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<< Previous   of   Next >> Snohomish County prosecutors  (click to enlarge) At top is a view from above the white Corvette outside an Everett restaurant where Niles Meservey was fatally shot by Everett police officer Troy Meade on June 10. (click to enlarge) Niles Meservey (click to enlarge) Investigators used trajectory analysis and computerized survey equipment to calculate where Everett police officer Troy Meade likely was standing when he fired eight shots into Niles Meservey's car on June 10. One of the lines depicts the path of a bullet deflected after it struck something hard inside the vehicle. (click to enlarge) Above, investigators used trajectory analysis to calculate where Meade likely stood when he fired eight shots. One of the lines depicts a bullet that deflected after striking something. The images were released Tuesday by prosecutors responding to a public records request. (click to enlarge) Everett police officer Troy Meade (click to enlarge) Detectives placed probes into bullet holes inside Niles Meservey's car to determine the angle and direction of bullets fired by Everett police officer Troy Meade. This photo, released Tuesday by Snohomish County prosecutors, documents the process. (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Trajectory analysis ( PDF)   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Everett police coached not to open fire on vehicles By Jackson Holtz and Diana Hefley Herald Writers EVERETT — Police officers confront people in vehicles every day. It's a part of the job. Still, when Everett officer Troy Meade pointed his handgun at the driver of a white Chevrolet Corvette in June he was stepping into one of the trickiest places in law enforcement. Experts say it can be hard for police to tell if drivers pose a serious risk; if they are going to use the car to fight or flee. “You got a 5,000-pound bullet,” King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said. “You have to treat it with a lot of respect.” Although it's a common feature on police TV shows and in the movies, nationwide, police are moving away from shooting at vehicles, experts said. Police department policies often prohibit officers from firing into a vehicle except in extreme circumstances. Everett's policy only allows gunfire when lives are at risk. Meade fired eight rounds killing Niles Meservey, 51, who sat behind the wheel of his Corvette. On Monday, Snohomish County prosecutors filed a first-degree manslaughter charge against Meade, a 11-year veteran and a graduate of Everett's own police academy. The officer is accused of recklessly causing Meservey's death after the Stanwood man refused to get out of his car. Meservey was intoxicated, an autopsy found. If convicted, Meade could be sent to prison for more than five years. Meservey's family also has filed a $15 million damage claim against Everett and its taxpayers. When he was the police chief in Boise, Idaho, Don Pierce said shootings involving suspects in cars gave him the most heartburn. Pierce now is the executive director for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. There are so many complicating factors to consider when determining if the officer acted lawfully in those instances, he said. The intent of the driver may not be as clear as someone who is pointing a gun at an officer, Pierce said. A suspect could be attempting to run down an officer or someone else — or simply trying to escape from police. “You have to put yourself into the shoes of the officer. What did he see? What did he feel? Did he fear for his life?” Pierce said. “An officer doesn't have to be right. He does have to be reasonable.” Meade reportedly told another officer who witnessed the shooting that he believed their lives were in danger. That officer later told detectives that he didn't perceive the same threat as Meade. Meade has refused to talk with investigators. On Tuesday, Everett city officials, its elected leaders and the police chief also maintained their silence. They referred all questions to an attorney hired by the city to represent it in the shooting case. “I know that's a canned answer, but that's all I can provide you,” Everett Police Chief Jim Scharf said. City councilmen Arlan Hatloe, Drew Nielsen, Mark Olson and Paul Roberts also declined to discuss the case, as did Mayor Ray Stephanson. City spokeswoman Kate Reardon said city officials were sticking to their written statement on the case. She said it would be unwise to answer questions while there's pending litigation and an Everett officer facing criminal prosecution. Meade graduated from the Everett police department's basic training academy in 1998, said Greg Baxter, the human resources manager for the state Criminal Justice Training Commission. At the time the department ran its own police academy. Now, nearly 300 police agencies around the state use the academy in Burien. In keeping with state policies, Meade has received ongoing training over the years. Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz refused to say whether the department has launched an internal investigation into Meade's actions. The officer is on paid administrative leave and prosecutors have recommended that he remain free on his own recognizance. He's scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 5. Meade was among the Everett officers who went to the Chuckwagon Inn on June 10 to investigate a 911 call about an intoxicated man who was preparing to drive away. He found Meservey in the driver's seat. The man reportedly was belligerent when the officer tried to convince him not to drive. Witnesses said Meservey ignored repeated commands to get out of the car. Meade zapped Meservey twice, for a total of about 11 seconds, with his electronic stun gun. That didn't stop the man from starting up his car and driving into a fence, witnesses said. That's when Meade allegedly said “Time to end this; Enough is enough,” and began shooting into the car, according to court papers. It's unclear if Meservey's Corvette was moving or stuck against a fence when Meade opened fire. Since 2007, law officers in Snohomish County have shot at people in cars seven times. Three have been killed, including Meservey. Prosecutors have ruled all those shootings justified, except for the one involving Meade, and a Lake Stevens shooting from Aug. 6, which remains under investigation. Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out Photos don't lie. I think the overhead photo is the most condemning, and corroborates the other officer's opinion that the threat level was not nearly high enough to warrant lethal force. The Corvette is totally boxed in, not only is there a fence directly in front of the car, but there are vehicles in the lot beyond the fence. The article states the patrol car had been parked directly behind the Corvette. The argument that somehow Meservey could have busted free and gotten back on the streets to drive his "5,000 lb bullet" won't hold water. There was no way he was going anywhere. You can see how far he got when he tried, the fence bent about 3 feet. There is no way you can paint this one as a split-second decision to save lives. This was a frustrated, burned out officer on a power trip who lost it. He knew it too, as he immediately started muttering about Garrity afterwards, he knew he'd screwed up bigtime. They had all the time in the world to let this one cool down. Worse case would have been a few dented vehicles. If he wanted to fire his gun to let off some steam, why not try the tires first? Bad decision, and he'll pay, as will we the taxpayers. Skeet Couper | Oct 29, 2009 10:32 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Non Lethal Options It seems rather inane to me to think that a drunk driver who has just failed to respond to an 11 second Taser shock would respond any more to pepper spray. He obviously was intent on driving his 5000 pound high performance lethal weapon any way that he could, even if it involved driving through a chain link fence and running over a pedestrian. In a world or TIVO and NFL instant replay we relish second guessing and castigating anyone who has to make a decision on the spot. Unfortunately the Police don't have the luxury of that second look before making the final call. You can bet your botton dollar (or $15 million) that the Seattle ambulance chaser would be first in line to sue the EPD if the officer had not stopped the drunk driver before he plowed his way through the fence and had killed someone else. I for one think that we should thank the officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep the criminals and alcoholics off the road. Maybe we should put a little more blame on those misguided drivers who feel that it is their right to get totally smashed then put all the rest of our and our children's lives in danger. I do feel sorry for the family of the driver, but the biggest shame in this debacle is that Everett and the EPD has surely lost one of its finest to our litigous society. Thomas Koewler | Oct 28, 2009 10:16 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Both officers telling truth Second police officer says he would not have shot. From his perception of the situation he truthfully states his opinion. First police officer, used non-lethal then lethal force and, as far as we know, he truthfully felt that the driver and his high performance sports car was an imminent and dangerous threat to innocent civilians. One, the nurse, had already been knocked down by the fence the driver was attempting to drive through. The situation fits the profile of numerous situations where officers and/or bystanders were killed. With the limited information available to us, I see no reason both statements can't be true. The second police officer did not speak to the person in the car, did not have the opportunity to read body or facial expression, or evaluate the possibility that there was a weapon in the car. With the information available to the public, I still think the officer's actions were "reasonable", which is what we expect of them. Dave Oster | Oct 28, 2009 9:21 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Re: Not the Sheriff . . . Thanks for the thoughtful response. The unfortunate reality of so many online newspaper comment blogs is that there is little in the way of such dialog; more frequently it is simply rock-throwing. I share your desire to commend the officers that put forth the unvarnished truth in this case. The relationship between officers has to be close, because they trust each other with their very lives - something that is difficult to understand for someone that has never served in the military or law enforcement and gone through a door into the unknown darkness beyond. That trust must exist - but at the same time, that trust must never eclipse the public trust that they swore to uphold when they accepted the responsibilities of their office. These officers that told the hard truth did their duty and deserve our respect and continued trust. I don't know that the Sheriff is the answer, but it would be good to have a few options to put into the mix. Unfortunately, I don't know him personally, but along with the necessity of being a politician (which does provide the benefit of direct electorate control at least once a term), he seems to be engaged with the community and has experience at both the local and state level. Sometimes that brings the opportunity of some new ideas. I hope so. In any event, by whatever means I think that it would be money wisely spent to bring in a consultant recommended from either the International Association of Chiefs of Police or the Police Executive Research Forum to at least make a cursory examination of the current state of the Everett Police Department. The next development in this case that is a real possibility, is a Department of Justice/FBI civil rights investigation. Such an investigation will likely be undertaken if it appears that the local courts have not reached a just outcome. Such an investigation will most probably look beyond the specific incident giving rise to the case, but also the overall pattern and practice of law enforcement in the City of Everett. Robert Burns | Oct 28, 2009 9:00 am | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Not the sheriff.... I agree with Roberts statements up to the point of looking to the Sheriff for leadership. I hope you're not talking about the Snohomish county sheriff. What I wouldn't give to have EPD protection in my neighborhood. Under the current politician that is in the sheriffs office we have even less police protection then before he took office. To the officer that stepped up and spoke the truth, thank you. May you have a long, safe career in law enforcement. D Burn | Oct 28, 2009 7:51 am | 2 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Put it any way you want 8 shots, IN THE BACK equals a murdering yellow coward in any language in the world.No further discussion needed. A murdering yellow coward cop. Rich Kruml | Oct 28, 2009 9:45 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Thoughts for the Future This case is tragic for everyone involved. As with many incidents with such horrific outcomes, there is a single, first harmful event (in this case, someone probably being overserved in a bar, willingly becoming intoxicated and then getting into a car). The initial police response to the intoxicated patron could have ended it. Positioning of a police vehicle could have ended it. A wide range of non-lethal or less-lethal measures could have ended it. This chain of events could have been interrupted at any point up until the officer pulled the trigger. Consideration needs to even be given to how this officer was cared-for after the first shooting he was involved in. Did he receive immediate post-shooting support. Was he required to take part in a debriefing with a qualified peer-support or professional counselor. Or - has he been walking around with the unresolved memories of the terrible things that happened the last time an offender started a car and tried to escape. This is absolutely not an excuse for what took place in this immediate case, but something to consider for the future. This particular case will be resolved over the next years in criminal and civil court. Of more importance is how we as a community demand that our elected officials resolve the far deeper problems of a senior leadership culture in EPD that is stuck in the past. A senior staff that compromises their professional responsibility by maintaining an understaffed agency so that political leadership does not have to deal with the financial cost of proper staffing. Maybe it is time to look to the Sheriff to propose a solution for the community. Robert Burns | Oct 28, 2009 6:01 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Still, when Everett officer Troy Meade pointed his handgun at the driver of a white Chevrolet Corvette in June he was stepping into one of the trickiest places in law enforcement. ...and that would be??? WHAT?! Cell phone video? Younger cops who are more honest? The CRASH of his "good ol boys club"? Sober witnesses who won't be intimidated by his crap? Please... do tell me. As a citizen of Everett for 10 years, i can't wait for this trial to begin. In those years, i have seen the best of Everett police and the absolute worse. My advice to anyone in Everett... do not call 911 after dark. Not worth it. cme everett | Oct 28, 2009 4:38 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal NON LETHAL OPTIONS ? If Officer Meade had fired a good dose of pepper spray at the drunk's face and head, the drunk would not have been able to see, and would have had some difficulty breathing; and, more than likely, would not have been capable of doing much of anything else. That would have been a non-lethal tactic to try before shooting the drunk. Disabling the suspect in such a manner allows officers to place the person "in custody." I support our police and fire folks, but it looks and sounds like Officer Meade failed to consider other non-lethal methods. Whistle Berries | Oct 28, 2009 1:01 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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