The Virginian-Pilot
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CHESAPEAKE
A "black box" seized from the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu in which two men were fatally wounded by police last week could provide critical information into what happened.
Chesapeake police took data from the black box after Portsmouth police shot the Chevy's driver and passenger during an undercover drug investigation that ended in the 3800 block of Schooner Trail in Chesapeake around 11:25 p.m. Thursday, a search warrant showed.
The driver, Demetrius D. Edens, 28, of Chesapeake, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and neck, according to the state medical examiner's office. The passenger, 25-year-old Darren S. Wilson of Virginia Beach, died of a gunshot wound to the head.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Chesapeake Circuit Court, Edens drove backward into a police Suburban, then drove forward, hitting a Portsmouth police officer and pinning him between Edens' car and a second police car. The officer, whose name has not been released, was treated at a hospital and discharged.
Police sought "any and all data from the event data recorder/air bag control module," a so-called black box installed in many late-model cars that records speed, direction and whether the driver and passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of a collision.
It could reveal how fast the car was going as much as 10 seconds before impact and whether the driver was accelerating or braking, according to Bill Dickinson, a mechanical engineer for Indiana-based Wolf Technical Services, a research and development firm with expertise in accident reconstruction.
The devices were initially installed in vehicles to determine whether the air bag should deploy, Dickinson said.
"The first job is to protect the occupants," he said. "As a bonus round, it goes ahead and saves that information to a memory chip inside it."
Many police departments have used that information to help solve traffic crimes.
Chesapeake police are investigating the incident because it occurred inside the city. After reviewing all the information gathered, Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney Nancy Parr will issue a written statement on whether the shootings were justified - standard during any police-involved shooting.
During the investigation, police retrieved 6 ounces of cocaine from the Chevrolet, said Dorienne Boykin, Chesapeake police spokeswoman.
Portsmouth police Chief Edward G. Hargis said Monday that "several" narcotics officers - he declined to give a number but identified them as "the personnel who were involved in the assignment" - are undergoing "critical incident stress debriefings" with counselors.
He said his department is working toward arming officers with Tasers, to give them another option in their arsenal.
"But that's not in response to these shootings," he said. "... That was already in place before I got here."
Pilot writer Matthew Bowers contributed to this report.
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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Dr. Tabor
VERY well put!
A car can be a weapon
It makes no sense to presume wrongdoing on the part of police in this incident. It is pretty clear that the driver and his passenger both knew police were attempting to arrest them and the driver, at least, chose to resist with deadly force. At the very least, the shooting of the driver was justified unless there are other facts we have not yet seen to the contrary.
The single shot which killed the passenger may have just been a stray round intended for the driver. That happens when you ride with a dangerous criminal.
There are real cases of police excess, and when they happen, we should speak out, but to extend that to every instance in which the police use deadly force simply polarizes the issue and replaces reason with passion and prejudice.
Police
If you run from a policeman after he did the proper things to stop you then he should be able to shoot you and save the time and danger chasing you. If one has done no wrong or a minor infraction why run. Running shows guilt. I was a CO at the state prison for five years. No one lives there for signing too loud in the church choir. These fellows have more rights and freedoms than we do. They have free cable 100% paid medical 3 square meals a day, air conditioning and heat 24/7 365. You are not allowed to touch them if the haven't stabbed you or busted you in the head first. If they don't get things on time or prepared exactly correct they can file suit. If you do touch one they can have you locked up for assault and get you fired. It cost approx. 30k/yr to house each of these people. Start shooting them when they run and we can save officers, time and money. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Moose
The opening line of your statement was clear enough to show your side. I will not waste the space to try and defend anything I said as I stand by it. You should look up the terms furtive movements and perceived threats. I will not give into people that are looking for any single reason to condemn a police officers actions without knowing all of the details. A thorough and professional investigation is underway in Chesapeake as shown by this article. Unless you have "facts" to speak of leave it alone. The fact that you used "Maybe" doesn't make it any better. Maybe they should not have been dealing drugs. If you don't like the way police handle things "maybe" you should put yourself in a position to change that.
Staggering, yes we see you are.
Are you sure you read what I wrote? I put in "MAYBE", didn't condemn anyone, made clear there is doubt. You would perhaps feel more comfortable if I used "killing" instead of "murdering" in the last sentence? Either way he's stopped and ain't getting back up. What scars me is that you write, "Absolutely!!! His inability to follow orders given by the officers on scene quite possibly ended in his death." To think you believe that an officer should have the authority to shoot you for not following his orders or if you didn't move fast enough or do it just right to his likings. I think NOT! We have lost a lot of our freedoms, but last I checked a police officer has no right to shoot a person that is not a threat to the officer or others. I was very careful to state that WE may not have the WHOLE story yet, but going by the information that has been released in the article, one would believe that the passenger was unarmed and had no control of where the vehicle was going. If I shoot someone who is unarmed and is not posing a threat to me, is it murder or is it okay?
"The kids...."
...check out the April 12 VP article on Edens. It says: "In 2005, Edens was sentenced to five years in prison for child abuse and neglect. He was on probation indefinitely after part of the sentence was suspended, according to court documents." Almost any man can father a child but that does NOT make him a FATHER.
If he was a responsible
If he was a responsible father of 11 children he would not be out attacking police officers and hauling drugs late at night. He would be home with his family, probably already in bed so he could go to work the next morning to support them all. I mean he was supporting all 11 of them right?
So was " dad " the one with the felony child abuse conviction or the one that was wanted for parole violations for his felonies.
moose
Maybe (stress maybe) the bullet from the head shot of the driver went through and hit the passenger. Sad situation, maybe if the one father was home taken care of a few of his children he would not have been in the car. I only feel sorry for those children and their mothers.
RE: Moose
In response to moose calling the death of the passenger murder.....Apparently you were there and can vouch for exactly what happened. Clearly the passenger was in his altar boy uniform with his hands in the air. Is it possible that he also posed a threat to the officers with his movements? Absolutely!!! His inability to follow orders given by the officers on scene quite possibly ended in his death. Before you go and throw the stone about murder maybe you should have half of an idea about how to be a police officer. Second of all maybe a little bit of support for the officers involved from cop haters like you is in order. They are the least appreciated profession in the region. However, when they are expected to protect people like yourself that don't care about their success.
Collateral Damage
Police are notoriously bad shots, and when they are nervous and stressed out like in these circumstances, they are exceptionally bad shots. As a result, they fired at the biggest object, which happened to be the car. The passenger was in that big target, and he just became collateral damage.