WEIRTON, W.Va. — The shooting of a man by Weirton Police in May has drawn the attention of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Ronald Williams Jr., 23, was shot dead on May 6, 2016.
Williams was shot as officers approached and he started waiving a gun. An investigation by the West Virginia State Police cleared officers of any wrongdoing, but revealed the shot which killed Williams was fired into the back of his head. It’s one of the circumstances which raised questions for the ACLU.
“I don’t have any belief that anything wrong happened,” said West Virginia ACLU Interim Director Jeff Martin. “There were just some concerns of why the dash cameras weren’t on and how he was shot in the back of the head when he seemed to have been waiving his gun toward them. We just want to get a sense of what happened.”
Martin and his staff asked for documentation which details the incident and the subsequent investigation. The material was sought in the form of a Freedom of Information Act request to both the Weirton Police and State Police.
Martin indicated on MetroNews Talkline Thursday Weirton Police asked for an extension on the deadline until August 8 to release the information. State Police, according to Martin, said the documents requested are part of an ongoing investigation and would not be released. Martin said it was his understanding the investigation of the incident was closed and the ACLU staff attorneys would be following up on the claim.
Williams was a young African American male, shot by police in an incident where no cameras were rolling which should have been. Martin said their inquiry was not to point fingers of blame, but to reveal transparency and secure the faith in the police department in the community.
“We raised the question just to make sure proper policies and procedures were followed,” said Martin. “Given the national conversation on police shootings, West Virginia is certainly not insulated. We just wanted the full understanding of what happened.”