- James Emerick DeanThe grandmother of James Emerick Dean
said a lawyer has placed the family "on a gag order." This means
the family could be pursuing a lawsuit. James Dean is the Army Ranger
who was slain by a bullet from an unnamed Maryland State Trooper's rifle
following a 14-hour stand off with state and local police that began late
Christmas day in his father's home in Hollywood.
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- Mary Dean, of Leonardtown, said she could not comment
further on the case without clearance from the lawyer.
-
- St. Mary's County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron said he
has spoken with the family but could not comment on the content of the
conversation.
-
- Meanwhile, State's Attorney Richard Fritz has begun a
full in- vestigation on Dean's death, which came about when a 46-year-old
Maryland State Trooper with 13 years working with the special tactical
assault team fired one shot.
-
- Cameron said a Bureau of Criminal Investigations case
manager, First Sgt. Jack Mc-Cauley from the Maryland State Police, was
assigned to the investigation.
-
- "All aspects of the case are put together with a
timeline," Cameron said. "And collaterally the State's Attorney's
office determines if the taking of a life was justified or not. All this
is done at the same time and it's a huge undertaking, every detail is
included."
-
- While discussing the investigation, Fritz expressed concerns
over a police decision not to allow family members to speak with Dean
during the standoff.
-
- According to Cameron, the protocol behind that decision
was to establish dialog and a relationship between the negotiator and
Dean.
-
- The County's negotiators, assisted by negotiators from
the state, decided it was not in the best interest of Dean to have family
members introduced, although they did have recorded messages from family
members at the scene, Cameron said.
-
- Police cut off Dean's cell phone service and disconnected
the home's landline.
-
- Cameron said he would not "second guess the negotiators
decision to try and make contact with [Dean]."
-
- Cameron added that it was the Sheriff's Office negotiators
who did the actual talking with Dean. He said because the officers did
not know the relationship between the family and Dean, the sheriff's
negotiators could not take a chance on having them talk with Dean.
-
- "Protocols are a recommendation and not a hard and
first rule," Cameron added. "There are some protocols we adhere
to for a reason, because history repeats itself."
-
- Instead, police attempted to shoot oleoresin capsicum,
an ingredient used in pepper spray, and a combination of other gasses
into the house to try and force Dean out, Cameron said.
-
- After Dean fired several shots including one that hit
an occupied police car Cameron said "the situation escalated."
Dean spent a year in Afghanistan and had recently received notice that
he was going to be redeployed to Iraq.
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- http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/5181.shtml
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- Additional:
-
- Thanks to "janeway" for submitting this translation
of the story from a Dutch newspaper
-
- link to the article:
- http://www.nrc.nl/buitenland/article595507.ece/ Jamie_Dean_wilde_niet_naar_Irak._Dus_kwamen_ze_hem_halen
-
- Photo: http://www.nrc.nl/multimedia/archive/00139/
jamiedean_139423e.jpg
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- headline: Jamie Dean didn't want to go to Iraq. So they
came to get him.
-
-
- JD served as a sniper in Afghanistan and had to go to
Iraq this time. He didn't want that and went crazy. And so the police
got involved.
-
- A wooden house, a sandy road, Dusty Lane. Here at the
edge of the village Hollywood in Maryland, surrounded by rough trees and
empty acres,
-
- a modern American war drama took place the day after
X-mas.
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- Sergeant Jamie E. Dean (29), a sniper in the army, was
shot dead by the police. Short before that, he had gotten the notice to
serve at the front,
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- presumably Iraq. He did not want to go. He went out of
control.
-
- Now, almost two weeks later, the windows and the door
of the house are still closed with hardboard. The front is full of bullet
holes.
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- On the porch the rocking chairs are dancing on the rhythm
of the wind, which by nightfall increases heavily.
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