CHESAPEAKE
The voluntary-manslaughter verdict Wednesday in the shooting death of a Chesapeake police officer is unusual in Virginia, and it could lead to a precedent-setting appeal.
Some legal analysts said Thursday a manslaughter conviction against someone shooting blindly through a door, as Ryan Frederick did, appeared the proper result. Others speculated that it was the result of a compromise in the jury room.
"This case is probably one of the most unique cases I've ever heard of," said Norfolk defense attorney Michael F. Fasanaro Jr. "The facts of this case were so unusual that I can't imagine you could find a duplicate case."
The Virginian-Pilot reviewed about 150 manslaughter appeals cases dating back to 1995 and could not find one involving the shooting of a police officer.
Capital murder of a police officer required prosecutors to show that Frederick's actions were willful, deliberate, premeditated and intentional. In other words, he must have known he was shooting at a police officer and had planned, even if in a split-second, to kill Chesapeake Detective Jarrod Shivers while the officer was performing official duties.
Instead, a Circuit Court jury on Wednesday found Frederick guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a common-law statute defined as the unlawful killing of another in the heat of passion or upon reasonable provocation or in mutual combat, but without malice.
Shivers and other officers were executing a search warrant looking for marijuana plants at Frederick's house the night of Jan. 17, 2008, when Frederick fired through his front door. Frederick said he didn't know it was police trying to enter his home.
The most common voluntary-manslaughter cases involve deaths between two people fighting. Drug-dealer shootings often fall into this category.
Involuntary manslaughter involves conduct so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, according to Virginia common-law statute. Drunken-driving fatalities often fall into this category.
Frederick's attorney, James Broccoletti, said he plans to appeal Judge Marjorie A.T. Arrington's decision to give the jury five homicide options: capital murder, first- or second-degree murder, or voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.
Broccoletti said he asked the judge to instruct the jury only on capital murder and involuntary manslaughter. He said he thought Frederick might have had a better shot at an acquittal on self-defense grounds if the jury had been given more-limited instructions.
He said this would be the first appeal of this kind of case he's ever heard of.
Virginia Beach attorney Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., who currently represents six murder defendants, said shooting through a hole in a closed door isn't self-defense. "In general, when someone discharges a firearm the law holds you to a high level of responsibility. You can't, quote, shoot first and ask questions later," Woodward said.
The defense team considered it a compromise verdict.
"All juries compromise," said Andrew Protogyrou, a Norfolk defense attorney who was not involved in the case.
"If people don't think 12 people in a box don't compromise so they can go home for the weekend, then they don't know our system," he said. "When someone is looking at life in prison with no parole and comes out with some kind of compromise verdict, it just goes to show that counsel in the case just did a great job."
The Virginian-Pilot reached two Frederick jurors, and both declined to comment. Messages left for five others were not returned, and a sixth did not answer.
Just before sending jurors home Wednesday, Arrington cautioned them about speaking to the media. "Think very seriously before discussing the case" with the media, she told them, adding that people are often "misquoted, taken out of context or misconstrued."
Meanwhile, a representative of Chesapeake police officers continued to defend officers' actions the night of the raid.
Shivers and the other officers involved in the raid were following procedure, said Jack Crimmins, president of the Chesapeake Coalition of Police.
"And that's a policy that's not just used by our police department but police departments across the country," he said.
According to court testimony, officers had conducted three or four raids earlier that week and hundreds before that without any fatalities.
"It was a raid that ended tragically," Crimmins said. "We did nothing wrong. The thing nobody wants to focus on is there was one person engaged in illegal activity. And that was Ryan Frederick."
The outcome of an internal Chesapeake Police Department investigation into the fatal shooting has not been made public. But police said in August that except for equipping its special investigations section with more protective tactical vests, there would be no changes to policy or procedure.
Asked if policy would be re-evaluated in light of the verdict, Police Chief Kelvin Wright issued this statement:
"We are constantly evaluating our practices and procedures to protect both the public and our officers. To do otherwise would be irresponsible. We remain committed to keeping our city safe and will adjust our focus, direction and processes accordingly to meet our law enforcement mandate."
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5555, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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To twomiler2
Peace brother!
In your response,
you make the case for premeditated murder. If Ryan prepared to shoot whomever he thought was coming to his home to steal some drugs, he meant to shoot & kill that person. Ryan needs to thank his maker he's among the living, serve his time & try to become a productive member of society. Stop making excuses for this guy. He willingly shot at some one. That person died. He's been tried, by a jury of 12. He's been found guilty of lesser charges than he could have been. He got a lot more breaks than most would have got. Let it go.
BUT
Ryan wasn't a felon when the CPD took the word of a felon, overkilled a raid based on that, used a known liar for prosecution, for nothing more than a small amount of marijuana. The guy had just his property invaded by burglury and did not know he was shooting real police. Anybody can come banging on your door saying they are the police and violenty enter. Including you. If you were not there, and not in his shoes, I don't believe you really know that this productive, working citizen, certainly was not expecting the raid he got. I'm sorry. I have immediate family who has rank in Va law enforcement. But, CPD needs to take some responsibility, and, Ryan wouldn't be where he is if CPD didn't overkill, by taking the word of a known liar and criminal without doing their own homework. We, the citizens don't want to see anymore people who would otherwise just gotten a ticket in prison for trying to protect what he thought was his castle and no more Cops die because of poor practices.
Au Contraire ,Karen,
Ryan became a felon as soon as he fired those two shots, & hit someone, whether Detective Shivers died immediately or not. If the bullets had hit a passerby, he would have become a felon, for the same reason.
Ryan was not a felon
twomiler2 - Ryan was not a felon. He had no record. Had the police gotten and did their search, as they eventually did, they only came up with a small amount of marijuana. That doesn't qualify you to be a fleeing felon.
Ryan got off easy
He deserved a much stiffer punishment. He's a low-life drug dealer/addict who shot a cop, probably while strung out. (Those months in a jail cell away from his drugs seemed to work wonders on his appearance, didn't it?)
jonesy, living at beach & mikey,
I always reported misconduct, of any kind, regardless of rank, or whether they were in the department or in the C. A. 's office. I never filed a false report. I, having been the victim of police brutality, didn't use it & didn't allow it to occur in my presence. Many Black men my age can honestly say they've been victims of some type mistreatment from police officers. I haven't missed the point. Many complaining aren't as concerned about tactics as they are under the illusion of Ryan being an innocent lamb. These tactics are similar, across the nation, for drug raids. Many reasons for this. No, Mikey, the police had the right to return fire, even as Ryan retreated. He was a fleeing felon. The police could see through the windows. He was still armed. Restraint, perhaps to ensure the safety of unknown. Rodney King was unmercifully beaten, by police, for a traffic violation. How did 1 poster compare Ryan, who willingly shot, twice, at police, with him.
Jonesy
Jonesy you never answered my question.
Concerned!
I have never been into guns, never felt the need to purchase one. Since this verdict I find myself questioning my previous belief that I have no reason to ever own a gun. The City of Chesapeake just gave permission to any hoodlum in a black hoodie and blue jeans to break down my door and invade my home. OR! I can be invaded and searched on the mere whim of someone having something against me and insinuating that I am doing something illegal. Even if I am not! This is a serious problem. Should I think twice about purchasing an "aerogarden"? It is a form of hydroponic system. I strongly feel that the rights of Chesapeake citizens have just been completely stripped away. Very saddening. The truly disappointing aspect to me is that I come from a family of police officers. I certainly hope they are above ever partaking in such a travesty and they will stand above the type of officers that brought this tradgedy upon us.
Still No word from Parr
All these posts debating this and that. There has been one person that is elected to debate. Where is she? Does anyone else find her absence fishy? Thats not a parr its a double bogey!
most are missing the point here
good on troubil,guardian and breal4real!!! i think they get it. what no one, including the jury, seem to see here is that RF KILLED a man. that is MURDER. didnt know it was police? NO EXDCUSE. it is still MURDER. he blindly shot and killed a man. doesnt matter if that person was a police officer or a burgler. it was a persom and that person is DEAD. he had no reason whatever to blindly shoot through a door with the intention of stopping(killing) the person on the other side. that is murder in any law of this land. the police are here to uphold the law and protect the citizens. that is what they were trying to do here. wait till the same thing happens to one of you folks that are standing up for this criminal. he was illegally either possessing or growing pot.doesnt matter which. pot is still illegal. therefore he was breaking the law so the police had the right to be there. what are you same defenders going to say when this man is out of jail and doing the same thing again since he has now been taught he can break the law and not be punished?
In a nutshell
rayr41591 I believe you summed it up in a nutshell. Ryan Frederick shouldn't be in jail, and Det Shivers shouldn't be dead. I know Ryan has regrets and is sorry. Not just because he is in jail, but, because he killed a man and that is not what he wanted to do. He has most certainly learned a lesson. However, CPD can't admit to any wrong doing or even poor judgement, and, that is bad for the safety of the officers as well as the citizens they are suppose to protect. They can never learn anything if they can't admit and see where they went wrong. And sadly, while Ryan has regrets and is suffering, they can't umble up enough to see how cold they are that this all happened. They want this man (Ryan) to fry to save face for themself. That doesn't give people a warm fuzzy for CPD, especially those who live in Chesapeake. I personally feel involuntary manslaughter is appropriate for the poor judgement by Ryan. But, CPD needs to own up to.
Isn't it Funny
Isn't it funny that the pilot has yet to produce an editorial on this case since the verdict? I think Kerry's "Honey Bun" fiasco was the last word on the subject from the pilot. Interesting huh?
Crimins!
The elected leaders of any police associations are never going to criticize their own, no matter the crime i.e.you won't see a union leader criticizing a worker(s). They are paid to support the people they represent. So, pay little attention to their statements. Few posters are saying that RF should walk. The context of most statements are that the CPD did not use common sense in getting and serving the warrant. With a judicious and thought out approach I don't believe there would be a death of one good officer and the incarceration of RF. Supporters of the CPD are of the opinion that RF started the whole mess by breaking the law, and they have a point. However, the method used in serving the warrant amounted to overkill. There is blame everywhere.
Apples and Lemons
The Chesapeake PD screwed up and everyone knows those involved got together to make their stories straight. They say they followed the policy correctly and will continue to keep the current policy as is. Well unfortunately every individual law enforcement go after are not bad apples. In most of their drug busts they probably are dealing with some bad ones but I'm sure its not written anywhere how to succeed in a drug bust when the victim is a good apple. Ryan Frederick is not a down right hard criminal and he had every right to protect himself and his home. And a detective gets killed over marijuana!!!! This is 2009 people..just because some people smoke marijuana (casually or medically) doesn't mean their a criminal. Its not any worse than what is going on in the rest of the world (ie lying, stealing, cheating, robbing, etc). Excessive tactics were used in this unnessary scenario. And the CPD were the ones in control. Your policy and procedures manual needs some attention. Its time to realize and accept there are some bad lemons in all PD's.
Agree!
Dr. Tabor.........I agree with your well thought out posts!
As for "jayd69390".......there was NO reason to bring in racial comments about this situation. I am a child of the 60's and have black friends who I love and admire. Your hateful, selfish attitude is the reason that racial attitudes CONTINUE to exist. You and people like you, poison the minds of young blacks today!
Had Ryan Frederick been black & Convicted...the City of Chesapeake would be on fire today! AKA Rodney King.
I like beer.
1- Free Ryan Frederick!
2- Put the cops in jail.
testiliars
The jury obviously discounted "Sleazebag" Wrights testimony or they would have convicted on a more serious cannabis charge. They also, obviously discounted Mr. Jamal "I'm Doing 15 years Federal and I Want to Go Home and Commit More Serious Crimes" Skeeters testimony. I think we need a stun gun type seat in the witness stand. As the witnesses are testifying the jurors each have a button they can push when they feel the witness is obviously lying. When ten or more jurors push the button simultaneously, the witness is tased for twenty seconds. The professional witnesses would then break down and tell the truth. The cops would probably be harded to crack, and would need more severe behavior modifications.
Guardian
He could have bought it from the streets. Who knows what he would have bought. Polonium 210 from chemical fertilyzers is not good for you. Neither is mad cow infected steer manure. Buying from a source who's profits goes straight into a drug cartel is bad business. And Virginia statute 18.2-361 section "A" is also a crime.
Search Warrant Affidavit
The Pilot has the affidavit in pdf form at
http://media.hamptonroads.com/media/content/pilotonline/2008/01/shiverssearchwarrant.pdf
Both the original warrant and the secondary warrant after the shooting are included in that pdf.
The affidavit refers to controlled buys with the informant which, if they occurred, did not involve Frederick. Wright had been paid $50 one time for previous information on someone else. The affidavit also mentions phone records and other information, but no anomalies in those records were noted, and at trial, testimony from Kylie Roberts, the officer who obtained the warrant revealed those other investigations revealed nothing unusual and the warrant was obtained entirely on Wright's claims.