Police Terrorists Shoot Teenage Girl, Mow Down Elderly Pair Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - "Michael Novick" Detroit Free Press - September 28, 2001 Victim wonders: 'Why?' Shot by officer, she copes with injuries, anger BY SUZETTE HACKNEY Talayna Carpenter, 19, suffered nerve damage and blindness after being shot by a Detroit police officer Sept. 15. He gave no reason. Talayna Carpenter's hands shake uncontrollably, she suffers from pounding headaches and, in all probability, she will never again see more than shadows out of her right eye. The 19-year-old mother knows the bullet wound to her head could have brought much worse effects, so she considers herself blessed. Still, she's bitter, angry and mostly confused. She has a biting desire to know why a Detroit police officer shot her in the head. Carpenter was shot by Terrance Watson on Sept. 15 during a traffic stop only blocks from her home. No one knows why Watson shot Carpenter; he refuses to give investigators a statement. "Without his statement, it would all be speculation," said Inspector Donald Williams, head of the internal affairs section. "It's in the hands of the prosecutor now." Prosecutors are considering criminal charges, and the Carpenter family attorney plans to file a lawsuit against the city next week. Watson has been assigned to desk duty pending the outcome of the investigation. Ruth Carter, a Wayne County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman, said prosecutors met Thursday morning to discuss the case, but no decision was made on whether to charge Watson. If Watson is held criminally liable, he would likely face charges that could range from careless use of a firearm to assault with intent to murder, she said. "We're doing some investigations into what happened that night," Carter said. "We haven't made any decisions yet." Carter didn't expect a decision before next week. Watson, 31, a 7-year employee, works for the department's tactical services section. Those officers provide backup for precinct officers who patrol neighborhood streets and respond to calls in the city's high-crime areas. Williams said officers can approach vehicles during traffic stops with their weapons drawn. Such action is justified if officers feel their lives are threatened, or the life of their partner or a third party is in jeopardy. Carpenter's Southfield attorney, Evan Shaw, said Detroit officers lack training and supervision regarding excessive force. "From an economic standpoint, we have to pour more money into the Police Department for training before these incidents happen, rather than paying out money to victims," Shaw said. "We have good officers, but we also have young, inexperienced officers who are fearful and who shoot first and ask questions later." Carpenter doesn't much like to talk about her emotional state, but says she needs counseling to deal with her anger. "Nobody's pride is bigger than mine, and just because you got that gun doesn't make you any bigger than me." The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. Sept. 15. Carpenter went to Whittier Market, a store on Houston-Whittier at Roxbury, with her 16-year-old twin brothers and three friends. Minutes before, she had finished cooking a spaghetti dinner for her family. Carpenter said the group had gone to the store to buy plastic cups. She was rushing to get her father's van back home and left her companions in the store after urging them "Y'all come on." To show that she meant business, Carpenter said, she started the van, made a U-turn in the parking lot and turned right out of the parking lot onto Roxbury. That's when she saw the police lights. "I was going not even 20 miles per hour," she said. "I pulled over, though I didn't believe they were after me." Carpenter said she heard an officer approaching from behind her say "Put your" and his voice trailed off. Then "He just shot me," she said. "He didn't have no reason to shoot me," Carpenter said at her east side home this week. "He couldn't have felt threatened by me. He couldn't even see me." Witnesses have told police they heard the officer say slightly more: "Put your hands where I can see them," he said, before firing. Her brothers and friends, who had run out of the store and were flagging her down, watched as Watson shot Carpenter. According to a Detroit Police Department supervisor's report, Watson "observed approximately three black males in foot pursuit of the van. The officers observed the foot chase and conducted a traffic stop of the van and attempted to investigate Ms. Carpenter and the black males. As Officer Watson approached the driver side of the van, for reasons yet to be determined, he fired one shot from his department issued Glock... striking Ms. Carpenter in the left side of the head." The bullet entered the middle, driver's side window of the Ford custom van. It traveled through a blind, curtain and seatbelt before striking Carpenter's left temple. The bullet exited just above her right eye. It missed nicking Carpenter's brain. She spent nine days in St. John Hospital, where she underwent two reconstructive surgeries. The optical nerve in her right eye is damaged, causing blindness. Other critical nerves were affected, causing shaking. In time, she hopes the headaches will go away. "There's nothing for me to do but go on with my life," she said. "But I still want to know why." Contact SUZETTE HACKNEY at 313-222-6672 or hackney@freepress.com. * Elderly woman dies, another injured after being struck by police cruiser by Associated Press PLYMOUTH, Mass. Sept 27 (AP) An 89-year-old woman was killed and her companion critically injured when they were struck by a police cruiser as they crossed a street in front of a church. Plymouth police said that Agnes Fernandes, 78, and Bertha Lebanc, 89, both of Plymouth, were crossing Route 3A in front of St. Peter's Church around 7:00 p.m. Wednesday when Officer James Burns, 43, struck them with his cruiser. Leblanc died of her injuries at a Boston hospital, and Fernandez was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, according to a statement issued by Plymouth Police Capt. Charles Chandler. Burns, a 14-year veteran, was answering a non-emergency call at the time of the accident, which is still under investigation by Plymouth police, state police and the medical examiner's office, the statement said. State police referred questions to the Plymouth police department. Witnesses told The Enterprise of Brockton that the women were headed to a church service when they were struck. People Against Racist Terror (PART), PO Box 1055, Culver City, CA 90232 Tel.: 310-495-0299 E-mail: ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-10.01.01-17:15:41-17784