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Brattleboro Reformer
No charges in shooting
Saturday, April 12, 2003 -
"The federal government's independent decision to close the investigation was based on an analysis of the evidence that followed after the thoughtful investigation already conducted of the matter by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell," said U.S. Attorney Peter Hall of Burlington in a statement.
The decision means the two Brattleboro police officers who shot and killed Robert Woodward will face no legal repercussions.
Hall refused to provide the Reformer with a copy of that analysis, or to specify on what evidence it was based.
Hall and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division "found insufficient evidence to establish a violation of the federal criminal civil rights statutes," he said.
Sorrell released a 15-page report on April 2, 2002, concluding that officers Terrance Parker and Marshall Holbrook were justified in shooting Robert Woodward seven times, including once in the back.
Sorrell said Woodward approached the officers in a threatening manner.
A lawyer for the family of Woodward, who was 37 and had no criminal record when he died, said Friday's announcement cleared the way for a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the town to go forward.
"The defendants can no longer use the excuse that they are waiting for the Justice Department," said Thomas Costello of Brattleboro. "We will depose the officers next week. The U.S. district court has told us the case will be heard in December."
The town of Brattleboro carries about $2 million in liability insurance that is expected to cover expenses resulting from a civil trial.
Brattleboro Town Manager Jerry Remillard said in a statement Friday: "The town of Brattleboro is pleased the United States Department of Justice, after a thorough review, has concluded on the evidence presented after an investigation by the FBI, that there was no criminal violation of Robert Woodward's civil rights by Officers Parker and Holbrook as had been alleged, and has decided to close this matter.
"We are sure that Officers Parker and Holbrook and their families are relieved that this investigation is now closed. They should feel vindicated now that the top law enforcement officials at the state and federal level have separately concluded that there are no grounds on which to prosecute the officers. We hope this will allow the officers and their families to take another step towards resuming their normal lives."
Hall refused to say Friday whether the Justice Department had conducted its own investigation or gathered evidence independently from Sorrell in the Woodward case, saying only that the department "did an independent review of evidence."
Hall said he had not seen the results of Woodward's autopsy, which have never been made public. He would not comment on whether Justice Department investigators had included the autopsy results in their review.
Brattleboro Selectboard Chairman Greg Worden declined to comment on the matter.
But Selectboard member Patricia DeAngelo said she was "very, very disappointed" in the decision. "Something went wrong that day and we need to find out what it was. You can't fix problems by burying your head in the sand."
Efforts to contact Brattleboro Police Chief John Martin were unsuccessful Friday.
Marlboro College writing teacher T. Hunter Wilson, whose mother witnessed the shooting, released a study in December 2002, that blasted Sorrell's report for failing to "reach the conclusion that is best supported by the evidence" and for giving more weight to "interested parties" -- the officers at the shooting -- than "disinterested" parties: members of the church congregation who witnessed the shooting and said Woodward was not a threat to anyone's safety.
Wilson on Friday condemned Hall's decision not to prosecute the officers. "It brings us no closer to an honest resolution of the case," he said.
Sorrell said Friday: "I'm gratified that the Justice Department indicated our investigation was thorough and competently done. What happened to Woodward was most unfortunate. But when we looked at the facts, we found there was no criminal conduct by the officers."
Thomas Namaya of Brattleboro, a member of the group Justice for Woody, said he wasn't surprised at Friday's news. "I never expected the Justice Department under John Ashcroft to pursue a just resolution to this case. The Brattleboro Selectboard has never apologized to the Woodward family. They still need to do that."
The selectboard could eliminate the cost to Brattleboro taxpayers of any more multi-million lawsuits by forming a civilian police review board, and improving training of its officers, he said.
An investigation by the Reformer revealed that Parker had worked 97 hours of overtime for the Vernon Police Department in the month before he shot Woodward, mostly spent protecting the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Justice for Woody co-founder Mary Rives called the Justice Department decision an "outrage."
"I am very angry and saddened," she said.
Stephen Tomczak of Wallingford, Conn., a close friend of Woodward, said he was angry about Hall's decision. "Holbrook and Parker acted as judge, jury, and executioner of my friend," he said. "With today's decision, they have escaped all accountability for their actions."
Parker still works for the Brattleboro Police Department. Holbrook recently resigned from the department and moved to Florida.
On the Web: www.usdoj.gov www.justiceforwoody.org .
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