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A28 u.s. news
Diasabra 3 Juli 2021

Ex-officer pleads guilty to manslaughter; family blasts deal

(AP) — The mother of a has had a police officer in jail lance footage of the shooting
Black man fatally shot by for shooting a Black man on publicly, sparking wider at-
a white former Nashville duty.” tention and outcry. Delke was
officer sobbed, screamed charged in September 2018,
and knocked over a court- “I was not willing to risk not and the shooting caused
room lectern Friday as she having a felony conviction, enough backlash that voters
begged a judge not to ac- not having him off the force, that November installed a
cept a plea deal she says not having him incarcerated, community oversight board
was struck in secret with- not having him be able to for Nashville’s police depart-
out her knowledge, a cha- make a guilty plea where he ment.
otic scene that briefly de- conceded that he did in fact
layed the hearing before use deadly force that was not Since 2005, there have been
the judge accepted the reasonably necessary,” Funk 143 nonfederal sworn law
agreement. said. enforcement officers with ar-
rest powers arrested for mur-
Former officer Andrew Delke Delke, 27, submitted his der or manslaughter result-
pleaded guilty to manslaugh- resignation Thursday. He ing from an on-duty shoot-
ter over the death of Daniel kins were briefly ushered out had been decommissioned, ing throughout the U.S.,
Hambrick, 25, in 2018 as part of the courtroom. “I have contempt for this sys- which means he had to turn with only 45 convicted of a
of an agreement with pros- tem. I have contempt for this over his gun but was able to crime resulting from the on-
ecutors. Delke was about to face trial plea. I have contempt for the work a desk job and still get duty shooting, according to a
for a first-degree murder (Fraternal Order of Police). paid. tally by Bowling Green State
Delke will serve a three-year charge, but on Thursday, his And I have a special contempt University criminal justice
prison sentence. As part of attorney announced he had for Andrew Delke. May you After COVID-19 delays and professor Philip Stinson be-
the agreement, he won’t pur- agreed to plead guilty to vol- all rot in hell,” said attorney pretrial back-and-forth, jury fore Delke’s plea. Another 45
sue parole or appeal the case. untary manslaughter. Joy Kimbrough, who read selection was slated to start of the cases are still pending,
However, Delke’s defense the statement of Vickie Ham- next week . The trial was go- according to the findings.
team said he will likely serve “I hope this case can contrib- brick as she wept behind her. ing to center on a handgun
a year and a half in jail with ute positively about the much Hambrick was holding that Delke’s attorneys argued the
standard credits. needed discussion about how District Attorney Glenn Delke claims was pointed at officer followed his train-
police officers are trained Funk told reporters after- him for a moment, which ing and Tennessee law in re-
The hearing turned volatile and how we as a community ward that he informed Ham- prosecutors dispute and vid- sponse to “an armed suspect
as Hambrick’s mother, Vick- want police officers to inter- brick’s family attorney of the eo footage does not show. who ignored repeated orders
ie, gave a lengthy statement as act with citizens. I am deeply deal Wednesday and met with to drop his gun.” Funk argued
family members and others sorry for the harm my actions Vickie Hambrick on Thurs- Prosecutors focused on sur- Delke had other alternatives,
applauded. Other support- caused,” Delke said shortly day. He said has been in veillance footage that cap- adding that the officer could
ers, outside the courtroom after entering his plea, his contact with them for three tured the shooting, in which have stopped, sought cover
in the hallway, banged on voice cracking at times. years, knew Vickie Hambrick Delke stops chasing and and called for help.
the door in support. Delke’s A group of roughly two doz- wanted Delke to be convicted shoots the fleeing man. De-
family sat on the other side of en protesters gathered out- of murder and sentenced to fense attorneys have con- Nashville’s Metro Council
the courtroom with security side the courthouse, chant- prison for life, and he had to tended there was a 36-foot has approved a $2.25 million
guards. ing “no racist police” to show decide what was in the best (11-meter) blindspot and settlement to resolve a law-
their opposition to Delke’s interest for the state. plenty could have happened suit by Hambrick’s family.
“I hate you,” Vickie Ham- plea deal. Others wore shirts there. There were dozens of
brick screamed over and over noting that police officers He said there was a “very cameras, and defense attor- For Vickie Hambrick, who is
again, while also yelling out and white people receive large percentage” chance that neys contended that it was legally blind, the loss of her
profanities, directing some at lighter penalties for commit- the case would have ended possible that more footage only child will forever haunt
Delke and prosecutors. ting the same crimes as Black in a hung jury, which he said was caught of that blindspot, her.
and brown people. would have meant the emo- but wasn’t reviewed by inves-
In a particularly chaotic mo- tion seen in the courtroom tigators before it was auto- “My son was my eyes,” Kim-
ment, the mother knocked Hambrick’s family said they Friday “would have been matically overwritten on the brough said, reading Vick-
over the lectern and a com- were not contacted or con- played out 100-fold.” Funk system. ie Hambrick’s statement.
puter monitor and family sulted and did not know also called it “significant “Since he’s been gone, things
members rushed to her side. about the plea deal until after progress” that “tonight will The month after the shoot- have not been the same and
Delke and Judge Monte Wat- it was done. be the first night Nashville ing, Funk released surveil- they never will be.”

Collapse survivors escaped with their lives, but little else

(AP) — Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th dangerously unstable. tached copy of the policy showed limits between
floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with $1 million and $2 million.
her life and almost nothing else. Alvarez is still dealing with the trauma. She hasn’t
slept in a bed since the collapse a week ago. Instead Michael Capponi, the president of a Miami-area
The disaster that killed at least 20 people, with she’s been sleeping in a chair, constantly thinking nonprofit that for the past decade has helped vic-
more than 120 still missing, also rendered dozens of the victims who couldn’t escape. tims of disasters from hurricanes to wildfires in the
of people homeless. Many lost cars, too, buried in U.S. and abroad, said he has personally dealt with
the building’s underground parking garage. It’s unclear exactly how many residents have been 50 people who lost homes in the building.
displaced, but those with insurance policies should
Though most who managed to flee to safety lived recoup at least a portion of their losses. Capponi’s organization, Global Empowerment
in parts of the building that remain standing, they Mission, has distributed roughly $75,000 in gift
have little hope of returning to reclaim clothing, Victims also appear likely to get some money from cards among surfside survivors, and he’s working
computers, jewelry and sentimental possessions the liability insurer for Champlain Towers South’s with hotel and condo owners to find places they
they left behind. condominium association, which has at least four can live for the next two months.
lawsuits pending related to the collapse.
Officials said Thursday that they’re making plans Ryan Logan, the American Red Cross’ regional di-
for the likely demolition of all parts of the build- An attorney for James River Insurance Co. wrote saster officer for south Florida, said the organiza-
ing that didn’t collapse. The announcement came to the judge in one case this week that it plans to tion has been helping about 18 families, and some
after search and rescue operations were paused for “voluntarily tender its entire limit” from the as- of them have been looking for ways they can help
hours because of growing signs the structure was sociation’s policy toward resolving claims. An at- other victims.