Pubdate: Thu, 02 Dec 2004
Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA)
Copyright: 2004 Ledger-Enquirer
Contact:  http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237
Author: Richard Hyatt, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)

THE WALKER TAPE

Sheriff Johnson Says Glisson'S 'Feel The Barrel' Technique Was One
Reason For His Termination

This was to be the day Sheriff Ralph Johnson offered frank
descriptions of what happened the night Kenneth Walker died. The day
he made public for the first time a videotape of the bedlam on the
emergency lane of Interstate 185. The day he spelled out conflicting
statements from David Glisson and assigned blame for breaking
procedure where he said it squarely belonged -- on the deputy who
pulled the trigger.

On a day Johnson said he hoped healing would begin, the Muscogee
County sheriff followed his agenda -- nine days before the one-year
anniversary of Walker's death and eight days after a grand jury
declined to indict Glisson for shooting the 39-year-old Walker.

In a packed late afternoon news conference Wednesday that was carried
live on local television, Johnson said for the first time publicly why
he fired Glisson last February.

Johnson said Glisson:

. Should have "provided cover" for the arrest rather than moving into
a "hands-on" position

. Twice made conflicting statements about what happened that night

. Forced the suspect to "feel the barrel" of a gun -- a technique that
violated sheriff's department training.

That Johnson was talking and the videotape could be seen brought
relief all over town. But while old questions were answered, new ones
were raised -- particularly the question of why Walker was left
unattended on the asphalt for two minutes.

Fingers of blame also were pointed -- particularly at Glisson -- a
situation that riled the former deputy's attorney, Richard Hagler.

"Frankly, they're trying to make David (Glisson) a scapegoat," Hagler
said late Wednesday. "I hoped the sheriff wouldn't get into a
cover-your-ass mode. This just shows the continued lack of credibility
coming from that office."

The community speaks

Comments came from every direction:

. "People can now see on the video that Kenneth Walker was brutally
murdered without provocation on Dec. 10." -- Bill Campbell, attorney
for the Walker family

. "I can't see any reason Kenny Walker died that night. I saw an
individual laying there that should be alive. I can't describe it." --
Edward DuBose, president, Columbus NAACP

. "You'll always have questions. I have three concerns: comfort for
the families; justice, and it's still in the courts; and healing, we
all want a measure of healing." -- The Rev. Hal Brady, pastor, St.
Luke United Methodist Church

. "The pattern is there: A white policeman holding the gun on a black
male. I don't play God so I don't blame anyone." -- Zeph Baker,
assistant pastor, Spirit Filled Ministries

. "All I asked for for a year was patience. We weren't hiding
anything. Unfortunately, it has been a year. I did everything legally
proper." -- Sheriff Ralph Johnson

. "Reactions will be varied by the people who see (the video). My
reaction is not important. Everyone can create their own and,
hopefully, the community can move forward." -- Morton Harris, attorney
and campaign manager for Johnson's re-election campaign

. "We still need to bring about closure, peace, justice and
contentment for the Walker family. My reaction is that the shooting is
unjustifiable. It was unnecessary and should not have happened." --
The Rev. William Howell, president Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

. "I saw the incident live and in color. What I saw was devastating. I
knew Kenny Walker. He was a fraternity brother of mine. His father was
one of my teachers. It's personal with me. Because of my position with
the city, I will maintain a neutral position despite strong personal
feelings." -- Isaiah Hugley, deputy city manager, Consolidated Government

. "The story has been one-sided for 11 months. We didn't have a
choice. Now we can answer questions. We held this (meeting) because
there is mistrust and suspicion. Before we can reach out, we have got
to clear the air of that mistrust and suspicion." -- Capt. Joe McCrea,
Muscogee County Sheriff's Department

Silence squelched

Johnson ended that silence Wednesday as he began the slow process of
releasing information about the death of Walker during a drug
investigation on Dec. 10. It began with the release of the grainy
one-hour tape recorded by a camera mounted in a sheriff's department
vehicle.

Late Tuesday, McCrea began contacting people on a list provided by
Johnson, inviting them to a special Wednesday noon viewing of the video.

Atop the list were Emily and Cheryl Walker -- the mother and widow of
the former high school basketball star.

"I started yesterday. I made calls to their homes," McCrea said. "I
left messages on their answering machines, gave them the number of my
cell phone and I had no contact last night."

Campbell, the former mayor of Atlanta and an attorney for the Walkers,
said the family had no interest in joining a community meeting and
that there was nothing for the family to gain from the viewing.

"To be called on a Tuesday and told to show up on Wednesday and view
the murder of your husband -- I don't think that's the proper way to
do it at all," Campbell said.

Without the family, the meeting was held in an out-of-the-way meeting
room in the East Wing of the Government Center. When a reporter from
WTVM-9 tried to join the public meeting, she was barred by the sheriff.

Later, as a gaggle of news reporters gathered outside the door of the
meeting room, McCrea asked them to disperse.

"Guys, it's been 11 months," McCrea said. "We're not hiding anything.
This is a day we'll be as open as we can be."

Inside the room was an assortment of people that included government
officials, civil rights leaders, lawyers and ministers of the gospel.
The group was mostly male and mostly African-American.

DuBose said he was invited to the meeting late Tuesday night but like
the others wasn't told where the meeting would be held, only that it
would be at the Government Center.

"The common denominator was that it was secret," DuBose
said.

After viewing the video, people at the meeting were dazed and opinions
were mixed as they filed out of the room.

Former Assistant District Attorney Alonza Whitaker said he was
convinced in his own mind what happened but thought his opinion should
be private.

"I don't want my view to cloud others' judgment. I believe people are
intelligent enough to make their own conclusions," Whitaker said.

Metro Columbus Urban League Director Reginald Pugh was not so
reticent. He said he saw no struggle between Glisson and Walker.

"I feel Deputy Glisson overreacted," Pugh said. "He was overly
aggressive and that led to the death of Kenneth Walker. I have more
respect for the sheriff. Deputy Glisson was aggressive and upset. You
can't blame the sheriff's department as a whole."

Showing the video

Three hours after the private showing began, Johnson presented the
video and a PowerPoint presentation to the media. Because it was on
live television, the sheriff twice warned that people were about to
see a shooting.

After showing the portion of the videotape of the scene where the
shooting of Walker occurred, Johnson narrated the slides, asking
reporters not to get pages ahead of him on the written script.

When questions arose, Johnson declined to answer certain ones, saying
they would be answered when the rest of the investigative files are
released next week.

Walker and three other black males had left an apartment where drugs
were being sold and were on I-185 last Dec. 10 when sheriff's deputies
and members of the Metro Narcotics Task Force pulled them over.
Officers believed they were tailing a vehicle carrying armed drug
salesmen from Miami.

Asked if officers ever did a check on the Georgia license plates on
the Yukon, Johnson answered like a founding member of the task force.

"This is an old narc talking," he said. "In general, if you come up to
a city to deal dope, you don't use Dade County plates."

Glisson, who was supposed to stay back to cover other officers, went
to the right side of the vehicle and helped get Walker out of the SUV.
There is apparent surprise among the officers on the scene when
Glisson pulled the trigger on his MP5 submachine gun.

The video is framed second by second, and by the clock it was revealed
that Walker was on the ground for two minutes before a deputy trained
in CPR attended to him.

"As soon as a shot was fired, a deputy called to dispatch an ambulance
to the scene," Johnson said.

Though the picture quality of the video is poor and audio was lost
because of equipment malfunction, it is evident that the late-night
scene became chaotic after Glisson fired his automatic weapon.

"I'm not a psychologist, but it appears to me there are people in
shock," Johnson said.

Glisson shot Walker in a narrow space between the SUV and the sound
barriers on the side of I-185. Afterward, he moved to the rear of the
vehicle where another officer put his arms around him and comforted
him. Glisson was then walked up the road to a sheriff's car in front
of the Yukon.

"When I got there, he was crying," sheriff's Lt. Larry Tew said.
"After that, he was transported to St. Francis Hospital for a
urinalysis," said Tew, explaining department policy whenever someone
is involved in a shooting or even a minor car wreck.

In Glisson's words

The slide presentation was the most damning to Glisson. In it, Johnson
revealed for the first time the words of Glisson in two separate
interviews with fellow officers. He also delineated reasons for the
dismissal of Glisson, a 20-year officer and one of the department's
sharpshooters.

Later that night, Glisson gave a statement. He gave a second statement
on Feb. 12 while on administrative leave. Johnson cited differences in
the two statements given by his longtime deputy.

In the second statement, Glisson said the shooting was accidental and
that he lost his balance at which time he believed that his finger
entered the trigger housing and the weapon discharged.

Glisson described being on top of Walker "and having him feel that
weapon" -- a technique he had used in the past.

When the second statement was made, Hagler wasn't there. Wednesday
night, the attorney was upset at the circumstances of both interviews.

"The night of the shooting, they sent David home in a state of shock.
His wife put him to bed and he had to take two pills to get to sleep.
He had been asleep about an hour when the department called. Someone
told his wife to get him back down there. When he made his first
statement, he was in shock and had taken medication," Hagler said.

The attorney said Johnson had promised him he could be there for the
second interview, which was required by the Garrity Warning -- a law
that requires a deputy to answer questions pertaining to actions taken
in the line of duty.

"They insisted he be there when I had to be in court on another case.
They were adamant. They told David to be there or they would fire him
right then," Hagler said.

Hearing statements Johnson made Wednesday, Hagler was blunt: "He's
trying to set David up."
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MAP posted-by: Derek