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Here is an update on the recent shooting of a CCWer by another.
The original report is below the June 7th report.
The original report is below the June 7th report.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Shooter, girl clashed in J'town in 1999
Officer initially suspended for incident near center
By Jason Riley
and Sara CunninghamThe Courier-Journal
Eight years before he shot a man during an argument at a four-way stop, then-Jeffersontown Police Officer Richard Koenig got in trouble near the same Stony Brook shopping center -- for wrongfully restraining and arresting a 16-year-old girl.
According to court records, Koenig was initially suspended for two weeks in 2000 after the Jeffersontown Civil Service Commission ruled he acted inappropriately when he arrested the girl, who was collecting money for a church choir trip.
The commission's report noted that witnesses saw "rage on (Koenig's) face" before he pushed the teen to the ground and handcuffed her after she walked away from him when he told her not to collect money in the street while the stoplight was green. Other witnesses said they saw the girl strike Koenig after he grabbed her.
One witness, Sandra Moreland, said Koenig grabbed the teen from behind, causing her to drop the bucket of money she was collecting, then threw her to the ground, telling her to "f------ shut up and keep her mouth shut and shut the f--- up." according to court records.
"I saw him come at her from out of nowhere and throw her to the ground and was cussing at her and her money flying everywhere," Moreland testified.
The case wasn't included in Koenig's disciplinary file, released Tuesday by Jeffersontown police, because the complaint and findings were removed as part of a settlement after Koenig sued Jeffersontown in civil court. The suspension was amended to six months of probation on the condition that Koenig commit no new offenses.
The Oct. 30, 1999, arrest of the teen occurred at Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway, next to the Kroger parking lot where Koenig shot 33-year-old Darren Pickerill on Sunday. Pickerill was in critical condition yesterday at University Hospital.
Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel said yesterday that the only apparent witness who got a good look at Sunday's shooting was Koenig's wife, who was in the vehicle with him.
"It's one side of a story," Stengel said.
Stengel said Koenig wasn't arrested at the scene because there were no witnesses or evidence at the time that contradicted his claim of self-defense.
Stengel said he has been told he will get a preliminary report of the investigation this week. He also said he is treating the case as a police shooting, meaning he will handle it himself.
Jeffersontown Chief Rick Sanders said Koenig told officials he saw a gun when he fired six to eight shots at Pickerill, hitting him in the left arm, chest and head. Both men had .40-caliber semi-automatic handguns in their cars and had concealed-carry permits.
Neither police nor prosecutors would say where Pickerill's gun was found, nor have they said whether Pickerill's gun was fired.
After meeting with Pickerill's family yesterday, Sanders said he has asked two local experts to help investigate the case, though he would not name them.
Fred Marling, Pickerill's brother-in-law, indicated yesterday that relatives were satisfied with Sanders' actions.
"We're confident he's going to conduct this investigation with the best of class," Marling said. "We're comfortable with his answers."
Koenig and his family have declined to comment. So far, at least eight witnesses have come forward to speak with police about what they saw and heard, Sanders said, although none of them saw the actual shooting.
Jeffersontown police are also reviewing videotapes taken by shopping center surveillance cameras, he said.
During Koenig's 20 years on the Jeffersontown force, he served at least three suspensions, had four chargeable traffic accidents, twice lost his take-home vehicle and received more than a dozen warnings for violating department policies, according to his disciplinary file.
His file also contained about 20 letters of commendation for actions he took.
He was facing a citizen complaint when he resigned from the Jeffersontown force in March, accused by a woman of running a stop sign in front of the Stonybrook Cinema de Lux and nearly hitting her daughter.
It was near the same location where he was disciplined for his 1999 arrest of the teen-age girl.
Koenig was working off duty at the Stonybrook Cinemas parking lot and had left to get supper when he saw the teens collecting money on Hurstbourne Parkway for the Metropolitan Gospel Music Connection Gospel Choir, according to court records.
The group had a permit to collect donations, but Koenig told them to move out of the lanes when there was a green light. When he returned from eating, Koenig noticed the 16-year-old DuPont Manual student in the walkway soliciting money while the light was green.
The teen testified in a civil deposition that Koenig called her to his cruiser and told her to get out of the street. When she headed toward the median, Koenig grabbed her arm, which she tried to yank away. Koenig then told the teen she was under arrest and threw her down, gouging his "knee into my neck," said the teen, who denied hitting Koenig.
But Koenig testified in a deposition that, after telling the teen to stay out of the road, she cursed him and began to walk away. Koenig said he then got out of his cruiser "hurriedly," intending to escort her out of the traffic lane.
But Koenig said she broke free and hit him across the chest with the back of her hand.
The officer then wrestled the teen to the ground as she "kept struggling and kicking," Koenig testified.
He acknowledged that he didn't tell the teen what she was being arrested for. She was charged with assault, resisting arrest, obstructing a highway and disorderly conduct.
Because she was a juvenile, it is unclear what happened to those charges. She couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Reason for driver shooting unclear
Former officer says it was self-defense
By Jessie Halladay and James Wagner
The Courier-Journal
One was a retired 20-year Jeffersontown police officer, the other a small-business owner who installs equipment for the elderly.
Both men were legally carrying semi-automatic handguns when their argument at a four-way stop erupted in gunfire Sunday afternoon outside a Kroger in Jeffersontown.
Now, 33-year-old Darren Pickerill, a Shawnee High School graduate, lies in critical condition in University Hospital's intensive care unit, with bullet wounds to his left arm, chest and head.
And 50-year-old Richard Koenig, the former officer who says he shot Pickerill in self-defense, is being investigated by the department he served for two decades. No charges have been filed.
"We're trying to give it due diligence," said Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders. "We've talked to a number of witnesses that were in the parking lot."
Sanders said he expects to meet with Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel this week. Stengel's office would decide whether to take the case before a grand jury.
The shooting took place about 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the Kroger parking lot in the Stony Brook shopping center at Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Pickerill pulled up to a stop sign in a black Hummer H3; Koenig rolled up to the same intersection in a tan Jeep, Sanders said.
The men got into a brief argument, which Sanders said apparently centered around who had the right of way. Sanders said it appears that Pickerill pulled into the intersection in front of Koenig as he attempted to turn left and that is when the exchange occurred and the shooting took place.
Neither man had left his vehicle when Koenig fired six to eight times at Pickerill, with several rounds passing through Pickerill's Hummer and striking a nearby National City Bank branch, Sanders said.
"Officer Koenig stated that he saw a weapon and fired in self-defense," Sanders said.
Sanders said the whole incident took about a minute. Arriving emergency workers found Pickerill still in his car. Sanders did not comment on whether Pickerill's gun had been fired.
Roxann Marling, Pickerill's sister, said in an interview yesterday that she'd like to know what happened to prompt such violence.
"There's a lot of unanswered questions and we hope we can get honest answers for them," she said. "It's not worth being in this kind of shape over road rage."
She said her brother is not talking but is clearly in a lot of pain.
A Jefferson County court search turned up no criminal activity or traffic violations for either Pickerill or Koenig.
Koenig joined the Jeffersontown Police Department in 1986 after serving initially as an officer in Houston, Texas. Police did not release personnel records from Koenig's time on the department.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Yesterday, shoppers near the Kroger said they were surprised the shooting took place in that area, which they consider safe. But most said it would not impact whether or not they would return there.
"It looks like two oddballs ran into each other," said Larry Curtis, who said he has lived in Jeffersontown for nine years.
Sanders said there were several people in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, and he appealed to any witnesses to report what they saw.
He said he was concerned about the danger to others in the area during the shooting, as rounds passed through the Hummer, eventually striking the nearby bank.
"Any time you have gunfire in a public place you have fear of danger," Sanders said.