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Following the rare murder conviction of a police officer, court officials released body camera footage on Friday evening that shows what happened when a 2018 Huntsville police officer responded at the call of a man threatening to commit suicide.
The footage shows William Ben Darby shooting and killing Jeff Parker within a minute of arriving home from West Huntsville. Parker called the police that day and said he wanted to kill himself.
The case led to murder charges against Darby and a city council vote to provide $ 125,000 in public funds for his criminal defense. Even after the jury found Darby guilty, city officials disagreed with the verdict and continued to refuse to release the images to the public.
Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate, who presided over the murder trial, ordered the videos released on Friday in response to a request from AL.com. Huntsville TV stations submitted letters joining AL.com’s request.
Pursuant to the judge’s order, the circuit clerk’s office provided AL.com and other media with body camera footage worn by Darby and two other officers who attended Parker’s home on April 3, 2018. .
AL.com publishes the images but has edited them for length and to exclude graphic images.
When the first two officers arrived, they found Parker sitting on a sofa with what later turned out to be a flare gun to his own head. The first officer, Genisha Pegues, can be seen entering the house and talking to Parker. She testified against Darby at the trial and told the jury that she was defusing the situation before she arrived.
Videos show Justin Beckles, the second officer at the scene, standing on the steps when Darby arrives.
Upon arrival, Darby grabbed a shotgun from his patrol car. He can be seen running towards the house and yelling at Pegues to “point your fucking gun at him”.
Darby passes Beckles, yells at Parker to drop his gun a total of four times, and kills the man 11 seconds after entering the house.
The court released the videos to AL.com despite an objection from the City of Huntsville.
Less than two hours after the judge ordered the footage to be released, the city asked the judge to reconsider his decision.
“The body weared camera (BWC) videos are the property of the city, not the parties to this case,” a city lawyer wrote in a court file. “The city maintains that the videos are non-public, privileged law enforcement records, protected from disclosure” under the Alabama Open Records Act.
Gregory Burgess, an attorney for the city, wrote that the videos are exempt from disclosure under state law because they are law enforcement investigative documents. Burgess is also representing Darby in a civil case filed by Parker’s family.
AL.com asked the judge to release the videos as they were admitted as evidence in Darby’s trial and seen by jurors and those in attendance.
J. Evans Bailey, attorney for the Alabama Press Association, said courts have recognized the right of public access to exhibits in court proceedings for more than a century – with few exceptions.
“If it’s good enough for a jury to determine whether someone should go to jail, it’s good enough for the public to see,” he told AL.com on Friday.
He said the Alabama Open Records Act exemption for investigative documents is irrelevant to AL.com’s claim.
“These are exhibits,” Bailey said. “The investigation is over. The guy was convicted. The city is not a party to the criminal case.
Lawyers for Darby and prosecutors in the Madison County District Attorney’s Office both said in court records and in interviews with AL.com this week that they did not object to the videos being released.
Parker’s family, speaking through one of their attorneys earlier this week, told AL.com they wanted the videos made public.
On Friday afternoon, shortly after the videos were released, Martin Weinberg, the family’s attorney, said he hoped public scrutiny of the footage would lead to accountability from city officials who defended Darby. and financed its defense.
Darby is serving a 25-year sentence for Parker’s murder. On May 7, a Madison County jury at the downtown Huntsville courthouse convicted Darby of murder. Darby remained on the city’s payroll for more than two months after his conviction – until his resignation in late July.
The shooting divided local officials as police and town officials argued Darby acted according to policy, while county prosecutors saw grounds for a murder charge.
Mayor Tommy Battle and Police Chief Mark McMurray even questioned the guilty verdict after the trial. But Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard, speaking after the verdict, said the evidence “was off the charts. It was not substantiated in any way.
In 2018, when approving the first installment of public funds for Darby’s legal defense, the council resolution declared Darby’s shooting to be “within the line and scope of his duty.”
But board members told AL.com at the time that they voted without seeing the body camera footage. The city refused AL.com’s requests to release the footage to the public.
In a letter asking the judge to release the images, AL.com underscored the public’s interest in the case and the evidence.
“The public could not have had more interest than in the videos used to secure a criminal conviction of a policeman employed in the public sector, whose defense was funded by taxpayers and whose salary was paid by the public for more than three years after the events. question in this case, ”the letter said. “The videos, recorded by cameras funded by taxpayer dollars, will show the public exactly what happened.”
Bill Kling, a city councilor representing the central part of the city, told AL.com and the city attorney’s office on Friday that he believes the footage should be released.
“Mr. Darby was a public employee,” Kling said. “The public paid Mr. Darby’s legal fees $ 125,000. The court case has been decided. As a former journalist, I think the public has the right to have access to the video.
Kling said he wanted the city, rather than the court, to be the one posting the footage because that would have sent a better message about transparency.
“It should have come from town several weeks ago,” Kling said.
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