Law Convicted murderer released on bond hours later to await sentencing.

[woodguyatl]

UPDATE: The city is still paying the convicted murderer.

“An Alabama police officer convicted of murder for shooting a suicidal man who was holding a gun to his own head has been taken off duty but will continue to be paid, the city of Huntsville said.”






Huntsville Police Officer William Darby is now a convicted murderer.

A Madison County jury found Darby guilty for shooting and killing Jeffrey Parker during a suicide call in April 2018.

Darby was booked into the Madison County Jail on a $100,000 bond Friday afternoon. He posted bond a couple of hours later.

The jury started over on their deliberations Friday morning because one of the jurors had a medical emergency. After getting a new alternate juror, the jury came up with their final guilty verdict in just over 2 hours.

That means the jury not only believed Officer William Darby intentionally killed Jeffrey Parker, but also believed that he did not do it out of self-defense.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.waaytv.com/templates/AMP?contentID=574374211

I had no idea pre-sentencing bail for crimes like murder is possible. I wasn’t able to find any statistics on how common it is or how often people flee. Looking at 20 years to life would be an overwhelmingly compelling reason to flee for me.

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably make run for it at this point. How about you?

 

[Gregolian]

I had no idea pre-sentencing bail for crimes like murder is possible. I wasn’t able to find any statistics on how common it is or how often people flee. Looking at 20 years to life would be an overwhelmingly compelling reason to flee for me.

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably make run for it at this point. How about you?

Not sure how common pre-sentencing bond is for murder charges but I've seen guys let out on bond post-conviction and pre-sentencing to allow them to make arrangements for like their living situation and property while they are inside.

 

[Hadron90]

He shot a guy who had a gun to his own head during a suicide call and got a murder conviction for it? Seems excessively harsh to me. Obviously its a tragic outcome, but cmon, in what world is a crazy guy holding a loaded gun to his head not considered a threat? It would take milliseconds for him to decide to shoot someone else with that gun.

 

[MicroBrew]

The Police department were shocked by the verdict and the Mayor supports the cop. Just goes to show how biased the system is. The cop's fellow officer had this to say :

A one-time colleague, Genisha Pegues, testified that while Parker was upset, he was talking to her and posed no immediate threat despite a gun held to his head.

--
The police department cleared Parker of wrongdoing

A city police review cleared Darby of wrongdoing and officials allowed him to remain an officer, with Huntsville taxpayers helping fund his defense against charges brought by a Madison County grand jury.

--
Atleast the D.A. has some ethics.

“He was not justified in any way with what he did to Mr. Parker,” he said. Darby “had no business being a police officer,” Broussard said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jurors-continue-deliberations-murder-trial-145721033.html

 

[MicroBrew]

He shot a guy who had a gun to his own head during a suicide call and got a murder conviction for it? Seems excessively harsh to me. Obviously its a tragic outcome, but cmon, in what world is a crazy guy holding a loaded gun to his head not considered a threat? It would take milliseconds for him to decide to shoot someone else with that gun.

So the way to approach a suicide call is to kill the person threatening to commit suicide?

The guy holding the guy to his own head is not a threat to others. And why would you assume he had any inclination to shoot others? Sounds like you are just trying to find any excuse to justify the murder.

 

[Falsedawn]

The Police department were shocked by the verdict and the Mayor supports the cop. Just goes to show how biased the system is. The cop's fellow officer had this to say :

A one-time colleague, Genisha Pegues, testified that while Parker was upset, he was talking to her and posed no immediate threat despite a gun held to his head.

--
The police department cleared Parker of wrongdoing

A city police review cleared Darby of wrongdoing and officials allowed him to remain an officer, with Huntsville taxpayers helping fund his defense against charges brought by a Madison County grand jury.

--
Atleast the D.A. has some ethics.

“He was not justified in any way with what he did to Mr. Parker,” he said. Darby “had no business being a police officer,” Broussard said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jurors-continue-deliberations-murder-trial-145721033.html

Prime example of how you can get a conviction and still not be satisfied with the entire process. Were it not for the DA's office, this dude would have walked free and clear. It's a systemic issue.

 

[Hadron90]

Only footage I can find. I can't make out anything.

 

[Hadron90]

So the way to approach a suicide call is to kill the person threatening to commit suicide?

The guy holding the guy to his own head is not a threat to others. And why would you assume he had any inclination to shoot others? Sounds like you are just trying to find any excuse to justify the murder.

If I were in a room with a gun who had a gun to his head, I would be scared for my life. Maybe you an absolute badass with nervous of steel and Korean-gamer reaction times, but I would not feel comfortable in that situation.

 

[MicroBrew]

Prime example of how you can get a conviction and still not be satisfied with the entire process. Were it not for the DA's office, this dude would have walked free and clear. It's a systemic issue.

The whole system , typically, protects law enforcement from accountability. Amazing the D.A. was able to buck the pressure.

 

[MicroBrew]

If I were in a room with a gun who had a gun to his head, I would be scared for my life. Maybe you an absolute badass with nervous of steel and Korean-gamer reaction times, but I would not feel comfortable in that situation.

Then you shouldn't be a cop. No one forced this guy to be a cop.

 

[Kaiowas]

If I were in a room with a gun who had a gun to his head, I would be scared for my life. Maybe you an absolute badass with nervous of steel and Korean-gamer reaction times, but I would not feel comfortable in that situation.

Then don't go in the room.

 

[nhbbear]

How does shooting a guy to stop him from killing him self make any sense? The “I was trying to save his soul” defense probably wouldn’t be successful.

Maybe he was so scared that the guy would turn the gun at them at some point and had a serious lapse in judgement due to stress? I wouldn’t want to negotiate with a guy with a gun to his head because you would be on edge the entire time. Back out, get some ballistic shields and try to talk him down or wait until he kills himself. You should not be face to face without cover in a situation like that.

Bottom line, you can’t justify murder because the guy is planning to kill himself.

 

[Hadron90]

How does shooting a guy to stop him from killing him self make any sense?

He didn't shoot him to stop him from killing himself. He shot him because to protect himself and his fellow officers.

 

[woodguyatl]

If I were in a room with a gun who had a gun to his head, I would be scared for my life. Maybe you an absolute badass with nervous of steel and Korean-gamer reaction times, but I would not feel comfortable in that situation.

The other cops in the room were not aiming their guns. This cop arrived, screamed at the cops who were already engaged with the victim to aim their weapons and then shot the guy.

 

[nhbbear]

He didn't shoot him to stop him from killing himself. He shot him because to protect himself and his fellow officers.

But I don’t see what the threat was if the guy was holding the gun to his own head. There simply isn’t an immediate threat there. You can’t say “well, at anytime he could pull the gun on officers” as a valid pretext to a shoot

 

[woodguyatl]

How does shooting a guy to stop him from killing him self make any sense? The “I was trying to save his soul” defense probably wouldn’t be successful.

Maybe he was so scared that the guy would turn the gun at them at some point and had a serious lapse in judgement due to stress? I wouldn’t want to negotiate with a guy with a gun to his head because you would be on edge the entire time. Back out, get some ballistic shields and try to talk him down or wait until he kills himself. You should not be face to face without cover in a situation like that.

Bottom line, you can’t justify murder because the guy is planning to kill himself.

Also there were officers already on the scene engaging the victim without aiming their weapons. This cop arrived later, demanded that the other officer aim their weapons at the guy and then shot him.


Huntsville officers Genisha Pegues and Justin Beckles were sent to Parker’s home. Pegues first entered with her gun drawn but pointed down in a neutral position, as she walked in on Parker sitting on his couch with a gun to his head, according to the complaint.

Pegues allegedly asked Parker what was going on with him, and he told her he was “strung out on drugs,” as he and officers engaged in discussion without any aggression, the complaint said.

Darby, who is White, reportedly arrived five minutes after the more senior deputies had responded.
Darby, then 25 and a Top Gun award winner for his accuracy with pistols and shotguns, muttered expletives as he took out his shotgun from his vehicle, the complaint stated. He loaded a slug, a single projectile that’s more accurate at a distance.

Without seeing Parker or knowing what the man was doing, Darby screamed at Pegues as he stood in the front yard, according to the lawsuit. “He can shoot you!” Darby allegedly said to his colleague.


But Parker had already told Pegues that he wasn’t going to shoot her and didn’t want to hurt her.

In Pegues’s testimony, she told the court that she didn’t relay that information to officers on the scene, WHNT-19 reported. She also testified that she never thought she was in danger but admitted that things had the potential to change quickly

Pegues calmly tried to convince Parker to drop his gun and to cool down Darby, the complaint said. But Darby allegedly ignored her, pushing past her and Beckles.

Darby yelled at Parker to put down the gun that the man had pointed to his own head. Pegues tried to neutralize the escalating situation by speaking to Parker, according to the complaint. Again, Darby allegedly demanded Parker to drop the gun.

“Put the gun down. I’m not going to tell you again!” the officer instructed, according to the lawsuit.


Seconds later, as Pegues was in the middle of speaking to the man, Darby shot Parker in the mouth, the lawsuit states. Parker was dead less than a minute after Darby arrived on the scene, according to the complaint.

 

[woodguyatl]

He didn't shoot him to stop him from killing himself. He shot him because to protect himself and his fellow officers.

He arrived 5 minutes after everybody else who were already engaged with the guy ,pushed past the other cops who were talking to him and then shot him.

 

[Pliny Pete]

Did he at least get credit from the suicide prevention people?

 

[Hadron90]

But I don’t see what the threat was if the guy was holding the gun to his own head. There simply isn’t an immediate threat there. You can’t say “well, at anytime he could pull the gun on officers” as a valid pretext to a shoot

The gun is already pulled. Its in play. I think any reasonable person would be scared for their own life if a person pulled a gun and put it to his head. Imagine you are in a movie theatre and a guy stood up and put a gun to his head. Would you simply say "well, he isn't aiming at me. I'm just going to keep watching the film", or would you freak the fuck out and duck?

 

[Hadron90]

He arrived 5 minutes after everybody else who were already engaged with the guy ,pushed past the other cops who were talking to him and then shot him.

And the department said he did nothing wrong.