Pubdate: Sat, 28 Aug 2004
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2004 Fayetteville Observer
Contact:  http://www.fayettevillenc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/150
Author: Andrew Barksdale
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

MAN SUES OVER DRUG RAID SHOOTING

The lawyer for an unarmed man who was shot last year during a drug
raid says there are significant discrepancies about what happened.

The lawyer, Michael Goldberg of Atlanta, represents Charles Alford,
who was shot three times by Capt. LaRue Windham of the Cumberland
County Sheriff's Office.

Alford, who is 46, has recovered from his injuries. Windham was
cleared of wrongdoing and promoted to captain last summer.

Alford filed a civil suit against Windham and Sheriff Moose Butler and
his department this year. He seeks $160,000 in medical bills, $30,000
in lost wages and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a
jury.

Lawyers in the case took depositions this week from all six deputy
sheriffs, including Windham, who were part of a special-response team
involved in the drug raid Feb. 27, 2003.

According to the lawsuit, the deputies used a battering ram to open
the back door of a mobile home at 312 Ministry Lane. They wore black
uniforms and masks and carried semi-automatic weapons and pistols. The
suit claims no weapons were found at the residence.

Six other adults and two children, who were 8 and 13, were inside the
trailer at the time of the raid. No one else was hurt.

The house is off Lock's Creek Church and Old Vander roads east of
Fayetteville.

According to sworn depositions this week, Goldberg said, the first two
deputies who entered the house testified that nobody inside was acting
aggressively.

The lawsuit identifies those two officers as Lt. Chuck Parker and
Deputy Paul Mead.

Seconds later, Windham entered. He testified in a deposition this
week, Goldberg said, that a woman jumped on his back while Alford
tried to grab his pistol. Windham then fired his weapon.

The last three deputies testified they saw Alford on the floor with
gunshot wounds lying beside a woman after they followed Windham inside
seconds later.

The suit does not identify the other three officers or the woman.

Windham's lawyer, Reggie Gillespie of Durham, did not return a phone
call late Friday.

Officers' statements

Ronnie Mitchell, who represents Sheriff Butler, said the officers'
statements taken the night of the shooting do not differ from this
week's depositions. He said there are some minor inconsistences in
their stories, but that is to be expected from a highly intense
incident, such as this, that lasted less than a minute.

The lawsuit was filed in February in the U.S. District Court's Western
Division. It claims Butler failed to adequately supervise and train
Windham and failed to discipline him after the shooting. The suit says
Alford's civil rights were violated.

County Attorney Grainger Barrett said the sheriff's internal affairs
department, the State Bureau of Investigation and Hoke County District
Attorney Kristy Newton reviewed the case and determined there was no
reason to charge any of the officers in the raid.

Cumberland County District Attorney Ed Grannis asked Newton to review
the case because of his long-standing relationships with those involved.

"We think that the testimony of the fellow officers that went into the
residence in this high-risk search warrant raid was consistent on all
main points," Barrett said.

According to the lawsuit, Alford was shot in the right arm, left chest
and right abdomen. He is a long-distance truck driver who sometimes
stayed with family in Fayetteville.

He was never charged.

His sister, Janet Alford, who is 48, and her two children, Gary and
Lakina Alford, were charged with trafficking in crack cocaine and have
been sentenced to time in federal prison.

They were among the adults inside the trailer at the time of the
raid.

Mitchell said testimony by all four Alfords was inconsistent, but he
declined to elaborate.

The Sheriff's Office was working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration when the raid occurred.

Goldberg said he is concerned that the internal affairs department did
not note the officers' discrepancies in its investigation. He is
investigating whether the Sheriff's Office has a pattern of using
excessive force.

Barrett said the department sometimes gets complaints of excessive
force by people who are arrested. "It's the nature of the business,"
he said.

Barrett said he was not aware of a single complaint against the
sheriff's special-response team that was ever upheld by a court or
internal investigators.
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