Davis pulled over Hunter Brittain, 17, on June 23, 2021, outside Cabot, a small town 30 miles north of Little Rock. Because he is not here, we all have to unite together and make sure people all over America know that we will get justice for Hunter Brittain, Crump said. The teen didnt respond to verbal commands given by the deputy, Necomb said. Copyright 2023, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. The trial for a former Lonoke County Sheriff's Deputy accused of killing an unarmed teenager during a traffic stop happened this week. In shooting case, office failed to quickly cut police contact, Family and friends of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain, including his uncle, Harley Brittain (left), hold a rally outside the Lonoke County sheriff's office in Lonoke in this June 23, 2021, file photo. Davis testified that he thought the teen was grabbing for a gun. All I wanted from day one is for him to get a felony where he could not be in law enforcement again and carry a weapon. Were going to take this and see what else [the special prosecutor in the case] has got to say and hopefully this will stick. The witness said that Davis was in compliance with his training. Crump led the crowd in chanting, Hunter Brittains life matters.. Arkansas State Police are investigating Brittains death. According to the affidavit, when Brittain pulled over and got out of the car, he started moving to the truck bed as the truck was rolling backward toward Davis' patrol car. Send it to The Daily Beasthere. How much help are American volunteers in Ukraine? The Arkansas State Police released video Friday from the body camera of former Lonoke County Deputy Michael Davis, taken the night 17-year-old Hunter Brittain was fatally shot during a. [DOCUMENT: Coroners report for Noah Hunter Brittain arkansasonline.com/coronerbrittain]. Jury deliberations lasted less than three hours. I didnt get into this job to kill people, he said. All rights reserved. I never touched it, Graham said when asked about the file. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. They think that it is not appropriate for anybody who has a conflict of interest to weigh in and deny them due process of a fair and impartial and completely independent investigation as to what happened to their child. Newcomb said he wasnt concerned with the file being passed to Graham. On June 24, Graham sent an email to state police special agent Robert Middleton saying, Per our phone conversation, we will not be releasing the body camera video of the recent Officer Involved Shooting in Lonoke County at this time. Davis turned himself inon Friday, Sept. 17, after the special prosecuting attorney issued an arrest warrant for manslaughter. On Rice's footage, crime tape starts to go up as he gets Brittain's name from King. Mike Davis plead not guilty to felony manslaughter in the death of Hunter Brittain. The maximum jail term faced by Davis, a former sergeant with the Lonoke county sheriffs office, was one year. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, The case has attracted nationwide calls for police reform, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. I do all the on-call stuff, Graham said in a phone conversation last week. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Both were lawyers in George Floyd's murder case. In an interview with Davis, he said he initiated the traffic stop of Brittain's white GMC truck and heard "the truck's engine rev up and then began to travel southbound in the northbound lane." "We're glad that we're finally at this point. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Hes currently being held in an undisclosed jail, after being booked in Lonoke County. Kwami Abdul-Bey, legislative/political action chairman for the Jacksonville branch of the NAACP, said the measure would include a position at the Arkansas attorney generals office that would be responsible for investigating police shootings or brutality cases. I'll say I'm not necessarily surprised by that burden," he said. Davis said all of these things were the reason he felt afraid for his life and thought Brittain "was going to kill him.". Prosecuting attorney, Jeff Phillips said the state is fine with the verdict but the sentencing wasn't what they expected. Hunter did nothing wrong, just like we felt George Floyd did nothing wrong, Sharpton told reporters before the memorial. Brittain was fatally shot by a deputy during a traffic stop . Killing of Hunter Brittain Read Edit View history At approximately 3:00 am ( CDT) on Wednesday, June 23, 2021, 17-year-old Hunter Brittain, who was unarmed, was shot by Lonoke County sheriff's deputy Sgt. During a public memorial for Brittain earlier this week, Rev. "He will be with us in our hearts and I hope everyone will know that and see that as time goes on and we are not going to forget about Hunter," Payne said. After another pre-trial hearing on March 14, the trial will officially begin on March 15. Once we have the autopsy report, we will know more.. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Brittains family claim the teen had been working on his pickup, and that at the time of the shooting he was unarmed, with only a bottle of antifreeze in his hands. Davis, an eight-year veteran with the Lonoke County Sheriffs office, gave the boy commands to stop and shot him before he could see what he was retrieving, which turned out to be a jug of antifreeze. The investigation of the shooting was quickly turned over to the Arkansas State Police. Davis was fired by Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley a week after the shooting for breaking a department policy that requires deputies body cameras to be turned on before interactions with the public. On June 23, Hunter's life was cut short when a Lonoke County sheriff's deputy fatally shot him during a traffic stop. Ultimately the 12 jurors were seated-- made up of nine women, three men, and two alternates. After a short break, open arguments started around 2:30 p.m. Authorities have released few details about the shooting. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Post your articles here so that everyone will have a chance to see our government at work (or showing their lack thereof) taking their own to task! Brittain was transferred to a nearby hospital where he died from the gunshot wound. Brittain was up late working on the vehicles transmission before taking the test drive, family members have said. And also justice for all of our other brothers and sisters dying at the hands of law enforcement hired to protect and serve us around this country.. We acknowledge that is going to be much harder in a smaller office. The institute released a tool kit in 2019 to help prosecutors when addressing officer-involved fatalities. Brittain was eulogized last year by the civil rights leader the Rev Al Sharpton, who said the death highlighted the need for interracial support for changes in policing. It was emotional for witnesses and Brittain's family, many of them had to step out of the courtroom. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC. "Because the deputy failed to activate his bodycam, he has been terminated," Staley said in his statement. Many attending the memorial wore jeans and shirts that read Justice for Hunter, in a ceremony that included Floyd family attorneys Ben Crump and Devon Jacob. Davis, who was originally charged with felony manslaughter, fatally shot Brittain who was test-driving his truck after working on it all night. The civil rights leader and the high-profile attorney, who Sharpton has dubbed "Black America's Attorney general," deemed the police shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain "one of the most. King responds that the truck wouldn't shift into park. He said each prosecutors office has to make its own determination on how to handle police shootings. The county has not decided whether to grant the hearing, County Attorney Allen Dodson said Wednesday. Some of Brittains family members have said a witness to the shooting claims Davis didnt offer verbal commands before the shooting. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and other media outlets have requested footage of the shooting for the past nine months, since the incident happened. Sharpton eulogized 17-year-old Hunter Brittain, who was shot and killed by a white Lonoke County sheriffs deputy, Sgt. They should have no interaction with police officers because that can create a sense of bias, Marque Heydari said. The issue of policing is not about Black and white, Reverend Al Sharpton said at a eulogy for Mr Brittain. He was my grandson. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment. The family of Brittain has hired Devon Jacob and Benjamin Crump to represent them in the case. Hunter Brittain (left) and then-Sgt. He said he never heard any verbal cues from Davis until after the shots were fired. ", Davis then starts yelling at a passenger, Jordan King, "What are y'all driving the vehicle like that?". Neither Brittains nor Davis attorneys are supportive of Grahams decision to withhold body-camera footage. "I was hoping for a not guilty verdict on both charges. His attorney, Newcomb, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On July 1, over a week after Brittain's death, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley announced through a Facebook video Thursday that former Sergeant Mike Davis was fired due to policy violations. Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off and extra perks with Booking.com Genius membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 15% off orders over 15 with this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK February 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this February, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. He remains free on bond pending appeal. Davis, Newcomb said. Brttain went to the bed to get something(transmission fluid / anti-freeze) for the truck. the officer fired 1 shot killing the teen. The email went on to state, Chuck Graham, Lonoke Prosecuting Attorney, has further opposed the release of the body camera footage related to this incident at this time. When asked by the Democrat-Gazette, Graham confirmed that he continued to communicate with the state police agency up until filing his recusal. (AP) The Rev. Brittain made his way to the truck bed, where he grabbed a blue coolant jug. He's still driving on his way to the scene. Heres what you need to know. At about seven minutes into the video, another deputy arrives and says, "Why don't we just chill and stop talking now?". 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