Walker Attorney wants District Attorney Disqualified
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Author: Patricia Newman
ATLANTA -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is expected on Friday to turn over to the Muscogee County District Attorney results of their probe into the fatal shooting of Kenneth Walker, but attorneys for the victim's friends want the district attorney to recuse himself from the case.
Montgomery, Ala. Attorney Dwayne L. Brown, representing the three men in the truck with Walker the night of the shooting, is calling for a special prosecutor to take over the case.
"We've asked Gray Conger to recuse himself from this case," Brown told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "We've called on a special prosecutor who is not connected with Muscogee Police and the Columbus Police Department.
"Mr. Conger has worked in cooperation with the Columbus Police Department and the Muscogee Police Department," said Brown. "We're not saying that Gray Conger is biased, but we are saying that it gives the appearance of impropriety because he has worked with these officers on a daily basis."
Chris Hosey, special agent working the case, said he will give the videotape and other crime scene evidence to Conger.
"We are planning on turning our case files and copies of the videotape over to the district attorney in Columbus on Friday," said Hosey. He also said the videotapes and other evidence in the case would be released after the investigation is complete, pursuant to Georgia's open records laws.
The two-month-long investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed man by a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy was delayed for a number of weeks after a combination of holidays and other scheduling conflicts prevented GBI agents from interviewing key witnesses.
On Dec. 10, Kenneth Walker was riding with three friends in a gray GMC Yukon when police pulled them over along Interstate 185 after the men were seen leaving a Columbus apartment that was under surveillance for drug activity.
Walker, 39, along with his friends Warren Beaulah, Anthony Smith and Darryl Ransom, were pulled from the vehicle and told to lie on the ground.
Muscogee Deputy David Glisson said he could not see Walker's right hand and thought he was armed. Glisson fired two shots at Walker, one striking him in the forehead killing him. No weapons or drugs were found on any of the men.
Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson requested that GBI take over the investigation on Dec. 12. Once the GBI's report is handed over to Conger, he will have to decide whether to present the case before a grand jury to seek an indictment.
In previously published reports Conger has said that the transfer of the GBI's report to his office will not result in the immediate release of more details -- including a sheriff's department's videotape -- of the incident.
Walker's family has retained the law offices of famed lawyer Willie Gary to represent them. Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who is now a partner in Gary's firm, said the fact that Kenneth Walker was "shot without provocation is incomprehensible."
"The family and the community are outraged in the delay in providing answers to what happened Dec. 10," said Campbell. "There was no excuse for the brutal killing of Kenneth Walker. No drugs were found in his system. He did not have a blemish on his record and if he can be pulled from his car and be shot, nobody is safe. That's why you're seeing so much anger in Columbus."
Campbell said his law firm plans to file suit for wrongful death and civil rights violations in the next two weeks in Columbus.
Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson has pointedly denied that the men were profiled. He has maintained that the men were pulled over because of a tip received from a drug informant. According to the sheriff, the informant said that some dealers had left his home driving a gray GMC Yukon and were heavily armed.
Meanwhile, Will Rembert, Walker's friend and Omega Psi Phi fraternity brother, said Walker's wife is dealing with a tremendous burden.
"She hasn't had a chance to grieve," Rembert said. "She's fighting with the sheriff's office for more answers."
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site....ws/walkerattny