CHESAPEAKE
Officer Ernest "Jeff" Jefferies was a couple of blocks from 932 Redstart Ave. when he heard the call "Shots fired" over his police radio.
Moments later, Jefferies heard officers at the scene calling, "Officer down."
Jefferies pulled up to the house, got out of his cruiser and learned his longtime friend Detective Jarrod Shivers had been shot.
"The world just stopped. At that point, I couldn't hear sirens. I couldn't hear other people talk," Jefferies said. "Literally, the breath leaves your body."
On Friday, Jefferies recounted what he saw Jan. 17, when Shivers was killed.
"It's one of those nights where you do everything right, " said Jefferies, a K-9 officer who arrived minutes after the
shooting. "... There are just still elements that are going to be outside of your control."
Officers trying to serve a narcotics search warrant at the house executed a "well-thought-out operation," performing exactly as they were trained, said police Detective J. Duncan. Duncan was at the house, but would not provide details.
Police spokeswoman Christina Golden said those serving the warrant knocked and announced their presence while wearing helmets marked "Police." She said the officers were also wearing badges and body armor.
"If we did it again tomorrow, we'd do it the exact same way," Duncan said.
Shivers, 34, died from a single gunshot wound to his arm and chest.
Ryan David Frederick, 28, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Police said they seized a Bersa "Firestorm" .380-caliber handgun, three shell casings, ammunition, an unspecified amount of marijuana, smoking devices and other items from the house.
Jefferies recalled the night Shivers was shot while taking a break during K-9 training in Chesapeake. He said he remembers feeling "total devastation" and didn't think he'd be able to make it back to his car.
The men had been friends since 2001, when Jefferies arrived as a rookie. "From the day I stepped into the roll call room, we were equals," Jefferies said.
The two men signed up for the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift, and they had a friendly competition going, always trying to be the first to find drugs or a stolen car.
Shivers sported a bald head and goatee that could make him look stern and tough. But he was generous and humble, offering suggestions and support to co-workers, Jefferies said.
The only thing Shivers boasted about was his family, he said. He was married with three children.
"For most police officers, you make sure it's a ceremony every time you go to work, " Jefferies said. "... We have to make sure that our family feels loved every day because tomorrow is not promised. And Jarrod did that."
In their off hours, the men would ride mountain bikes and go out to dinner with each other's families.
"I think he had a second or third stomach that he reserved for sushi," Jefferies said, smiling. "He'd order a family platter and ask his wife what she's having."
Shivers became a narcotics detective, and Jefferies moved on to the K-9 unit. The men remained close friends, talking on the phone at least once a week.
Jefferies said he's certain the officers won't serve another search warrant without remembering Shivers.
"Life will never be the same on the Chesapeake Police Department," he said. "It's back to business, but it's not business as usual."
Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com
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The debate for Adamc and others,
First, thankyou for the responses. I did read each one.
First, I do enjoy the replies, nothing personal.
1. Adamc- the Lopez case has nothing to do with 922(g)(3) "drug user in possession law". Lopez has to do with possession of a firearm on/near school grounds that affected Interstate commerce. I agree with the Courts decesion to dismiss that case. Mere possession of a firearm on/near school property did not affect Interstate commerce. How does that apply to drug user in possession? I suspect the firarm was not made in Va., but possible.
As for the Federal Attorney taking the case, you might be right since they are busy with Michael Vick. I don't see them taking the case,but that doesn't mean there still wasn't a violation.
2.Walrus91, the 922(g)(3), you do not have to be charged or under indictment for the law to apply. No where in the code does it state that.
3.Ira Tateu, just your opinion.
propaganda?
'ashleynvb' is a strange user name for someone who lives in South Norfolk. As for the person who posted this doozy "because that very officer could have been the one that stopped drugs from being in YOUR KIDS hands," I'll worry about my kids. This police action did nothing to keep drugs off of the street. It did keep an officer off of them though. The man could be out helping people right now instead of fighting this sill 'war on drugs'. If it is a war, when did we start attacking people less than foot soldiers?
Answer for price
"So pot doesn't kill your brain cells?" You tell us. You seem to be using the least here. Reliable sources would have helped your credibility.
where do we start
Lets say we have 100,000 homes in Chesapeake. Lets be VERY CONSERVATIVE and say there is marijuana in one out of every 1000 homes. That gives us 1000 warrants to obtain and 1000 doors to break down tonight. Need to hire more cops...A LOT MORE! When the police have time to break down the doors of marijuana users we already have too many cops or poor leadership telling them how to spend their time. I know it's a cliche but don't we have some real criminals to deal with? If the Chesapeake PD is looking for work I know of an 1 unsolved murder in Norfolk and one in Portsmouth. Offer them your help.
Likely not, Price
922(g) was all but neutered by United States v. Lopez. The Federal government can't up and ban firearms wherever and from whomever it wants, even if it tacks on a "which has been used in interstate commerce" clause at the end.
922(g)'s only real strength is when the firearm is used in interstate commerce. If he bought it from an out of state seller, or if he were a dealer/grower then the feds might have a case under 922(g) but in this case I strongly doubt a Federal prosecutor would pursue this one, as they would lose on appeal and only weaken 922(g) all the more.
You have any applicable state laws?
Price...got it...we agree
Right...that's what the law says, but it applies to those under indictment or convicted. Even if he admitted possession of a dime bag during news interviews, the interview is not an indictment or conviction. Until they indict Mr Frederick for possession, he can legally own the hand gun. His confession will certainly go a long way to curtailing his second amendment rights through the legal process. My point is that 1) he purchased the gun legally and registered it, 2) He probably didn't realize that there are different charges possible for owning a handgun and being found in possession of controlled substances. Regardless, until the arraignment, Mr Frederick has not been charged with any crimes. The charges presented during his arraignment Wed will determine whether or not he will continue to have the right to own a handgun in the future. This issue and all the others are why I keep reminding folks that "innocent until proven guilty" means that under the law, Frederick retains all of his Constitutional rights intact until the state presents and proves its case.
Points of clarification
1. Ryan Frederick knew who he was shooting at: a person who had broken out a panel from his front door in the middle of the night.
2. If Ryan Frederick had waited for Shivers to come in and let him read his vest and hat, then Frederick would be dead now. Because police will shoot you first in these circumstances. This was self-defense in the truest sense of those words.
3. From what I can tell, the police thought there were pot plants in the garage. First problem: there apparently were no pot plants. Second problem: Shivers should have been breaching the garage and not the front door (then he would still walk among us). Third problem, the HamptonRoads.com coverage is not making these problems as clear as they should be.
4. My guess is that it was the burglar who is the confidential informant who falsely accused Frederaick. If that was indeed the Chesapeake PD's source, then it is their fault that Shivers is dead, and they should be strongly disciplined.
5. Side note to Price: nice try, won't fly.
I LOVE all the legal scholors here!
Your ability to web search, copy and paste is ASTOUNDING! Now, apply that law to this case...HMMMM, don't know what I'm talking about? That's what lawyers are for. NO LAW is black and white, there are grey areas.
I bet you are the same people who self-diagnose using Web MD and bug the hell out of your doctor with stacks of internet diagnoses...
Give me a break with your legal expertise...
Wa1rus91, read the following
Federal law 18 USC 922 (g) (3), who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
This prohibits Fredrick from legally possessing a firearm by his own admissions.
(21 U.S.C. 802));
(16) The term “marihuana” means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. Such term does not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
To the comment about
his garage being broke into and not calling the Police. My sister and her husbands unattached garage was broke into not that long ago, nothing was stolen, they did not call the Police either. They have nothing to hide from anyone. They just chose not to bother, since there was nothing really in there of value anyways. They just fixed the door and put better security locks on there. Judging any of this without all the facts from both sides, just can't be done. Especially when the only facts we have are coming through a news article.
JIMMYJAMZ you are a great
JIMMYJAMZ you are a great friend and have made some good points. South Norfolk is well known for being a rough area with alot of crime...Break-ins, robberies, and hold ups. The people whom feel that Ryan was not trying to protect himself for an intruder, apparently have not spent much time in South Norfolk. If you are a productive member to society as Ryan and myself are...Not a drug dealer...Do not grow and distribute...than the last person you would think of entering your home ferociously at night would be the police. Nobody supporting Ryan wanted a police officer harmed. Police officers have a highly respected job. Officers need to know in cases like this, without a shadow of a doubt, they are going after a hard core drug dealer. Not a "wanna be drug bust" to the home of an innocent man, all because a false tip. Unfortuntely, this is not the first mistake made my city officials and will not be the last. My prayers go out to Ryan and the Shivers' family.
Gun ownership was legal
Federal exclusions to ownership of a gun apply to those "under indictment for or convicted of crimes with a potential for or actual sentences of over one year in prison." The federal laws barring gun ownership does not apply to state jail sentences resulting from misdemeanors. He had no criminal record, hence had every right to legally own a handgun until such time as he was indicted of possession of marijuana in sufficient quantities to potentially earn a prison sentence longer than 1 year. If the gun ownership was illegal, the police would most likely have said that he shot Det Shivers with an illegal hand gun. There is no citation or charge at this point that has alleged illegal possession of a firearm. Again, what the police department is not saying indicates more than what they are saying. It's not a good sign when the spokesperson can't say anything at all about the raid beyond "we had a good warrant and executed our tactics properly with the necessary equipment and identifications,"...aaaaaaand seized an unknown amount of marijuana. Dime bag or grow operation as expected?
To skoops 88
Your wrong in your post about he owned a legal gun. He may have purchased it legally through the proper channels, but he was not a legal owner. Fredrick is an admitted pot user while in possession of a firearm. Fredrick has violated Federal law by being an admitted drug user. Futhermore, IF Fredrick did purcahse the firearm to protect his marijuana grow (house) then that is another violation. So pot doesn't kill your brain cells?
Too dumb to be ashamed of themselves
I think my cousin said it best:
The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.
ok i didnt shot the cop lol
1st off i feel super bad about the cop and his family.
so people please dont jump on my case because of the way i feel..
i do feel ryan is a super nice guy,i dont care what you say.
yes he did something very bad. but do you really think this guy was just sitting around knowing a cop was going to kick in his door, your just crazy.
its easy to say put him away forever,but is that going to stop the next time it happens no its not.
maybe something good can still come out of all this.
just look at the laws. are all pot heads bad? no i dont think so. bills going to be back in the white house,and im sure some blunts will be passed around. j/k
and on the real i dont no what i would do if this happen to me.
just pray it dont. but im a good guy and dont break the law
but i do think they should chage some laws.
if you can have all these bong shop in va. and every store sells blunts
what do you think people are going to do.
cops need to be getting the hard drugs off the street. not kicking the door down of every little pot head kid.
i feel bad for them all. all i have to say.
another thing...
I am not blaming the officer; I am blaming the police office and their procedure. He was just doing what he was told and taught.
Hubris
Wow, so many folks really seem to know Mr Frederick, his mind-set and circumstances at the time of this tragic event. I'm sad to admit that many times in the past when I've read about incidents like this, I've been quick to jump on the "dope-head is guilty" band-wagon. Knowing the accused in this instance has changed my perspective. His work requires him to get up by 4 a.m. (per his interview). Eight hours of sleep puts bedtime at 7:30 or 8 p.m. We don't know whether or not Mr Frederick was asleep or watching tv in his room. Regardless, the "announce" phase of this process to him was likely the dogs barking. With no criminal record and having grown up around the sheriff's department (no stranger to the LE community) the idea that the police would execute a SWAT unit sized drug raid on his home over a mostly-empty single snack-sized baggie of pot (my educated guess) at a time when he was likely to be asleep was probably the furthest thought from his head. He said in his interview that he didn't call 911 because he couldn't find his phone in the dark. He said he was afraid for his life as he saw somebody (didn't know it was the police) coming through his broken door in the di
Really????
Smoking pot does not make you a criminal anymore the speeding 20 mph over the speed limit, which half the HR public does on a regular basis on 64 and 264. Here’s an idea, how about a stake-out or an under-cover? That sure looks to be a better idea to me. Then, not only would they have found out he was not the drug lord they were "told" but also an officer would still be alive. That’s the authorities with guns think though, whether it’s the military or the local police, STORM the house, take him down, ask questions later!!! Who needs the proof, right????
The situation was all caused
The situation was all caused very poor police work and the judge not asking the right questions.Just because there the Police makes is right.You would think they would have better things to do with our tax money than to bust a 28 year old over a some pot.Two lives wasted over what some Rabo Raid.
Just a thought for those of you who know so much
How about this....you can go down to any police dept in any city anytime and sign up to do ride alongs with your local police. I think that everyone on this blog should do so. Maybe then you will understand why our police do what they do and the way that they do it. Also, this guys house was broken into before the police went in that night. Any idea what the people breaking in would want out of the shed in the back that they broke into? Hmmm didn't think about that did we? I kind of wonder why anyone would break into a shed? Why not break into the house steal a tv or two, a dvd player or something? Or why don't we break into the shed where there are pot plants being grown by the lights that were in there and the other things that were in there that promote the growth? You people are stupid! He is a very lucky man that they did not go into his house in the middle of the night when he had his skinny butt in the bed. Furthermore, just because he did not have a criminal past does not mean that he was not a criminal. He just had not been caught. He said himself on tv that he smoked pot. HELLO, that would make you a criminal no matter how you look at it. Its against the la