CHARLESTON – Attorneys for the family of a Roane County man shot and killed by a deputy are asking the sheriff to release body camera footage of the incident.
They also say the facts surrounding the shooting are “eerily similar” to another involving Deputy M.P. King last year.
“We are calling Roane County Sheriff (Todd) Cole to immediately release the body camera footage of the killing of Mr. Nichols if it exists,” Booth Goodwin said in a statement provided to The West Virginia Record. “This family deserves answers and the public deserves to know whether the sheriff has permitted a killer in uniform to remain on the loose.”
Goodwin
Goodwin, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, is one of the attorneys representing the family of Michael Nichols, who was killed on his own property October 22 by King. Goodwin is with the Goodwin & Goodwin law firm in Charleston. Also representing the family is Dante diTrapano, a partner at Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston.
“We wish we could say we were shocked to learn that, just last week, Deputy King shot and killed another Roane County resident,” Goodwin said. “Given what our investigation has revealed, we are not surprised.”
The attorneys said Nichols was on his front porch when King killed him.
“It appears that, yet again, Deputy King shot an unarmed man in the face on his own property, without King having any type of warrant or probable cause to even be there in the first place,” diTrapano said. “All the while, a lawsuit over virtually the same reckless conduct is pending.”
In February 2019, Timothy “Timmy” Rhodes was killed on his own property by King. In that case, King responded to a 911 call alleging Rhodes was spinning his truck tires on a private right of way to his own property.
“That is not even a crime, let alone an emergency that could give rise to a potential life or death situation in a reasonable responding officer’s mind,” the attorneys say.
“We have found that Deputy King did not wear his body camera, had no search or arrest warrant, and had no probable cause for arrest or detainment,” Goodwin said. “We intend to prove to a jury that Deputy King shot Timmy in the face with a 12 gauge shotgun while Timmy was unarmed and in a completely defenseless position.”
That case still is pending. Goodwin said Cole and the Roane County Commission are “acutely aware” of the allegations and facts in the Rhodes case.
“Our team of lawyers will prove the truth, which has been obscured by Deputy King’s refusal to wear his body camera in spite of Sheriff Cole’s February 27, 2017, proclamation,” Goodwin said, referring to a new policy adopted almost four years ago. Cole said deputies would have to give an account explaining why the body camera wasn’t being used when such footage is needed.
Goodwin and diTrapano also question why King has been allowed “to continue his ways and work without restriction.”
“There are many unanswered questions about this second fatal shooting in less than two years, and much speculation in the community,” the attorneys said in their statement. “This is largely due to the intentional lack of transparency of the sheriff’s department, despite direct promises by Sheriff Cole concerning the use of body cameras.
“The purpose of using taxpayer dollars to purchase police body cameras is twofold: one, to enhance officer and citizen safety; and two, to capture situations in which it is the officer’s word against another individual to promote not only the officer’s honesty and integrity, but also the community’s trust in their officers.”
They attorneys said body camera footage from last week’s shooting would answer many questions.
“Now is the perfect time to rely upon the technology Sheriff Cole publicly touted in 2017 as being implemented to address these situations and, when necessary, hold deputies accountable,” the attorneys said. “Instead, a week later, the community has only been presented with the vague and extremely broad statement that Michael Nichols allegedly ‘moved toward a weapon’ when Deputy King shot him.
“What does that actually mean? What type of weapon? Where was it? Was Deputy King legitimately fearful for his own life? Is it fair to suggest that Michael Nichols threatened a police officer with deadly force and his memory be tarnished with that accusation? Or was it Deputy King that unnecessarily escalated the situation and used excessive force?”
The attorneys say the family wants answers.
“Again, the immediate production of Deputy King’s body camera footage could answer these questions for the family and the community, and put to rest the needless and hurtful speculation as to the victims involved,” they said. “Without the immediate production of the body camera footage of Deputy King’s interaction with Michael Nichols, the Roane County Sheriff and the Roane County Commission continue to knowingly permit a rogue officer to flagrantly ignore the basic rules of law enforcement and violate the unequivocal rights of Roane County’s citizens.”
Goodwin said Cole needs to step up.
“After two questionable killings of Roane County victims on their own property, we call upon the sheriff to explain how such tragedies could occur, and to produce the footage from the body camera that the sheriff’s department so proudly implemented a few years ago for these precise situations,” Goodwin said.
