

The encounter between Harmon-Wright, who is apparently a graduate of Vienna’s James Madison High School, and Cook began early Feb. 9. Harmon-Wright was dispatched to investigate a report of a suspicious person in the parking lot of Epiphany Catholic School about 10 a.m.

“One of the school staff noticed a woman circling the building,” said Michael J. Donohue, spokesman for Diocese of Arlington. “That seemed odd to staff. One of the staff asked her to leave and she refused, so they called police.”

In the account provided by Harmon-Wright’s attorney, the five-year police veteran approached Cook’s vehicle and asked for identification. As Harmon-Wright reached inside the car to grab it, Cook began rolling up the window, trapping the officer’s fingers, Hawes said. Cook put the car in gear, Hawes said, and Harmon-Wright jumped up on the running board as the Jeep began moving.

For about 50 yards, Hawes said, Cook began alternately slamming on the brakes and hitting the accelerator.

Harmon-Wright ordered her to stop and then shot her with the gun in his free hand when she failed to do so, Hawes said. Hawes added that the additional shots were “more than necessary” but said his client was defending himself.

“All of this happened in the space of three seconds. He was pretty well panicked,” Hawes said.

But the attorney contends that it went beyond that. He said Cook was depressed and looking to take her own life via a confrontation with police.

Greg Webb, an attorney for Cook’s husband, said that those claims are baseless and that the accusation amounted to an attempt to blame the victim. Gary Cook is pursuing a $5 million civil suit against Harmon-Wright.

Webb said he believes that Harmon-Wright “snapped.” “Five shots seem beyond the pale,” he said. “When you start firing that many times, it makes you wonder what’s going on. Anger? Frustration?”

Soon after the killing, Culpeper Police Chief Chris Jenkins asked the Virginia State Police to investigate. Authorities initially said that Harmon-Wright’s arm was trapped and that he was dragged during his encounter with Cook. But Jim Fisher, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, said that description was inaccurate.

“These words, ‘trapped’ and ‘dragged,’ were not words that would I use,” said Fisher, who declined to discuss additional details of the case.

Different backgrounds

The case has also raised questions about whether Harmon-Wright should have been on the force. Harmon-Wright’s mother, Bethany Sullivan, who was the administrative secretary to the former Culpeper police chief, was charged with forging Harmon-Wright’s 2006 performance evaluation and his Town of Culpeper entrance exam, according to court records. She could not be reached for comment.

Cook was from Illinois but moved to Culpeper about eight years ago, said Randy Orndorff, her pastor. He said the former cosmetologist was always immaculately made up. She enjoyed quilting, but most of all loved teaching Sunday school. “She got a lot out of it because she didn’t have any children,” Orndorff said.

Gary Cook woke up early for a job at the General Services Administration in the District, so the pair enjoyed catching up at night. Webb said dinner is now the hardest time of the day for his client.

Harmon-Wright came from a different background. Fairfax County school officials said a student under a name he used to use graduated from James Madison High in 1998. He then joined the military and was deployed to Iraq in 2003, according to a profile matching his description on the Web site Classmates.com.

Hawes said Harmon-Wright, who is married and has a young son, joined the Culpeper police in 2006 and has never been disciplined. His family members did not respond to calls for comment.

Some Culpeper residents said they were angry officials did not move quickly to release information about the shooting after witnesses contradicted the initial state police version of events.

A Culpeper resident started a “Justice for Patricia Cook” Facebook page and online petition calling for charges to be filed against Harmon-Wright. James Jennings also wants “a professional postmortem on how this happened.”

Culpeper’s mayor and police chief did not return calls for comment, but town spokesman Wally Bunker said there were no plans for such a review. He said Culpeper officials’ hands were tied about disseminating information because the state was handling the case.

“I certainly understand their anger, but we were in the same predicament. We were waiting for the results of the investigation just like they were,” he said.

A coupla things.

First, the attempt to turn the victim into someone that was mentally ill and needed an intervention. 'Suicide by cop?' Pathetic.

Second, a vehicle travelling 50 yards in 3 seconds would have to maintain a constant speed of 35 miles an hour. And we are meant to believe this all the while she was alternately braking and accelerating? Impossible in that Jeep.

[aGameOfThrones]

special grand jury in Culpeper County issuing a rare indictment against a police officer this week: committing murder while in the line of duty.

Shame they're rare.

[Voluntary Man]

Don't need dirt on Cook. The officer "was in fear for his life, doing his dangerous & heroic job". That's all he needs.

if firemen left a family to die in their beds, of smoke-inhalation, while they stood outside and watched, because the fire fighters were too frightened, by an actual -- yet compartmentalized -- kitchen grease fire, to do their jobs, there would be public outrage and investigations.

So, why do those badge-wearing pussies get away with directly murdering innocent and defenseless citizens, while claiming they were frightened by this unarmed pregnant woman or that wheelchair-bound quadriplegic octogenarian?

if you're such a coward that you need to shoot poodles, children, women, and cripples, to get through your shift without pissing your pants, go home, apply for SSI, pound fist-fulls of Prozac, and pour yourselves a warm bath within reach of a sharp razor blade, because the the public is better protected and served without a bunch of sniveling, jumpy Barney Fifes nervously emptying their service revolvers into every dark shadow or in the direction of every stray cat that goes bump in the night....or, more often than not, in broad daylight.

Go home! We don't need you! You are a menace to decent society! Do the world a favor, and let the next life you take be your own, you worthless, cowardly scum!

[Anti Federalist]

Cop fired.



Culpeper Police Officer Charged With Murder Terminated

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Daniel_Harmon-Wright_Terminated_as_Culpeper_Police_Officer_15991 4065.html

June 21, 2012

Effective June 19, Daniel Harmon-Wright’s employment with the Culpeper Police Department was terminated. This termination occurred after the completion of an Internal Affairs investigation into the matter of the shooting of Patricia Cook. Earlier this month, Harmon-Wright pleaded not guilty.

The Town would like to thank the community for its patience throughout this process.

[JK/SEA]

anyone taking bets on the trial outcome?

[phill4paul]

anyone taking bets on the trial outcome?

I dunno. We will see. My belief is that their had to be pretty damning evidence for A grand jury to move it forward. One thing I won't bet against is that the PBA is standing by to get him reinstated with back pay should he be acquitted.

[Pauling]

Why isn't this being talked about in the msm?