Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2000
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.postnet.com/postnet/stories.nsf/Home
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Author: Valerie Schremp And William C. Lhotka of the Post-Dispatch
Note: Valerie Schremp, E-mail:  314-862-2188
And William C. Lhotka, E-mail:  314-615-3283

PROSECUTOR WANTS TO FIND WITNESSES IN SHOOTING BY POLICE

At least four private vehicles were moving on the parking lot of a fast-food
restaurant in Berkeley when police killed two unarmed men there June 12,
surveillance tapes show. Investigators hope to find the occupants to learn
more about the controversial shooting.

St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch said poor-quality security
tapes from cameras outside the Jack in the Box restaurant on North Hanley
Road still provided some details of possible witnesses' cars.

Earl Murray, 36, of Northwoods, and Ronald Beasley, 36, of St. Louis, were
shot dead in Murray's car by a Dellwood police detective and a federal Drug
Enforcement Administration agent.

St. Louis County police said the two undercover officers fired in
self-defense when Murray threatened to run them down with his car as they
tried to arrest him in a drug case.

Some vocal critics want to know why police didn't just stand aside, and why
their fire also killed Beasley, who was not a suspect.

One of the potential witnesses' cars, McCulloch said, was parked in the
space next to Murray's car. Its motor was running, he said, and it left
after the shooting. "This one absolutely, positively was there from
beginning to end," he said.

Another had gone through the drive-up window and circled the parking lot
heading for the exit. The third was on the parking lot to the west of
Murray's car. The fourth also had gone through the drive-through and was
heading for the exit.

One was a sports utility vehicle, one a minivan, one a sports car and one a
mid-size four-door, McCulloch said.

The time sequences of the security cameras made it unclear if the occupants
of the third or fourth cars were in a position to see or hear anything.
Officials said they have more details on the vehicles but did not release
them to make it easier to screen out crank calls.

The occupants, or anyone with information about the vehicles or their
occupants, can call McCulloch's office at 615-2600.

Despite some activists' demands that the videotapes be made public
immediately, McCulloch said he would recommend they remain in police custody
until the investigation is complete. "First, I don't have the tapes," he
said. "Second, I would not recommend they be released because they are part
of an investigation. We would like to talk to witnesses before (the public)
sees the tapes."

He said he would favor their release at an unspecified "appropriate time."

McCulloch said he will ask a grand jury to decide whether the officers
should be charged with any crime, rather than making the decision himself.
The move will allow a cross-section of the community to participate, he
said.

"In no way am I saying that anything wrong occurred," McCulloch emphasized.

The parking lot cameras, most mounted on light poles, showed at least eight
views, officials said. The silent video is in black and white. It shows a
set of four frames at a time, alternating between two sets every four or
five seconds.

The tapes are of such poor quality, McCulloch said, that he is seeking ways
to get them enhanced. He stopped short of saying that they showed the actual
shooting. "It's a remarkably brief period of time that this occurred," he
explained. "This is not high-quality stuff."

Eric Vickers, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Missouri's 1st
District, said Tuesday that protesters will march on McCulloch's ofThce in
Clayton if the tapes are not released by today. "I think the longer they
hold those tapes, the more public confidence erodes," he complained in an
interview.
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