MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Two State Police troopers from the Martinsburg detachment are no longer with the agency.
The investigation is in relation to the alleged beating of a 16 year-old male by two West Virginia State Police troopers on November 19. Gov. Jim Justice brought attention to the incident on November 29 when he urged State Police to open an investigation into the case.
Trooper First Class Michael Kennedy and Trooper First Derek Walker were previously suspended without pay.
“The West Virginia State Police conducted an internal investigation into allegations of excessive force used by two Troopers related to an incident with a 16 year old motorist after a pursuit in Berkeley County. These two Troopers, Trooper First Class Michael Kennedy and Trooper First Class Derek Walker, have been discharged from the West Virginia State Police effective January 17, 2019. No further comments will be made at this time.”
– Major Reginald Patterson, WVSP Chief of Staff Services
This comes just days after Berkeley County Sheriff Curtis Keller let two of his deputies go in connection to the case. Sheriff Keller confirmed on MetroNews affiliate WEPM’s “Panhandle Live” Friday that he has terminated Deputies C.S. Merson and Austin Ennis. Deputy Ennis was suspended on December 3.
“There (were) two deputies that were terminated due to the investigation. We are taking our time, we’re doing a full investigation into the full incident.”
Department policy states both deputies have the right to a hearing in front of their peers. As of Friday, neither had scheduled such a hearing.
Sheriff Keller indicated that upon discovery of the incident, they took action by bringing in a third-party investigation. Keller also stated his department first notified State Police of the event.
“At that point in time when the incident occurred, or when we found out about it, we made the discussion and decided we were going to get the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department involved. We also notified the State Police at that time that they may want to take a look at it. That they had a couple of troopers that were at the scene also.”
State Police Superintendent Jan Cahill previously described what he saw in a dashcam video showing the alleged incident on MetroNews “Talkline” on December 3.
“Five officers come onto the video. The juvenile is taken out from the vehicle. At that point, it almost looks like the vehicle is on fire; it’s smoking. He’s placed on the road. At that point, he’s trying to be handcuffed. It goes on for probably a minute, and that’s when you see a series of blows and resistance.”
Cahill continued, “At one point near the end you’ll see a body toss, where a person is picked up and thrown. I worry about gaining control of people, not throwing them away from us.”
Sheriff Keller concluded Friday’s interview by complimenting his department and all law enforcement, saying these cases are rare locally.
“Normally my deputies and everybody that’s in police work does great work. This just popped up, and we’re dealing with it.”
To listen to the full interview with Sheriff Keller and Chief Deputy Scott Wilson, click here and move the playback cursor to 34:40.