Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby convicted of murder for shooting Jeffery Parker
Updated May 07, 2021;
Posted May 07, 2021
Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby took the stand in his own defense during his murder trial at the Madison County Courthouse in downtown Huntsville, Ala. on May 5, 2021.Lee Roop | lroop@al.com
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Huntsville police Officer William Ben Darby today was convicted of murder for shooting and killing Jeff Parker, a suicidal man, three years ago.
A Madison County jury found Darby guilty after about two hours of deliberations on Friday morning, returning a verdict that left local police “in the first stages of shock.”
Huntsville police officer testifies he feared for his life when he shot and killed suicidal man
Updated May 05, 2021;
Posted May 05, 2021
Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby took the stand in his own defense during his murder trial at the Madison County Courthouse in downtown Huntsville, Ala. on May 5, 2021.Lee Roop | lroop@al.com
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Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby testified on Wednesday that he shot and killed Jeff Parker three years ago because he feared for his own life and the lives of his fellow officers.
Darby testified that Parker, who was sitting on a couch with a gun to his own head, posed an “imminent threat” to the police officers who were at his west Huntsville home on the afternoon of April 3, 2018. Darby testified that because Parker did not comply with orders to drop his gun, he had no choice but to shoot and kill him.
Trial begins this week for Huntsville police officer charged with murder of mentally ill man
Today 8:00 AM
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There were no protests nor press conferences.
It took only about a month for Huntsville police to announce that the department’s internal review cleared Darby of wrongdoing and that the young officer was back to active duty.
The case mostly escaped scrutiny by the public until about three months later when Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard announced that a grand jury had charged Darby with murder.
Though the indictment raised questions about how the city handled the shooting, the public still knew very little about what happened. Body camera video wasn’t released, and local officials avoided commenting on specifics of the case.
Op-Ed: 23 Ala. district attorneys sign letter in opposition to medical marijuana legislation (Source: Adam Mintzer) By 23 Alabama district attorneys | April 28, 2021 at 4:47 PM CDT - Updated April 28 at 4:47 PM
Message to House members from DA Andy Hamlin:
Dear Members of the Alabama Legislature:
The attached letter was written on behalf of 23 elected district attorneys representing a significant population of our state. We are unified in our opposition to the proposed legislation that would open the door to a wealth of public health, safety and economic problems that would be difficult to reverse. It is our duty to raise these concerns, and we hope you will consider them carefully before casting any votes that could lead to the serious implications we have outlined here.
Mother of man shot and killed by Huntsville police presses city for transparency
Updated Apr 05, 2021;
Posted Apr 05, 2021
Adina Peyton is calling for transparency from the city of Huntsville regarding the death of her son, Brad Pugh, who was shot by police in Five Point on Nov. 16, 2020.
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Adina Peyton has spent the past five months searching for information about what happened on the night her son Brad Pugh was shot 16 times and killed by Huntsville police.
Peyton said the city has refused to answer her questions, release body camera video or even let her family watch the full, unedited footage of what happened that night outside a barbecue restaurant in Five Points.