The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Gordon Barry said he was trying to prevent someone from being shot when he released his police dog in a crowded courtyard in Young Terrace the night of May 21, 2006.
But the dog ran past Barry’s intended target, a man in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and Timberland boots, and attacked another man. It was then that Barry fired his police weapon.
That moment unraveled in tragedy: Barry mistakenly shot a fellow police officer, Seneca Darden, who had responded to the scene in plainclothes.
Barry’s testimony in Circuit Court on Monday marked his first public statements about that night. It came during the civil trial against him for a lawsuit brought by Philip Harvey, the man who was bitten by Barry’s police dog. The trial deals only with the dog-bite injuries suffered by Harvey and is expected to last three days.
Harvey claims that Barry did not give verbal warnings before ordering the dog to attack.
Police were called to the area to investigate reports of two shootings. One of the victims, Rahmel Humbert, was a close friend of the Harvey family. Philip Harvey’s brother, Denardo Harvey, was yelling as police arrived, and did not comply with their orders to get down. Police used pepper spray on the crowd that had gathered. Darden and other officers drew their weapons and pointed them at Denardo Harvey.
Philip Harvey testified that he had struggled to calm his brother, and then prayed for him as officers surrounded him and aimed their weapons.
“I started to pray, ‘Lord, please don’t let my brother do something stupid and have the police shoot him,’ ” Philip Harvey said.
When Barry arrived, he testified, he saw two uniformed officers, and he looked toward where they had their weapons trained. He saw two people, one facing him, one turned away. The man with his back toward Barry held a gun in the face of the other man, whom he held by the shirt.
That’s when Barry released the dog with the German command meaning apprehend. Barry intended for the dog to take down Darden, the man who had his back to Barry. Instead, the dog ran past both Darden and Denardo Harvey and attacked Philip Harvey.
Philip Harvey said he felt something tug on his ear. He threw up his left hand, and the police dog’s teeth sunk in. Harvey heard shots.
Barry seemed calm throughout his testimony.
“It was extremely loud,” he said. “There were just so many people out there with everything that was going on. Everyone was yelling and screaming.”
Harvey, who was questioned by police, said an infection set into the gaping wound in his hand, and he needed surgery.
He showed jurors the scars on his hand and ear from the bites. Harvey said he once loved dogs but is now terrified of them. He once dreamed of being a police officer. No longer.
“It’s the worst situation I’ve ever been through,” Harvey said.
The lawsuit does not address any of the issues related to Darden’s killing. Two inquiries cleared Barry of wrongdoing in 2006 – a criminal investigation by State Police and an internal one by the city that resulted in no discipline. The city paid $600,000 to settle a claim from Darden’s family.
Barry resigned from the Norfolk Police Department in April 2008 and received a $57,500 severance payment from the city after threatening to sue for being stuck on desk duty.
He is now a police officer in Chesterfield County, according to one of his lawyers.
The trial continues today.
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com
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Also, anytime a person kills
Also, anytime a person kills another person it is considered homicide. Whether their actions are legal or illegal will determine whether or not it is a justifable homicide or murder.
Anthony Grier was not
Anthony Grier was not surrendering to the police when he was shot. It is true he robbed three locations that night, one of the locations he robbed twice in the same night. That means four robberies. During each robbery, he implied to his victims that he had a gun. The victims, in reasonable fear for their lives informed the officers that Grier implied he had a gun. Police were able to find him, ordered him to surrender at which point Grier put his hand into his pocket like he was going to withdraw a gun. He was subsequently shot because of the information that the officers had at the time caused them to believe he had a gun and that his actions led them to believe he was going to cause serious bodily harm or death to the officers involved.
When a neighborhood gets out of control, who do you call?
Let me correct a comment or two I saw here, Officer Barry shot a person who refuse to throw down their weapon,that person was holding a weapon and was seen by other witnesses to hold the weapon not in a classic police style, but in what's called in the neighborhood as a gangster style (holding the gun sideways as seen in the movies,the person was in street clothes without a badge displayed to identify who he was. Anything person who has just been ordered to drop their weapon by a polie officer, would be wise to drop his weapon, in this case the person (Officer Darden) wasn't wise. The person shot was identified as Officer Darden who was working a plain clothes detail for the police department in another area of the city. If Officer Darden didn't leave his detail area, he would be alive today, I know it's tough for those who support Officer Darden to admit that Officer Darden was the person at fault for his death, we live in a world of we must blame someone other than the victim. From what I have read,it seem that the city was under pressure from the black community to go after Officer Barry and they did and they had to pay the officer for their racist action.
The city paid $600,000 to settle a claim from Darden’s family
If officer Barry was not guilty of wrong doing why did the city have to pay out this money? Officer Barry made 2 mistakes shooting a police officer with out using good common sense. It was 2 other officers at the scene all ready so if officer Darden was a threat he would have already been shoot by them. Plus, you release a dog and the wrong person gets bit you bare responsibility of who innocent person that got hurt. He got out of this one real good. If I was him I would keep my mouth close and be lucky he got any money from being released. This is a cover up by the Norfolk Police department. Just like holding night clubs responsible for people getting shot in the parking garage. I guess the night club owners should walk people to their car and make sure you don't do anything stupid. Its the police department job to protect and serve. They should have secured the parking garage like our tax money pay for them to do. Only thing they are serving now is a bunch of lies and excuses.
Apparently the dog was smarter than everyone else on-scene...
he recognized Darden as a cop and bypassed him! ! ! !
@ BCAT GRAHAM and all of your followers
You should be ashamed of yourselves for having the nerve to say one officer shot in the back 6 TIMES by a fellow officer did something wrong. What he did should be taught in the academy? Who was the real treat Seneca didn't shot anybody, but your token Barry did before completely evaluating the scene. You tell me who was the real treat. How about looking officer Darden's children in the face and telling them that your Father who was trying to protect and serve deserves to be Dead and not with you because he didn't stand the right way, or hold his gun up right. And the man who killed him all though he only saw him from the back is a hero for killing him now have a good life. And by the way if everything was so loud and so much was going on. If it's ok for officer Barry who was not in the middle of the crowd and comotion to be confused and shoot the wrong man in the back. Then why wouldn't it be ok for Officer Darden to hold his gun in a none traditional way or stand a certain way when he is the real one in real danger dealing with the real suspect? Also how could officer Barry see that officer Darden was doing all the wrong things, but not see what he was actually doing. I
What about the fact that
What about the fact that Darden "flagged" another officer, I.E. point his gun at another officer? What about the fact that he was holding his gun contrary to training in a thug style? What about the fact that Darden was told not to do so in the academy, but continued to do so which helped create the confusion on whether or not he was an officer. It is sad an unfortunate, but Darden did screw up.
They Both Were Doing Their Jobs
This whole situation is an unfortunate situation, granted. But put yourself in the shoes of both of these officers, Officer BArry made a MISTAKE, ever heard of that word, a terrible mistake, but I dont think he woke up that day with an idea to shoot a fellow officer. The scene was chaotic, it was scary and all he saw was a man in plain clothes, holding a gun in the face of another man. Officer Darden was on a plain clothes detail, he was in the area and responded to a distress call, so both of these officers were doing simply what they were paid to do. Were mistakes made, YES. Should things have been done different? YES. But question, if you were in a situation like this, and more than a dozen lives were hangin on to how you responded in a matter of seconds, how would yu have responded? Would you have followed every procedure? Doubt it. I was there. I saw it it from start to finish. No one has the right to say woulda, shoulda, coulda because they werentin thesemen shoes.
Wasn't Officer Darden
suppose to be working plain clothes in a completely different area of the city at the time this occurred? If so, if he had been where he was suppose to be, he would be alive.
So tell me this
Are you saying the officer in Chesapeake that was shot by the guy with the AK before he killed him, deserves to be dead right now? I mean he was off duty right that means he shouldn't have been there either huh?