Prosecutor opens probe in shooting by trooper
Posted on Thursday, March 16, 2006
BENTONVILLE — Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Robin Green on Wednesday promised an “independent, thorough and timely” investigation into the March 7 death of a handicapped man shot by a state trooper on U. S. 412.
Arkansas State Police Trooper Larry Norman thought Erin Hamley, 21, of Springdale was a Michigan escapee who had been reported as “armed and dangerous,” state police officials have said.
Norman shot Hamley along U. S. 412 in Benton County after Hamley didn’t follow commands and moved his hands toward his pockets, as if he had a gun, state police have said.
Hamley was mentally handicapped and had cerebral palsy.
State police investigators turned their findings over to Green on Wednesday, including a videotape from a camera in Norman’s patrol car.
Green said her investigation will be independent of the work done by the state police.
“We’ll start from scratch, re-interviewing witnesses and conducting our own, independent, complete investigation,” she said.
Green will be assisted by veteran Benton County sheriff ’s Capt. Mike Sydoriak and deputy prosecutor Chad Atwell. Neither Green, Sydoriak or Atwell know Norman or the five other officers who were present when the shooting happened.
Norman shot Hamley about 7 a. m. after motorists said a man who looked like escapee Adam Lee Leadford was walking along the highway near the Benton-Washington county line. Hamley and Leadford had similar haircuts and were of similar weight and build.
Leadford escaped March 3 from a Michigan prison boot camp, where he was serving time for several nonviolent offenses. He had fled to Northwest Arkansas and was being sought in connection with several break-ins in Benton County.
Leadford had reportedly sto- len a. 22-caliber rifle, and police believed he was armed and dangerous.
Norman was the last of six officers to arrive along U. S. 412 and grabbed his shotgun. He fired once from about 25 to 30 yards away, across two lanes of traffic, after perceiving Hamley posed a deadly threat, police said.
Hamley died from the single gunshot to his torso, a preliminary autopsy shows.
Green said Tuesday she’ll either find Norman was justified in using deadly force or charge him with a crime.
Arkansas Code Annotated 5-2-610 says police are justified in using deadly force in two instances. One is when they “reasonably believe” such force is necessary to arrest or prevent the escape of a person who either committed a felony is about to commit one, or who is armed or dangerous.
The other is when police are defending themselves or others against what they reasonably believe is the use or imminent use of deadly physical force.
The law defines “reasonable belief” as what an ordinary, prudent person would believe under the circumstances.
In Hamley’s case, the five other officers — another state trooper and four Washington County sheriff ’s deputies — drew their weapons but did not fire.
Norman, 40, is on leave and undergoing stress debriefing. He’s been a state trooper since 2000 and, before that, was a Fayetteville police officer for 11 years. In addition to Green’s investigation, Norman faces scrutiny from a state police lethal-force review board.
On Tuesday, Mary Hamley retained Fayetteville attorney W. H. Taylor to represent her family and her son’s estate.
Depending on what Green determines, Taylor said he might file a civil-rights lawsuit or a wrongful-death claim with the Arkansas Claims Commission.
Green said Tuesday she won’t hesitate to charge Norman with a crime if evidence warrants. She said her office has prosecuted three police officers this year in unrelated cases.
“We’re not afraid to arrest a police officer if it’s proven he’s broken the law,” she said.
Green said she met privately with Mary Hamley before Tuesday’s news conference. Green will update the Hamley family on the investigation in two weeks and will know then when the investigation will be complete, she said.
Police said there was nothing about Hamley’s behavior the morning of March 7 to indicate that he was mentally or physically handicapped.
Taylor said the videotape is critical evidence.
He said Mary Hamley is confident Green will conduct a full and fair investigation.
Springdale police shot and wounded Leadford about 6 p. m. March 7 outside the Wal-Mart Supercenter after a car chase from Benton County.
Later that night, when Mary Hamley reported her son missing to Springdale police, Erin Hamley was identified as the dead man from the morning shooting.
Leadford remains at Northwest Medical Center of Washington County in Springdale. He was in fair condition Wednesday.
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