Enter https://www.police1.com/ and click OK. Assistant Police Chief Ralph Godbee said Weekley was investigated after he was involved in a barricaded gunman shooting last summer. Unfortunately for the family of little Aiyana, justice failed them. As the Free Thought Project reported last week,Officer Derrick Stafford wasfound guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter in the horrific fatal shooting of the six-year-old with autism on November 3, 2015. DETROIT, MI -- It's been five years since Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley led a SWAT team in search of a murder suspect and fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Search query Similar feelings were shared when police officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted by a grand jury after he shot and killed Philando Castile, . Weekley told jurors that he accidentally pulled the trigger during a struggle with the girl's grandmother, but Mertilla Jones denied interfering with the gun. by a Detroit police officer, Joseph Weekley. 'There has not been one single day that has gone by since that day where I have not thought about the loss of Aiyana and I will be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of my life.'. Detroit police officer who killed sleeping seven-year-old no longer facing charges. They kept firing.". Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones four days before a civil trial was to begin. Daily Mail Reporter, 2010 raid was being filmed for reality TV show 'The First 48 Hours', Body found shot dead near home of New England Patriots tight end identified as another football player in semi-professional league, Parents beware: Children could be playing a Simpsons game that has 'hidden anti-gun messages' and 'mocks NRA', Would you want to live next door to this man? The trial is expected to last about three weeks. They were conducting a police raid in search of a murder suspect who lived at that address -- and being filmed for a reality TV show in the process -- when Officer Joseph Weekley accidentally fired his gun. Defendant Joseph Weekely, right, and A&E producer Allison Howard, who was at the raid, sit in. Police neglected to account for or flatly disregarded the safety of any potential children that might be present. Two days later, the decedent's father filed law suits in both the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Wayne County . Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones (July 20, 2002 - May 16, 2010) was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroit 's East Side who was shot in the neck and killed by police officer Joseph Weekley during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team targeting a suspect in the apartment a . Officer Joseph Weekley fatally shot the young girl in what he claimed was an alleged struggle with Jones's grandmother, Mertilla Jones, though she says she had just reached over to protect the. The comments of visitors or guest authors to the website are their opinions and do not therefore reflect our opinions. "We're really happy to help out any way we can. Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter, but a judge dismissed that charge during a second trial in 2014. Joseph Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. When Weekley stepped inside, he fired a single shot that went through Stanley-Jones' head. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. He would have been charged with second-degree murder.". By City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. I don't understand how we could go through this again and have all this evidence brought forth and there not be a verdict, either way.. But he was killed in his Tucson home on May 5, 2011, in a SWAT team assault gone awry. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Joseph Weekley and is located at 141 Duesenberg Drive Ste 7b, Westlake Village, CA 91362. A flash-bang grenade shattered the front bay window and exploded seconds before the Weekley-led Special Response Team barged though the front door. Weekley squeezed his eyes to try and regain his sight, he told the court, and heard a high-pitched moan, like someone "out of breath" coming from beneath the pile of clothes. In 2013, at Weekley's first trial, his lawyer pointed to Jones' inconsistent accounts of the shooting and otherwise attacked her credibility, according to MLive. He was arrested in a separate upstairs unit of the multi-family house. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. , updated Aiyana was sleeping on one end of the couch, and her grandmother Mertilla Jones was on the other in May 2010 when an armed, black-clad and masked police officers stormed the apartment. DETROIT The SWAT team member whose gun, authorities say, killed 7-year-old Aiyana Jones Sunday during a raid at her home has been identified, and details about his police record have been released. Check out footage (below) of the judge's ruling Friday: CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that attorney Steve Fishman said the defense would need to demonstrate Officer Joseph Weekley acted in a "grossly negligent manner" in the circumstances leading to Stanley-Jones' death. After the mistrial, Dominika Stanley, Aiyana's mother stayed in the courtroom, wiping away tears as she shook her head and held onto a tissue. the group of 12 was almost split down the middle over whether to acquit or convict Weekley on a misdemeanor charge of careless, reckless or negligent use of a firearm causing death. Jurors later told the judge they couldnt reach a verdict. DPD Spokesman John Roach said the Detroit Police Department SWAT team member is 34-year-old officer Joseph Weekley. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement that her office was moving to dismiss the case against Officer Joseph Weekley. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. She died a short time later. Joseph / ( dzf) / noun Old Testament the eleventh son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel (Genesis 30:2-24) either or both of two tribes descended from his sons Ephraim and Manasseh Saint Joseph New Testament the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:16-25). However, the juryand the judge did not buy it. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. He will serve the sentences concurrently. Last week, a neighbor testified that he tried to tell officers before they raided the home that children were inside. City attorney Lawrence Garcia announced the settlement with the family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones on Thursday, April 4, 2019 four days before a civil trial was to begin. According to the Greenhouse and Stafford, the officers decided to conduct a traffic stop because Few had an outstanding warrant. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. According to Weekley, a fellow officer threw a flash-bang grenade through the window, temporarily blinding him. Who Is DPD Officer Joseph Weekley? Weekley has been listed in various paid, off-duty statuses since the shooting early May 16, 2010. All he had to do is follow his training and we wouldn't be here.'. But Aiyana's great-uncle Fields added that he thought Weekley should apologize and say he made a mistake. The Wayne County prosecutor's office said in a statement that on Friday Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge, granting a motion submitted by Weekley's attorney, Steve Fishman. and Officer Weekley was indicted on October 4, 2011 by a Detroit grand jury, charged with Involuntary Manslaughter and Negligent Discharge of a Firearm in the tragic death of seven year old Alyania Stanley Jones in May 2010. This website expresses our OPINIONS. The officers entered Stanley-Joness home searching for a murder suspect who was later found in the adjacent unit, throwing a flashbang grenade into the room where the girl was sleeping with her grandmother, then shooting her in the head seconds later. "I'm out here to fight any way for the other Aiyanas that's to come," she said, "because it ain't stop at just my grandbaby.". 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In February, Owens was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Garcia said in a statement. 0:22 After two hung juries, the Detroit police officer charged in the death of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones will not be tried again. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. He says he accidentally fired his gun during a. Westbrook and his wife sued Weekley and other members of the SRT for assault, false imprisonment and gross negligence, alleging that officers came into the home without warning, shot and killed the family's two dogs for no reason and pointed guns at a child and infant, according to the complaint. The jury foreman, a pastor said:This has not been an easy case.. Sadly, for Jeremy Mardis, who will never see another Christmas or Birthday or throw the ball with his dad, the reason for the stop that night is irrelevant. The raid occurred after midnight, and Weekley was first through the door of the Stanley-Jones home on the east side of Detroit, as a film crew shadowing the officers filmed for a reality television show. Weekley was first through the door, and saw what he thought was an empty room with a man standing in the far doorway, he testified last year. Police said Weekley came into contact with Aiyana?s grandmother, Mertilla Jones, when they busted through the door in the early hours of Sunday morning and his weapon accidentally fired. Weekley is also currently named along with other SWAT members in a federal lawsuit, filed in 2009, claiming they pointed guns at children and shot two dogs during a raid in 2007 that netted a man who is now serving seven to 15 years in prison for armed robbery. The Detroit police officer who fatally shot a sleeping 7-year-old girl will not be retried, officials said Wednesday. 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