Document Page: REVISED REPORT: SHOOTER JUSTIFIED CHIEF NAPOLEON IGNORES EARLIER, CRITICAL FINDINGS

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REVISED REPORT: SHOOTER JUSTIFIED CHIEF NAPOLEON IGNORES EARLIER, CRITICAL FINDINGS By SUZETTE HACKNEY and JOE SWICKARD FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS; Staff writer David AshenfelterDetroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich. 12-16-2000 REVISED REPORT: SHOOTER JUSTIFIED CHIEF NAPOLEON IGNORES EARLIER, CRITICAL FINDINGS Byline: By SUZETTE HACKNEY and JOE SWICKARD FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS; Staff writer David Ashenfelter Edition: METRO FINAL Section: NWS Type: News Detroit Police Chief Benny Napoleon has signed off on a new 32- page report clearing Officer Eugene Brown of any wrongdoing in four shootings that killed three people and wounded a fourth. The report -- which the department refuses to release -- reverses the findings in September by a panel of three police executives that those shootings were not justified and that the department's initial investigations were shoddy. But Napoleon's action does not get Brown out of the investigative revolving door. Even as the new report clears him, federal officials have begun their own criminal investigation into the shootings that have marked the decorated officer's six-year career. Detroit Assistant Chief Marvin Winkler, author of this latest report, said he did not change or water down the critical September report. Instead, he said, he wrote a separate report with his own findings because the first one was filled with theories, guesses and hypotheses, none of which could be proved in court. Napoleon was given both reports and chose to accept Winkler's findings over

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the September report, which was written by Deputy Chief Walter Shoulders, Cmdr. Cara Best and Cmdr. Frazier Shaw. "I have reviewed the report and I concur with the findings of Assistant Chief Winkler," Napoleon said. "I am now going to discuss with my legal counsel what the next appropriate action should be." David Zacks, one of Brown's lawyers, said he believes that Brown will be cleared by federal authorities as well. Department critics said they weren't surprised by the report's reversal. "It's a calculated effort to hide the truth -- the blue code strikes again," said Southfield lawyer David A. Robinson, who represents the family of Lamar Grable, 20, whom Brown shot during a foot chase near Belle Isle in 1996. Robinson worked 13 years as a Detroit cop before becoming a lawyer. Robinson said the department couldn't afford to adopt the critical September report because it would have damaged the city's position in upcoming civil trials resulting from two shootings. In the Grable case the judge has ordered the city to produce the September report so he can decide whether to allow it into evidence at a March 26 trial. Police officials won't release copies of either Brown report. And neither Winkler nor Napoleon would reveal any specific findings in Winkler's report. Napoleon would say only that Winkler's report failed to reveal that any of the initial investigations into Brown's shootings were flawed. All of those investigations cleared Brown at the time of each shooting. Brown, 34, has been on the force six years. During that time, he has been involved in nine shootings, killing three people and wounding another. Most
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officers go entire careers without firing their weapons. Brown has been involved in more shootings than any other Detroit officer, police officials have said. A Free Press investigation in May found that Detroit leads the nation's largest cities in the rate of fatal police shootings and has failed to conduct thorough investigations in some questionable shootings. Concern over Brown's record prompted the department this summer to assign a panel to reinvestigate the shootings. The panel, headed by Shoulders, examined the four shootings where Brown killed or wounded someone and determined none of them justified. The report -- which has never been discussed publicly -- was submitted to Winkler, who said he refused to forward it to Napoleon, calling it too speculative. Since September, Winkler and department lawyers have been working on their own report. Last month, Wayne County prosecutors who reinvestigated Brown's shootings along with Detroit police said they did not have sufficient new evidence to charge Brown. Due to the probe, Brown was bypassed in August for promotion to sergeant. But Napoleon said Brown will probably be promoted soon, pending lawyers' advice. Justice Department steps in This week, officials from the U.S. Justice Department said they will launch a full-scale investigation of the Detroit Police Department looking into allegations of excessive force, prisoner treatment and other police

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misconduct. Brown is under scrutiny by federal investigators looking at possible criminal charges arising from his shootings, according to people familiar with the cases. Federal law gives the Justice Department "the authority to criminally prosecute a law-enforcement officer who willfully deprives a private citizen of his or her constitutional or federal statutory rights," according to the letter announcing the probes. The letter did not identify which shootings or which officer will be investigated. However, Brown, with three fatal shootings and one wounding, has the most incidents among Detroit police. Kevin Krendrick, assistant special agent in charge of the Detroit FBI office, declined to comment. But Napoleon said: "I think they are going to look at a significant number of outstanding cases, including those of Brown, to determine whether or not the investigations were conducted sufficiently." Zacks, Brown's attorney, said he has not been informed of a federal probe. "I will say without hesitation that Officer Brown has been on the toughest, most dangerous details and he will be completely exonerated," Zacks said. "He has a tough job and the right to protect himself." Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY at 313-222-6672 or hackney@freepress.com. Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-223-4557 or swickard@freepress.com. Staff writer David Ashenfelter contributed to this report. CAPTION: Policeman Eugene Brown is not out of the woods yet.

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By, Staff. "REVISED REPORT: SHOOTER JUSTIFIED CHIEF NAPOLEON IGNORES EARLIER, CRITICAL FINDINGS." Detroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich.. 16 Dec. 2000: A1. eLibrary. Web. 11 Aug. 2013.

By, Staff "REVISED REPORT: SHOOTER JUSTIFIED CHIEF NAPOLEON IGNORES EARLIER, CRITICAL FINDINGS." Detroit Free Press; Detroit, Mich.. 2000, December 16: A1.

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