Police Insensitivity Cited After Wis. Boy Died

Oct. 8, 2012
Actions by Milwaukee police after the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy created suspicions of racial insensitivity and damaged community trust in the Police Department, according to a report.

Actions by Milwaukee police after the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy created suspicions of racial insensitivity and damaged community trust in the Police Department, according to a report released Friday by the city's Fire and Police Commission.

And though the investigation into the killing of Darius Simmons, by itself, does not define the department or Chief Edward Flynn, it exemplifies the need for Flynn to "promote positive change" within the agency, the report says.

"This report explicitly recognizes that certain aspects of the investigation could have been conducted in a manner that would not arouse a suspicion of racial insensitivity," the report says.

Simmons, who was black, was shot to death May 31 by his now 76-year-old white next-door neighbor, John Spooner, who had accused the boy of stealing guns from his house, according to a criminal complaint. A search by police of Simmons' house did not find any of Spooner's guns.

Spooner is charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

The report comes amid mounting criticism of both Flynn and the Police Department over faulty crime statistics, alleged illegal strip searches by officers and the death of Derek Williams last year while in police custody. A Journal Sentinel investigation led the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office to change a ruling on Williams' death from natural to homicide.

The death of Williams, who was seen on a squad video gasping for breath while begging officers for help, sparked calls this week for Flynn's firing. The Fire and Police Commission gave Flynn a performance review earlier this week but did not state publicly what, if any, action it took against Flynn.

According to the Friday report:

The first officers arrived at the scene of the shooting at 9:52 a.m. May 31. Simmons was taken to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. His mother, Patricia Larry, was taken to a squad car shortly after 10 a.m. She was not interviewed by a detective until 10:50 a.m. She asked if she could go to the hospital to be with her son but agreed to remain on the scene until the interviews were completed. Larry spent about an hour-and-a-half in two squad cars, arriving at the hospital at 11:58 a.m. Her son was pronounced dead almost an hour earlier, at 11:10 a.m. Questioning of witnesses to the shooting followed customary protocols for homicide investigations, even when witnesses include the mother of a victim, the report says.

Detectives said that allowing Larry to go to the hospital before being interviewed could jeopardize their investigation and damage the criminal case against Spooner. They mistakenly believed, however, that Milwaukee Fire Department protocol prohibited Larry from riding with her son in the ambulance to the hospital.

And though investigators were not required to interview Larry at the scene before taking her to the hospital, they had discretion over where and when the interview would be conducted. The report says investigators failed to consider the unique circumstances surrounding the shooting - primarily that a mother witnessed her son being shot to death - which led to community frustration over the investigation.

"Community members presumed that malice and prejudice were overwhelming reasons for the failure to consider" those circumstances, the report says.

Among other conclusions in the report: Police did not consider options to a scene interview of Larry, and allowing her to go to the hospital immediately would not have jeopardized their investigation.

Larry provided written consent for officers to search her home for Spooner's stolen property, which was not found.

Simmons' brother, who is not identified in the report, was arrested at the scene for five outstanding municipal warrants, but it was not appropriate for police to detain him for the 10 hours he was in custody because of the unusual circumstances surrounding his arrest.

Allowing Spooner's family to retrieve firearms from his house before the weapons could be inventoried by police exposed officers to accusations of preferential treatment and the appearance of race playing a factor in their investigation.

"The mere appearance of preferential treatment, even in just a single instance, can greatly influence the public's perception and trust of the police department," the report says.

The report recommends that police review allocation of personnel at homicide scenes and improve oversight of discretionary decisions.

It notes that Larry declined to be interviewed for the report, and that she has filed a lawsuit against Spooner.

A statement issued by Milwaukee police Friday acknowledged investigators "were not as attentive to the needs of Darius' mother as they could have been."

"We recognize that sometimes professional duty can appear to trump compassion," the statement says.

Copyright 2012, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Report online To view the report by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission on the Darius Simmons case, go to www.jsonline.com/crime.

Copyright, 2012, Journal Sentinel, All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 Journal Sentinel Inc.

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