A Huntsville, Alabama police officer will continue to get paid as a public servant despite being convicted of murder for the shooting of a suicidal man who called 911 in 2018.
Officer William Darby, 28, who has since been taken off duty, faces 20 years to life in prison after he is sentenced for the fatal killing of Jeffrey Parker, 49, according to prosecutors.
On April 3, 2018, Parker phoned 911 reporting he was armed and intended to end his own life. According to responding officers, the suicidal man was holding a gun to his head when they arrived at his home.
Body camera footage shows Darby, the third officer to arrive at the scene, grabbing a shotgun from his patrol car and dashing to Parker's home. Upon his arrival, he yelled at Genisha Pegues, a senior officer who arrived at the scene first, to “point your fu**ing gun at him."
The now-convicted killer cop repeatedly shouted for Parker to drop his gun but the man ignored police orders. Eleven seconds after entering the house, Darby fired a fatal shot in Parker's face, with the incident caught on video.
About a month later, a review board assembled by the Huntsville Police Department resolved that Darby’s use of deadly force was “within the line and scope of his duty,” The New York Times reported. This is despite not reviewing the bodycam footage available.
Pegues testified against Darby and told the jury that she was de-escalating the situation before he got there, according to AL. Meanwhile, Darby asserted that he had to take over the situation from Pegues to protect his fellow officers and himself from the armed man.
Darby’s defense attorney Robert Tuten said they will be appealing the murder conviction because the jury "got it wrong."
Tuten contended that the use of deadly police force was justified and his client had no choice but to shoot. If Parker had decided to turn his weapon on the police, it would have taken twice as long for the officers to return fire, he said.
Jurors rebuffed defense claims of a justified shooting that led to the fatal murder of Parker. Madison County's Tim Douthit, an assistant district attorney, held that the cop killed Parker because the suicidal man refused to obey his orders to drop the gun.
District Attorney Rob Broussard said that the shooting "was not justified in any way." The case was not a reflection on Huntsville police or local law enforcement, he said. Broussard also noted that there was zero hostility or aggression from Parker when police arrived at his home.
Initially placed on desk duty following the 2018 killing, Darby has been taken off the force because of the conviction upheld on Friday but will continue to be paid. According to the Associated Press, the cop went on leave Monday, confirmed city spokeswoman Lucy DeButy.
“This is the normal process until formal proceedings under the City of Huntsville’s personnel policies and procedures are complete,” she said in a statement.
Angered by the city's decision to keep paying Darby, Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry has called for the convicted murderer and the police chief to be sacked from the force.
Pegues and Justin Beckles, the second officer who responded to the 911 call on the day of the shooting, have since left the Huntsville Police Department. They were sent to remedial training following Parker's death.
Huntsville city leaders had maintained that Darby was justified in using deadly force. While an internal police department review cleared Darby of wrongdoing, a county grand jury indicted him in the shooting.
The city of Huntsville had said it would pay as much as $125,000 toward his defense. Darby was freed on a $100,000 bond soon after his murder verdict on Friday.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
