Update: 1:39 pm 5/18/10 - Attorneys file lawsuits on behalf of Aiyana Jones' family


Geoffrey Fieger, the attorney representing the family of Aiyana Jones, a 7-year old who was shot dead during a police raid, says police are trying to cover up the truth about what exactly happened. Fieger said he's seen three or four minutes of video footage of the raid and claims that the video evidence contradicts what the officers say happened at the scene.

Police are saying that officers threw a flash grenade through the first-floor window of the two-family home and that the girl was killed when an officer's gun accidentally discharged during a struggle with the girl's grandmother inside the house. Fieger argues, however, that the evidence shows an officer throwing the grenade into the home and then shooting into the house from the front porch.
"There is no question about what happened, because it's in the videotape," Fieger said. "It's not an accident. It's not a mistake. There was no altercation. Aiyana Jones was shot from outside on the porch. The videotape shows clearly the officer throwing through the window a stun grenade-type explosive and then within milliseconds of throwing that, firing a shot from outside the home."

A&E had been following the police to shoot footage for a reality show, but they've declined to comment on the case. Detroit police are trying to get copies of the footage for their own investigation.

"The videotape shows clearly that the assistant police chief and the officers on the scene are engaging in an intentional cover-up of the events," Fieger said.

The target of the raid, a 34-year-old male suspect in the murder of a 17-year-old, was apprehended at the scene. He was upstairs in the house. It is not clear what relationship the man has with the girl who was killed.

The case has been handed to the Michigan State Police for investigation to avoid a conflict of interest. Some have wondered if the presence of cameras affected the manner in which the raid occurred. There were toys in the front yard, implying that children were inside the house.

Two criminal defense attorneys said that they were not aware of past instances in which flash grenades were used by Detroit police when children were present.

"That's a new one," said Detroit attorney Corbett Edge O'Meara. "That does seem to be a pretty extreme measure. It doesn't surprise me that the police had no concern whether they were endangering the lives of children when they made this raid."

Attorney Marvin Barnett had this to say: "I've never heard that before in my entire career, that you've thrown a flash bomb in a house unless you've got an armed suspect and you know there is nobody else in the house."

"I'd like to know who gave the order to do that," Barnett said.

We've covered the shooting death of Aiyana Jones on BV this week, and we are going to continue to discuss this incident until it is resolved. I spoke with Rev. Al Sharpton on the air today, and the two of us are in agreement that there is no reason for this little girl to have died. What is most important is that we get all the facts before passing judgment, whether we believe the officers were in the wrong or not. At the very least, I am concerned about the following:

1) Are flash-bang grenades typically used in raids? Why was it used in this one? Do they typically use them in raids in non-black communities as well?

2) Shouldn't the safety of innocent citizens take precedence over apprehending the suspect? Why were the police so aggressive, knowing that there were children inside the home?

3) Whether there was a scuffle with the grandmother or not, is there not some responsibility on the part of the Detroit Police for any deaths occurring from a bullet shot from a police firearm? Similar to a high-speed chase in which a pedestrian is killed, I would imagine that the state has some responsibility, when citizens are accidentally killed by one of their weapons, vehicles, etc.

I'll be following this one closely. There are quite a few questions that need to answered when it comes to the Aiyana Jones case. Detroit police, at the very least, will need to seriously reconsider their policies.

In the meantime, watch Aiyana's vigil here:





Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.