White Montgomery Police Officer Indicted for Murder of Unarmed Black Man
Jamel Brown speaks through a megaphone as he arrives for a hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Montgomery, Ala., Thursday, March 24, 2016. Montgomery police Officer Aaron Smith is charged with murder in the shooting death of a black man, Greg Gunn, who, a family lawyer says, was walking home when he was slain outside a neighbor's house. (Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)
Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com
By Kent Faulk | kfaulk@al.com
November 18, 2016 at 5:35 PM
A white Montgomery police officer was indicted Friday for murder in the Feb. 25 death of an unarmed black man.
Aaron C. Smith was indicted for the murder of Gregory Gunn, 58, of west Montgomery. Gunn was hit with a stun gun three times, beaten with a baton and shot five times by Smith, a state investigator had testified at a preliminary hearing in March. Smith fired seven times.
At the hearing in March a judge found probable cause for the murder charge against Smith and forwarded the case to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Smith's attorney, Mickey McDermott, said they continue to believe that Smith is innocent. "We intend to vigorously defend his rights," he said. "We believe that he acted within the line and scope of his duty, his training, and within the law."
"We look forward to defending him in front of a jury and myself and my co-counsel, Ms. Roianne Conner and I believe in officer Smith, as do many in the law enforcement community and the river region as well," McDermott said.
Mickey McDermott is the attorney for Aaron Smith, a white Montgomery police officer charged in the February shooting death of a black man. McDermott says he is "certain that a grand jury will occur in the very, very, near future."
McDermott told AL.com on Friday that Smith did testify before the grand jury to tell his side of the shooting.
Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey issued a statement after Friday's indictment.
A State Bureau of Investigation agent, magistrate, District Court Judge and now a Grand Jury have all determined probable cause that Smith should be charged with murder, Bailey stated. "A jury will determine his guilt or innocence," he stated.
"I want to be clear, that the indictment issued today is not an indictment against the Montgomery Police Department or any other law enforcement agency," Bailey stated. "The Montgomery Police Department and the City of Montgomery cooperated fully with the State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney's Office during the course of this investigation. The Montgomery Police Department is made up of men and women that everyday protect our community in a lawful and professional manner. They are truly the thin blue line between a peaceful community and anarchy."
In a recent interview with AL.com McDermott denied that Smith intentionally killed Gunn. He said that Smith was on patrol in a high-crime area and was in pursuit of a fleeing suspect when the shooting occurred.
Smith used multiple levels of non-lethal force before having to resort to gunfire, McDermott said. He said they believe Gunn was high on drugs or something else when the incident occurred, he said.
But McDermott said last week that he had not been informed of the results of any toxicology reports on whether Gunn was under the influence at the time of the shooting. Defense attorneys normally are not privy to evidence collected in a case prior to indictment, he said.
Gunn's family sued this summer. The city and Montgomery Police Chief Ernest N. Finley summarized the incident in their request to be dismissed from the wrongful death suit.
"On February 25, 2016, at approximately 3:20 a.m., Officer Aaron Cody Smith came into contact with Gregory Gunn in an area of the City which had been the subject of a rash of burglaries and is generally known as a high crime area," according to the motion. "Officer Smith initiated a field interview of Mr. Gunn. Following a series of confrontational events which escalated to a situation of the gravest nature, Officer Smith drew and fired his service weapon causing the death of Mr. Gunn."
A state investigator testified at the preliminary hearing that Smith told them two versions of what happened that night. In one version Smith told investigators that during the confrontation Gunn picked up a long pole used for a paint roller and swung it at him.
In the other version Smith wasn't sure if Gunn had swung a pole at him, the investigator stated. The pole also did not have Gunn's fingerprints on it, the investigator testified.
Gunn was still clutching a black baseball cap in one hand when investigators arrived at the scene. A paint roller was off to one side.
In the version of events described in the family's lawsuit, Gunn was walking home from a neighbor's house after having played cards when he encountered Smith. Gunn had gone to the neighbor's house after getting off from work at the grocery store.
The lawsuit states that Gunn was unarmed at the time of the incident and that Smith had no reason to stop and talk to him.
"All the credible information to date shows that Mr Gunn was unarmed, did not use any object as a weapon, and did not have any object to use as a weapon, at any time from the start of his attempted walk home through his being fatally shot by Officer Smith," according to a claim the family made to the city.
Gunn was college-educated and had lived his entire life as a resident of the Mobile Heights neighborhood. He was walking to the home he still shared with his elderly mother, according to the lawsuit.
"Mr. Gunn was well-known in his community and his neighborhood," the lawsuit states. "He not only provided financial support to his mother, he also had a reputation for helping others in the community by cutting grass and doing other tasks. Mr. Gunn's father had been one of the first African-Americans hired as a police officer by the City of Montgomery, a position in which he served for years."
The City and Finley in August asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit against them citing, among other things, immunity from legal action. The judge has not ruled on that motion yet.
Erin Edgemon | eedgemon@al.com
By Kent Faulk | kfaulk@al.com
November 18, 2016 at 5:35 PM
A white Montgomery police officer was indicted Friday for murder in the Feb. 25 death of an unarmed black man.
Aaron C. Smith was indicted for the murder of Gregory Gunn, 58, of west Montgomery. Gunn was hit with a stun gun three times, beaten with a baton and shot five times by Smith, a state investigator had testified at a preliminary hearing in March. Smith fired seven times.
At the hearing in March a judge found probable cause for the murder charge against Smith and forwarded the case to a grand jury for possible indictment.
Smith's attorney, Mickey McDermott, said they continue to believe that Smith is innocent. "We intend to vigorously defend his rights," he said. "We believe that he acted within the line and scope of his duty, his training, and within the law."
"We look forward to defending him in front of a jury and myself and my co-counsel, Ms. Roianne Conner and I believe in officer Smith, as do many in the law enforcement community and the river region as well," McDermott said.
Mickey McDermott is the attorney for Aaron Smith, a white Montgomery police officer charged in the February shooting death of a black man. McDermott says he is "certain that a grand jury will occur in the very, very, near future."
McDermott told AL.com on Friday that Smith did testify before the grand jury to tell his side of the shooting.
Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey issued a statement after Friday's indictment.
A State Bureau of Investigation agent, magistrate, District Court Judge and now a Grand Jury have all determined probable cause that Smith should be charged with murder, Bailey stated. "A jury will determine his guilt or innocence," he stated.
"I want to be clear, that the indictment issued today is not an indictment against the Montgomery Police Department or any other law enforcement agency," Bailey stated. "The Montgomery Police Department and the City of Montgomery cooperated fully with the State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney's Office during the course of this investigation. The Montgomery Police Department is made up of men and women that everyday protect our community in a lawful and professional manner. They are truly the thin blue line between a peaceful community and anarchy."
In a recent interview with AL.com McDermott denied that Smith intentionally killed Gunn. He said that Smith was on patrol in a high-crime area and was in pursuit of a fleeing suspect when the shooting occurred.
Smith used multiple levels of non-lethal force before having to resort to gunfire, McDermott said. He said they believe Gunn was high on drugs or something else when the incident occurred, he said.
But McDermott said last week that he had not been informed of the results of any toxicology reports on whether Gunn was under the influence at the time of the shooting. Defense attorneys normally are not privy to evidence collected in a case prior to indictment, he said.
Gunn's family sued this summer. The city and Montgomery Police Chief Ernest N. Finley summarized the incident in their request to be dismissed from the wrongful death suit.
"On February 25, 2016, at approximately 3:20 a.m., Officer Aaron Cody Smith came into contact with Gregory Gunn in an area of the City which had been the subject of a rash of burglaries and is generally known as a high crime area," according to the motion. "Officer Smith initiated a field interview of Mr. Gunn. Following a series of confrontational events which escalated to a situation of the gravest nature, Officer Smith drew and fired his service weapon causing the death of Mr. Gunn."
A state investigator testified at the preliminary hearing that Smith told them two versions of what happened that night. In one version Smith told investigators that during the confrontation Gunn picked up a long pole used for a paint roller and swung it at him.
In the other version Smith wasn't sure if Gunn had swung a pole at him, the investigator stated. The pole also did not have Gunn's fingerprints on it, the investigator testified.
Gunn was still clutching a black baseball cap in one hand when investigators arrived at the scene. A paint roller was off to one side.
In the version of events described in the family's lawsuit, Gunn was walking home from a neighbor's house after having played cards when he encountered Smith. Gunn had gone to the neighbor's house after getting off from work at the grocery store.
The lawsuit states that Gunn was unarmed at the time of the incident and that Smith had no reason to stop and talk to him.
"All the credible information to date shows that Mr Gunn was unarmed, did not use any object as a weapon, and did not have any object to use as a weapon, at any time from the start of his attempted walk home through his being fatally shot by Officer Smith," according to a claim the family made to the city.
Gunn was college-educated and had lived his entire life as a resident of the Mobile Heights neighborhood. He was walking to the home he still shared with his elderly mother, according to the lawsuit.
"Mr. Gunn was well-known in his community and his neighborhood," the lawsuit states. "He not only provided financial support to his mother, he also had a reputation for helping others in the community by cutting grass and doing other tasks. Mr. Gunn's father had been one of the first African-Americans hired as a police officer by the City of Montgomery, a position in which he served for years."
The City and Finley in August asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit against them citing, among other things, immunity from legal action. The judge has not ruled on that motion yet.
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