Do you suppose if Mr. Stamps had been a wealthy, politically connected, white man the police chief, elected officials, State Police and medical examiner would be participating is this systemic governmental cover-up? [MORE]
From [HERE] and [HERE] and [HERE] FRAMINGHAM There are new details in the January shooting death of a Framingham grandfather. Officials say a swat officer accidentally fired his rifle, killing the man.
Investigators say Officer Paul Duncan pulled the trigger after tripping during a search of the home of 68-year-old Eurie Stamps. At the time, police were conducting a drug raid at the home where Stamps lived. Investigators say officer Duncan lost his balance and accidentally fired the shot that killed Stamps. Police were looking for Stamps' stepson when the accident happened. Officer Duncan will not face any charges, but is on paid leave as the investigation continues.
Duncan's family is now pushing for a civil rights investigation into his death. An attorney for Stamps family says he doesn't buy the police's story.
“I don’t think it’s right,” said Adia Boston, Stamps’ niece by marriage. “I think he should be suspended, at a minimum. There should be job loss, if not jail. That wasn’t an accident. . . . It shouldn’t be an accident if it’s the SWAT team. They’re supposed to be trained.”
Lawyer Joseph Bardouille, who is representing Stamps’ widow, charged the district attorney’s report failed to address serious questions about the circumstances of the shooting and said the family has launched a civil rights investigation.
“One of the purposes of the family’s inquiry is to make sure SWAT officers throughout the commonwealth are trained,” Bardouille said, noting experts have told him an officer’s finger should not be on the trigger unless he is prepared to shoot. “They want to prevent something like this from happening again.”
In the meantime, the loss of the retired MBTA machinist left his kin struggling with grief and anger.
“If (the victim) was anyone else, there would have been consequences,” said Boston. “I don’t think it’s right.”