STATE ATTORNEY REVIEW

Transcription

1 STATE ATTORNEY Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida ANGELA B. COREY 311 West Monroe Street STATE ATTORNEY Jacksonville, Florida Tel: (904) Fax: (904) STATE ATTORNEY REVIEW JUSTIFIABLE USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER Florida Statute 776 and Florida Statute Date of shooting: November 24, 2014 S.A. Number: In re investigation of the death of: Name: Leonardo Marquette Little D.O. B.: 6/10/81 SUMMARY^? THE FACTS: 1. On the evening of Monday, November 24, 2014, C. A. Grant, a deputy with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO), shot and killed Leonardo Little during a traffic stop. The shooting occurred after Mr. Little fought with Deputy Grant, gained control of Deputy Grant's Taser and raised the Taser at Deputy Grant. The location of the shooting was in the 7000 block of 103rd Street, on Jacksonville's Westside. For the reasons outlined below, the State Attorney's Office has concluded that Deputy Grant was justified in the use of deadly force against Mr. Little. 2. At approximately 7:30 p.m. on November 24, 2014, Deputy Grant pulled over a beige, 1998 Buick Le Sabre for an expired tag. Deputy Grant was alone and in his JSO patrol cruiser and wearing his standard, Navy-blue JSO patrol uniform. Mr. Little was driving the Buick Le Sabre. The only other occupant of the Buick was Mr. Little's friend Taquarius Davis, who was in the front passenger seat. When Deputy Grant approached the Buick, Mr. Little provided Deputy Grant with a false name and false date of birth. When Deputy Grant returned to his patrol car to process that information, Ms. Davis asked Mr. Little why he provided the false information. Mr. Little told Ms. Davis that he provided false information because he believed his driver's license was suspended and that he couldn't go back to jail. Specifically, Mr. Little said to Ms. Davis, "My license is fucked up. I can't go back to jail. I will lose my job." 3. When Deputy Grant retuned to the Buick and confronted Mr. Little about the information he had provided, Mr. Little provided Deputy Grant with another date of birth. When Deputy Grant approached the Buick for a third time, Mr. Little admitted that he had provided false information to Deputy Grant. At that time Deputy Grant asked Mr. Little to 14SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14

2 step out of the car so that Mr. Little could provide a thumb print on a traffic citation. When Mr. Little was out of the car, Deputy Grant advised Mr. Little that he was under arrest and asked him to turn around and place his hands behind his back. 4. Because of Mr. Little's size (5', 9", 273 Ibs), Deputy Grant placed one handcuff on Mr. Little's left wrist and then attached a second set of handcuffs to the first set to secure Mr. Little's right wrist. When Deputy Grant attempted to pull Mr. Little's right hand behind his back, Mr. Little resisted and began to punch Deputy Grant in the face. After a brief struggle Mr. Little broke free of Deputy Grant and began running away. Deputy Grant chased Mr. Little and fired his Taser at Mr. Little's back. After being struck by the Taser, Mr. Little fell to the ground. Deputy Grant then ordered Mr. Little to roll over to his stomach so that Deputy Grant could again attempt to handcuff him. Mr. Little refused Deputy Grant's lawful command and started to get off the ground. Deputy Grant then attempted to deploy his Taser a second time, but it didn't work. When Deputy Grant attempted to change his Taser cartridge, Mr. Little attacked Deputy Grant a second time. During this second attack, Deputy Grant placed his Taser directly on Mr. Little and pulled the trigger multiple times. The Taser had no effect on Mr. Little. (Note: a forensic analysis of Deputy Grant's Taser revealed that it had been deployed a total of four times that evening. The four time spans were for five, one, five, and five seconds.) During the struggle, Mr. Little was able to gain possession of Deputy Grant's Taser. When Mr. Little had sole possession of the Taser, Deputy Grant stepped back and ordered Mr. Little to drop the Taser. Mr. Little ignored Deputy Grant's order and instead began approaching Deputy Grant. When Mr. Little started to raise the Taser at Deputy Grant, Deputy Grant drew his service pistol and fired two times at Mr. Little. Mr. Little then dropped to the ground. 5. The Taser Mr. Little pointed at Deputy Grant was located near Mr. Little's body and is pictured below. Swabs taken from the Taser and the Taser cartridge each revealed a mixture of DNA from at least two persons. Mr. Little could not be included or excluded as a contributor to the DNA from either the Taser or the Taser cartridge. 14SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14

3 6. Rescue was called immediately, but Mr. Little was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy of Mr. Little revealed that he had been shot two times; once though his left arm and chest, and once through his left leg and right leg. Mr. Little also had several minor abrasions on his right hand, left elbow and lower back. 7. The only eye-witness to the interaction between Deputy Grant and Mr. Little was a passing motorist. That witness stated that she observed what appeared to be a deputy attempting to handcuff a man, and then the man turning and hitting the deputy. Mr. Little s passenger, Ms. Davis, was interviewed at the scene that evening. Ms. Davis confirmed that Mr. Little provided false information to Deputy Grant and explained that Mr. Little s stated reason for doing so was the status of his license and his reluctance to go to back to jail. Ms. Davis denied seeing any of the interaction between Deputy Grant and Mr. Little after Mr. Little got out of the car. LEGAL ANALYSIS: 1. Florida Statute , provides in part, that a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if that person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. In this case, Mr. Little was committing the forcible felony of Aggravated Assault at the time of his death. 2. Florida Statute provides in part, that the use of deadly force is justifiable when a person is resisting any attempt to murder such person or to commit any felony upon him or her. 14SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14

4 3. Additionally, Florida Statute provides, in part, that a law enforcement officer is justified in the use of any force which he or she reasonably believes is necessary to defend himself or herself or another from bodily harm while making an arrest. 4. At the time Deputy Grant discharged his firearm Mr. Little had: (1) violently resisted Deputy Grant's attempt to handcuff him, (2) punched Deputy Grant multiple times, (3) fled on foot from Deputy Grant, (4) engaged Deputy Grant in a second physical attack, (5) forcibly taken Deputy Grant's Taser, and (6) approached Deputy Grant while raising the Taser in Deputy Grant's direction. CONCLUSION: THEREFORE, it is the opinion of the undersigned Assistant State Attorney that the use of deadly force in this case by Deputy Grant was justifiable pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapters 776 and , the Florida Standard Jury Instructions and applicable case law. ^ n Jo^n 1. Guy /'f Assistant State Attorney /y Director-Homicide Major Crimes Unit I have reviewed the findings presented and concur in the opinion that the use of deadly force in this case was justifiable. :r^n(./"f\.cyl Angela B7 State Attorney 14SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14

5 CRIMINAL HISTORY OF LEONARDO M. LITTLE CRIMINAL HISTORY 09/09/00: DWLS/R: WH; Court Costs 09/09/03: No Valid DL: WH; Court Costs 08/05/04: DWLS/R: AG; 3 days DCJ, 10 days weekend DCJ 08/05/04: Trespass: AG; 2 days DCJ 04/26/05: Resisting Officer Without Violence: AG; 1 day DCJ 05/17/05: DWLS/R: AG; 2 days DCJ 10/18/05: Contempt of Court: AG; 2 days DCJ 03/15/06: DWLS/R: AG; Court Costs 02/09/07: DWLS/R: AG; Court Costs 07/17/07: Domestic Assault: AG; 5 days DCJ 10/19/08: Domestic Battery: AG; 2 days DCJ; 12 mo Probation 04/14/09: No Valid Driver's License: WH; Court Costs 08/14/13: DWLS/R: AG; Court Costs 14SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14

6 NOTIFICATION OF INVOLVED PARTIES Police Notification: Name/ID/Department: Deputy C. Grant, 72549, JSO Contact Method: via FOP attorney, Phil Bavington Date/Time: July 6, 2015 Investigating Agency Notification: Name/ID/Department: Det. Gary Stucki, 6796, JSO Contact Method: Phone Date/Time: July 6, 2015 Deceased-Next of Kin Notification: Person's Name: Abigail Little (mother) Contact Method: Phone; with in-person meeting to follow Date/Time: July 6, SA of 6 Rev. 07/1/14