Chesapeake police warrant policy being reviewed in wake of shooting

CHESAPEAKE

City police are examining the way they execute search warrants after an officer was killed last month during a “knock and announce” drug raid.

“Our policy and procedures are being reviewed, but there are no changes at this time,” Christi Golden, a police spokeswoman, said Friday.

Detective Jarrod Shivers was fatally shot Jan. 17 while executing a drug search warrant at a home in the 900 block of Redstart Ave., in the Portlock section of Chesapeake. While police were attempting to enter the home, shots were fired from inside, striking the 34-year-old detective, police said.

Ryan Frederick, the resident of the home, is in jail, facing charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm and first-offense possession of marijuana. Frederick, in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot, said he fired his .380-caliber gun at what he thought was an intruder breaking down his front door. Police removed the door as evidence in the case.

Special Prosecutor Paul Ebert said he doesn’t buy Frederick’s story.

“I don’t know what he knew,” Ebert said. “The circumstances are that either he knew or should have known they were police officers.”

Narcotics officers announced their presence numerous times that night before anyone attempted to gain entry into the home, Ebert said.

Police would not release the number of times they knocked and announced themselves, but it was more than once before the attempt was made to enter the house, Golden said.

“We never made entry,” Golden said. “We attempted to make entry.”

When executing a search warrant, the majority of the narcotics unit members, about 14 in all, typically go along, Golden said. Ebert said 14 officers went to Frederick’s home, including Shivers, who had a search warrant.

Officers observed normal procedures when serving the warrant, Ebert said.

“From my investigation, from the start, they did what any police unit would do in serving a search warrant,” he said.

Magistrate Timothy Marshall signed the search warrant after finding probable cause . He has denied warrants in the past when there was not enough evidence to justify invading a person’s home, he said.

“We know what we’re doing,” he said Friday, adding that when police seek a warrant, they have to justify the search.

“It’s not something we take lightly,” said Marshall, who has been a magistrate for nearly four years. “We don’t rubber-stamp anything we do in this office.”

Shivers was in the front yard of the home when he was shot, police and prosecutors said.

“It’s not correct that he was at the front door,” Golden said. Golden and Ebert would not specify exactly where Shivers was when he was shot.

Another officer was at Frederick’s door, Golden said. Police have not said if the officers returned fire. Other details, because of the pending criminal case, have not been made public.

“There are a lot of things that have not been reported,” Ebert said. “It’s just a tragedy all the way around.”

Frederick’s attorney, James Broccoletti, refutes the police and prosecutors’ version of events.

Frederick said he fired his legally registered weapon twice before it jammed and he retreated to his back bedroom. He said someone was crashing through the lower panels of his four-panel front door when he fired.

A preliminary hearing May 27 could shed more light on the case that the prosecution has against Frederick. When asked Friday whether he would seek the death penalty against Frederick, Ebert replied: “Maybe.”

It is a capital offense in Virginia to kill an officer performing his or her duty. “That’s under consideration,” Ebert said. “He certainly qualifies under the statute.”

The case is still under internal police investigation and the results of that inquiry will not be made public unless by order of the chief of police or prosecutor, Golden said.

No one has been disciplined as a result of the shooting, police have said.

John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com