Follow-up to "Motorcyclist shot in the back"

[Mel]

Article published May 15, 2010

Ottawa Hills policeman convicted of assault in shooting

Motorcyclist was hit in back, paralyzed

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=TO&Date=20100515&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=5150401&Ref=AR&MaxW=200

Thomas White was convicted of felonious assault in the shooting of motorcyclist Michael McCloskey, Jr., in a traffic stop.

 

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By JENNIFER FEEHAN

and CARL RYAN

BLADE STAFF WRITERS

 

A jury Friday night found an Ottawa Hills police officer guilty of felonious assault for shooting a motorcyclist in the back during a traffic stop.

 

The Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury reached its decision six hours after beginning deliberations in the case of Thomas White, 27, who was indicted on one count of felonious assault with a firearms specification for the May 23, 2009, shooting of Michael McCloskey, Jr.

 

Officer White, standing next to his attorney, Jerry Phillips, showed no emotion as the verdict was read.

 

Mr. McCloskey, who testified earlier in the week, was not in court when Officer White was found guilty.

 

The case went to the jury on the fifth day of the trial. A part-time police officer and dispatcher in Ottawa Hills, Officer White could be sentenced to 11 years in prison. Judge Gary Cook scheduled sentencing for 9 a.m. June 21.

 

Officer White's supporters exited the courtroom while journalists covering the trial were held back. Mr. Phillips, caught as he stepped into the elevator, waved away questions.

 

Mr. McCloskey, who was 24 at the time, was paralyzed from the waist down when he was shot once and the bullet struck his spine.

He and Aaron Snyder were riding their motorcycles on Indian Road when Officer White began following them and ultimately pulled them over at Central Avenue for alleged traffic violations.

 

Lucas County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Lingo described the case as very difficult for him to handle as a former police officer and firearms instructor.

 

"I would say there are no winners. I believe the jury made the right decision," he said. "As I stated during the trial, this was not an indictment of police officers or a department. The officer is not a bad person in that he set out to commit a crime. He used force well in excess of what needed to be used in a situation."

 

Video taken by a dashboard camera about 2:15 a.m. showed Mr. McCloskey pull over his motorcycle and look back at the patrol car. When Mr. McCloskey again turns to look back, he is shot and he and the motorcycle fall over.

 

The officer then appears on the screen and has his gun drawn while the victim is on the ground. After a period, the officer and another man lift the motorcycle off of the victim.

 

Mr. Lingo said the video was the prosecution's strongest evidence.

 

Officer White said on the stand that he believed Mr. McCloskey was reaching for a weapon and that his life was in danger when he fired the single shot.

 

Mr. Lingo told the jury Mr. McCloskey was not fleeing and was not aggressive or threatening on the night in question, that even after he was shot, he politely asked Officer White, "Sir, I don't have a weapon. Will you please lift the bike off me?"

 

"There is no evidence Mike McCloskey appeared angry, that he was agitated, that he did anything to arouse the suspicions of the police officer," Mr. Lingo said. He contended Officer White had no justification for shooting a man for a traffic violation.

 

Mr. Phillips told jurors that it made no difference whether Mr. McCloskey had committed a traffic violation or a criminal violation, or whether he had a weapon. He said it made no difference whether Officer White's gunshot missed him, nicked him, or paralyzed him. "Michael McCloskey was shot because Officer White appropriately felt that either his life or the life of Officer [Christopher] Sargent was in danger at that moment," Mr. Phillips said, referring to another Ottawa Hills officer who responded to the scene.

 

"It's a split-second decision and in his opinion, as a trained police officer, justified," he said.

 

Mr. Phillips repeatedly reminded jurors that they could not consider what happened in the early morning hours of May 23, 2009 with the "20/20 vision of hindsight," but that they had to put themselves in the place of Officer White, considering only what he knew and saw and felt at that moment.

 

Mr. Lingo told the jury Officer White rushed to judgment, moved too quickly, and did not give Mr. McCloskey time to comply with his command after he stopped his motorcycle.

 

Mr. Lingo emphasized to the jury that the charge against Officer White should not be viewed as a blemish on law enforcement in general. "It is in fact a charge that resulted from the acts of a single police officer over a period of five minutes for which he acted alone and, the state feels, he should be held responsible," he said.

 

Contact Jennifer Feehan at:

jfeehan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6129.

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[Guest seuadr]

if the fines and jail time are what was estamated in the previous article, i'm glad he is convicted, but i hope the civil suit rapes him worse than he'll get in prison.

 

a 21 year old is going to be unable to walk for the rest of his life because of that mistake.

[BOO]

This is very sad for every one concerned.

BOO

[BEER30]

Please .....everyone keep this topic civil. We do not need to get this thread deleted. So I will not say no more than what I said in the prior deleted thread.

 

BEER30

[Yammer Dan]

A bad ending for everyone concerned. All I'm going to say.

[saltcreep]

This is very sad for every one concerned.

 

BOO

 

Amen to that on both sides of the fence.. no winners in this one

[bongobobny]

The other thread got deleted?????

 

Gee, hope it wasn't anything I said...

[mini-muffin]

Yep it was you Bob you troublemaker you. :crackup:

On the topic now it is sad.

 

Margaret

[Yammer Dan]

Yep it was you Bob you troublemaker you. :crackup:

On the topic now it is sad.

 

Margaret

 

 

That Bob is always :rotfl:

[ArcsSparks]

The person wearing a cop uniform needs the max!! I feel sorry for the cops family but the cop- rot in jail. The police I know if they error it's on the side of the public, so this would be less likely to happen.

[midnightventure]

I wish every cop in the country and every private citizen in the country was aware of this case. The cops need to be aware there can be consequences for their rash decisions and private citizens need to be more aware not to do anything that can be misinterpreted.

[a1bummer]

I wish every cop in the country and every private citizen in the country was aware of this case. The cops need to be aware there can be consequences for their rash decisions and private citizens need to be more aware not to do anything that can be misinterpreted.

 

[ArcsSparks]

what did the biker do that could be misinterpreted ????

[Rocket]

what did the biker do that could be misinterpreted ????

 

Probably, just turning, to look behind him.

[Yammer Dan]

what did the biker do that could be misinterpreted ????

 

 

 

 

 

Where was his right hand????

[BEER30]

Where was his right hand????

 

As the officer so-called claimed that he could see the hand going into his pocket, at which the video clearly shown otherwise. Just a un-excusable rash decision made on the officers part that led to irreversible consequences. Even in the training films, I have seen more verbal warnings given in more hostile circumstances. Even Dirty Harry gave you more time to think about it ! The Duke would have shot the HD right out from under him just for crap, grins and giggles.............

 

BEER30

[CMIKE]

Where was his right hand????

 

It appears his hand was in his lap till he turned trying to look behind him...twisted a little to his right to look... causing his hand to move up toward the top of his thigh.

 

Something anyone here could easily do without realizing it. Certinally not an agressive behavoir.

[eazyduzzit]

Exactly Cmike! Every move he made was just what I would have or could have made in the same situation. That's what worries me. If it's shoot first ask questions later, then we're all in trouble.

[BEER30]

Hey Big Tom !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do we have time before M-Day to get new T-shirts made up that say,"Don't Shoot Me In The BACK, Even-though I'm a SOB (SEXY OLD BIKER)"

 

 

 

BEER30

[naturbar]

if you pay attention to the dash cam clock you will notice that from the time the cop lit up the bikes to the time the bike stopped was only 17 seconds (not a long chase in my opinion) - from the time they stopped until the biker was shot was 9 seconds. you will notice that as the cop just pulled up to the stopped biker, he (biker) was already looking over his right shoulder, he then turned his head back forward then back over his right shoulder again and was then shot.

[midnightventure]

what did the biker do that could be misinterpreted ????

 

I agree that the biker did absolutely nothing wrong but because of this video if I am ever pulled over I am going to put at least one hand on my helmet until I get the bike in neutral and then put the other one on my helmet. My legs are strong enough I can hold the bike up with out holding the handle bars. I know some people probably aren't able to do that. There is something wrong when a person has to feel like they need to be that careful.

[Pappa Bear]

[Yammer Dan]

If I answer this as I want Don will have to shut this one down for sure!! Don't see right hand and don't know story!! DON'T KNOW STORY OF WHO OR WHAT!! I shoot better than that. I will not respond to this again.

[BEER30]

If I answer this as I want Don will have to shut this one down for sure!! Don't see right hand and don't know story!! DON'T KNOW STORY OF WHO OR WHAT!! I shoot better than that. I will not respond to this again.

 

Dan , Are you being Framed again ?

 

BEER30

[CMIKE]

Not trying to bash anyone...I have the upmost respect for the guys in blue current and retired... These guys put thier lives on the line and go in places most of us stay away from. I appreciate that. I hope this thread does not get into a mud slinging match like the other. I am not wanting to disrespect anyone here.

 

My question to the LEO's here...

If we are ever stoppped on a bike...should we automatically reach for the sky to prevent this from happening to us?

I feel all of us that do not carry a deadly weapon for a living are deeply concerned about this...that is why I believe this thread came back alive and is continuing.

Frankly this scares me to death, I usually drop my guard down a notch or two when around an LEO but now I am rethinking this.

IF I am stopped...I am usually careful not to be digging in my pockets or around inside the car and turn on all the inside lights of the vehicle so the LEO can see all inside the vehicle. But on a bike...I am probably gonna sit there just like this guy did.

 

I honestly do not see lethal threat that warranted the shooting...especially if I was "at ready" with my weapon already drawn. The LEO already had the advantage, he had his weapon drawn, he is behind the guy, he has a lot better view of him and should be in control of the situation.

If the weapon is drawn at the moment the hand comes out of the pocket with something unfriendly...I think the LEO would have the advantage especially with patrol unit as cover. He should be able to peal the guys head from that distance if he could half way shoot.

I am not an LEO but in some training...we had to make split second determinations in the dark with hidden paper targets holding items like cameras (shiny), wallets with shiny medalians on them, glasses (shiny) or with weapons. All from "at ready" and holding a flashlight. We could not look and anlyze the situation, we had to roll. This was very stressful. I could imagine it would be 50 times more stressfull these were real people that could shoot back. Add the fear and adrenalin...I could see where one could make a mistake very quickly. I will never in real life go into a building after somebody if I even think there may be a chance they have a firearm.

Training of the LEO in this case I think would have made a lot a difference in this instance. I know budgets are short now days and they may not get as much as they need. That is usually the first thing that goes from a budget. If a kid runs across the street in front of you while driving...you automatically jump on the brakes without thinking. Good solid training will do the same thing for the for anyone. MAke it instinct.

 

I know there are a lot of unknowns to what happend in this case and know what the jury decided. What happend could have been a lot more than we will ever know...but it looks like this LEO made a mistake. We are all human...we make mistakes. This one was a very bad mistake for all involved and I hate it happend.

 

I carry weapon and got in pulled over about a year ago by an Deputy Sheriff on I-10 one night about 8 PM in a cage. The deputy asked me to step out of the car over his PA. That was very strange, usually they want you to sit still, so I got out and walked to the back of the car and over to the grassy area. Truck traffic is terrible on I-10 and I wanted to get as far as I could from the traffic. When he approached, it was a younger guy about 30ish, I had both hands on my chest and handed him my license and permit. He jumped about a foot high when he realized I was carrying and thanked me for letting him know. He asked to dis-arm me (it is a law and they have that right) and asked where it was... I told him and he lifted my shirt then removed the weapon. All the time I have my hands on my chest. He said he was gonna put it on the seat of the patrol unit while we had our talk. He gave me a 10 minute speech about following to close. I guess 50 yards for a Mississippi plated vehicle is to close down on I-10 in Lousianna. 35 years of driving that route I should have known this by now I guess... I did not argue, just listened. I have been stopped for a lot less and a lot more in all those years. All my stuff checked out...and he told me to walk with him back to the patrol unit to retrieve my "GUN". (I do not carry a "GUN"). I asked if I could go on the passenger side to avoid the traffic. He said sure and unlocked the passenger door. I opened it to find him holding my weapon by the barrel, handing it to me butt first and the barrel was pointed directly at his chest. This is a 1911 cocked and locked with 230 grain hydroshock ammo in it...one in the barrel ready to shake & bake with a 3 lb custom trigger. I got weak in the knees. It scared me slam to death. This guy had no idea about gun safety at all. I could see myself in jail for this guys death because of his carelessness for the rest of my life and the life of all my kids...how would I explain this? I grabbed it and quickly flipped it pointing to the rear of the car, checked the safety, magazine, and did a press check to make sure one was still in the barrel... stuffed it in the holster and ran to the car. 20 miles down the road the feeling came back in my legs.

Not all LEO have a lack of training like I feel this one had, but there are some out there, that we need to beware of...

 

Some folks have lots of training and take it seriously...some just get by, just like every occupation on earth.

Edited May 17, 2010 by CMIKE