Incident Review Board Finds Officers’ Use of Force within Policy
Published on October 14, 2016
The Huntsville Police Department has released the Incident Review Board findings from an officer-involved shooting on October 5. The shooting happened in the area of Warrior Drive and Sparkman Drive. No one was injured, but the incident resulted in 27 year old Jeremy Hampton being charged with two counts of Attempted Murder.
On October 5, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Officers attempted a traffic stop on a silver colored Saturn at Sparkman Drive and Blue Springs Road. The driver, Jeremy Hampton, refused to stop and led the officers on a short vehicle pursuit that went west on Sparkman Drive. Hampton turned onto Warrior Drive and suddenly stopped. He quickly stepped out of the car and pointed a handgun toward the officers before jumping back in the car and speeding off. He drove a short distance on Warrior Drive before quickly stopping again and jumping out of the car with the gun in his hand. While exiting the car he turned and shot at the officers before running from the scene. The two officers fired their weapons in defense before running after Hampton. During the foot pursuit Hampton fired at the officers again.
The officers lost sight of Hampton, and other responding officers established perimeters and K-9 was called in to help search. After over an hour of searching Hampton was taken into custody. No one was injured during the incident, and Hampton was charged with two counts of Attempted Murder and an unrelated warrant for Robbery first degree. There were two other passengers in the car with Hampton, but they were not involved in the incident.
An Incident Review Board was held on Thursday, October 13, to review the incident and the officers’ actions. The board consisted of members of the District Attorney’s Office, Citizen Police Advisory Council and City Legal, in addition to the Huntsville Police Department’s Internal Affairs and Training divisions. The board reviewed all evidence including police body cam video, in-car video, crime scene drawings and photos, witness statements and officer testimony. The board found the officers acted in accordance with Huntsville Police Department policies and procedures and ruled the officers’ use of force to be justified. Chief Mark McMurray agreed with the findings and said, “The officers demonstrated extreme courage and dedication to duty in the midst of a life-threatening situation”. The officers have since returned to full duty status.
