The Henry County Police officer who fatally shot a man at his Stockbridge home after police were dispatched to the wrong address will not face criminal charges.
A grand jury determined in review of the case Thursday that Sgt. Patrick Snook was justified in his actions that resulted in the death of William David Powell, the homeowner shot June 8 when police officers responded to a distress call at the wrong home. The 63-year-old grandfather died days later at the hospital.
The deadly early-morning shooting occurred just after midnight when Powell, armed with a handgun, left his bedroom to check on a possible prowler. Powell raised the garage door where he encountered the police and the shooting began. He was shot in the neck. Police had been mistakingly dispatched to the Powell home.
“After careful consideration, the Grand Jury finds that Sgt. Snook’s use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances he was facing at the time of the shooting. Therefore, the Grand Jury recommends that no further action be taken in this matter,” according to the four-page Grand Jury Report obtained Monday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The case is now closed. There will be no charges,” Henry County District Attorney Jim Wright said Monday.
The Powell family’s attorney told The AJC Monday the family is “dismayed and disappointed” by the grand jury decision.
“Since the investigation is closed, we are doing open records requests to the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigations) and other agencies to discover exactly what the grand jury was told and what they know and to fill in all the blanks we have at this time,” said Keith Martin, the Powell family’s attorney said Monday.
In its report, the grand jury said it considered a range of evidence: the 911 tapes, interviews with 911 dispatchers as well as the people who made the initial 911 call and statements from Sharon Powell, the victim’s widow. The report also noted the confusion over where the police were to be dispatched.
The 911 caller said the suspected disturbance was about two or three doors down from her Swan Lake Road home, going toward Fairview Road on the right, the report said. A second 911 dispatcher called back to verify the location and spoke with the initial caller’s mother who when asked if the disturbance was “two houses south of the caller’s residence towards Gardner Road, responded in the affirmative,” the report said. Based upon the dispatched information, the responding officers wound up at the Powell home, which was the wrong address.
Officer Matthew Davis “rang the door bell and dogs began to bark within the residence,” the report said. Davis “then knocked on the door and then stepped off the porch. There was no response from inside the residence.”
Soon after, an inside light came on and then the garage light. Snook stated he would cover the garage, the report said. Davis heard Snook say “Hey Henry County Police Department.” Davis then saw an older white male, later identified as Powell, without a shirt on, holding a weapon “pressed out” toward Snook, the report said.
Snook noticed Powell holding a black semi-automatic handgun in his right hand which was extended out to the side of his body. Snook identified himself and pointed his rifle at Powell. Powell then brought his firearm forward into a shooting stance and pointed the weapon at the officers. Snook then dropped to one knee and fired three rounds at Powell, striking him once. Snook shot because he feared for his life and the lives of the other officers, the report said.
Snook is a 17-year law enforcement veteran with extensive training. He was hired by the Henry County Police Department in 1999. He resigned in March 2004 but rejoined the force a little more than a year later, according to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Martin said Monday Powell’s widow, Sharon, the only non law enforcement witness to the shooting, was never asked to testify before the grand jury. The family also was surprised to learn that the police knocked on the front door and rang the doorbell. The family denies that happened, Martin said.
“That’s the first time any of us heard that,” Martin said. “We’ve never heard of the door bell being rung or a knock at the door.”
The family will decide whether to pursue legal action, Martin said, based upon what attorneys find after looking through the documents. A notice has been filed with Henry County on behalf of the Powell family that enables the family to pursue legal action, if warranted, against the county in the case later on.
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