Family, Coalition say more than a warrant due for Black girl killed in Detroit police raid

From [HERE] Detroit— Family members of a 7-year-old girl killed by police last spring are outraged that perhaps only one person will be charged in connection with the raid, saying the system failed young Aiyana Stanley-Jones.

Stanley-Jones was killed while sleeping on a living room sofa early on the morning of May 16 by a bullet from a police weapon. Officers were raiding her home in the 4000 block of Lillibridge in a search for a murder suspect.

Michigan State Police this week have sought a warrant against an unnamed male. A decision on whether to charge the man will not be made this week by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, her office said.

Mertilla Jones, the girl's grandmother, said this morning she is angry that the lengthy investigation may generate only one charge.

"I want justice for Aiyana — person to person, a trial for the person who did this to her," she said during a press conference on the east side. LaKrystal Sanders, Aiyana's aunt, then added, "against all of them who did this to our family."

The women spoke along with representatives of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, which issued a statement today, saying the state police investigation "does not address the militaristic activities that occurred last May."

On Thursday, Wayne County prosecutors announced that police have sought a warrant, although the name of the suspect and nature of proposed criminal charges will be withheld until a warrant request from the state police has been reviewed. The decision whether to charge the man will be made by Worthy, and could come next week.

Police raided the home seeking Chauncey Owens, a suspect in a murder of a 17-year-old shot outside a liquor store near Mack Avenue. Owens was arrested in a simultaneous raid on a separate upstairs flat of the two-family home on Detroit's east side. Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley was identified as the shooter in Stanley-Jones' death.

During the raid, which was being filmed by a camera crew for the A&E cable television network true crime show "First 48," police had set off a stun grenade by throwing it through a front window before rushing into the living room.

Police at first claimed the shooting was the result of a confrontation in the living room and wrestling match over Weekley's gun with Mertilla Jones. Later, police said the shooting was result of a possible collision between Weekley and the grandmother, who also had been sleeping on the sofa.

The coalition said more than one person should be charged. Ron Scott said the department has become "militarized" and that it has a "mindset that treats citizens as enemy combatants."

The coalition intends to seek documents related to the investigation and said it wanted answers to numerous questions, including learning who planned the raid, who gave the order to throw the grenade and who agreed to let the film crew go along.

"It was a production, a film production," said Sandra Hines, a coalition member. "Their concern wasn't police work; it was how they would look on 'First 48.'"

Jones' parents, represented by Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit that claims the police department engaged in a cover-up of the causes of her death. Fieger, who claimed he's seen a video recording of the shooting, also has sued the television show.

State police said they presented the prosecutor with investigative information on Feb. 16. The warrant request and completed report were submitted Thursday, said State Police spokeswoman Tiffany Brown.

Mertilla Jones said she continues to lose sleep and weight in the months since the raid. She has had a stroke and has difficulty eating.

"People expect us to get over it," she said. "You can't put a time on getting over it. We're all still grieving. I miss her."