Metro Nashville Police officer charged with homicide in deadly shooting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — UPDATE: A Metro Nashville Police officer charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of a man has turned himself in.
Nashville Judge Michael F. Mondelli found probable cause on Thursday morning against Officer Andrew Delke in the deadly shooting of Daniel Hambrick.
Delke was booked and had bond set at $25,000. It has already been made and Delke is expected to be released the same afternoon. Delke, who had been working a desk job with Metro Police, has been decommissioned.
Prosecutors for D.A. Glenn Funk sought the charge in the wake of Hambrick's fatal shooting by Delke in July. The shooting had drawn scrutiny after Hambrick was shot while running away from Delke following a traffic stop. The affidavit charging Delke with homicide details a report by TBI which states Hambrick was shot four times.
The move is a reversal of a magistrate in Nashville the very same morning, who ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Delke with homicide. A TBI investigator presented the criminal homicide charge to the magistrate, who declined to sign. Sources close to the investigation say it's extremely rare to have a magistrate deny charges. Later the same day, Randy Martin from the DA's office presented the evidence to Judge Mondelli, who found probable cause for the charge.
Nashville Mayor David Briley said he met with Hambrick's mother after his death and told her Hambrick's life mattered.
"In August, I spoke with Daniel Hambrick’s mother to express my condolences for her loss. I assured her that we would show respect for the life of her son, because his life mattered. At that time, Ms. Hambrick asked for justice for Daniel. The District Attorney’s decision to file charges in this case is a necessary step toward that end.
I don’t control what happens in individual criminal cases, but I will continue to work toward creating a fair, open and transparent criminal justice system. This does not mean that every time an officer is charged with a crime or accused of misconduct, the officer will be found guilty. Metro-Nashville Police Officers put their lives on the line every day. It is an incredibly difficult job. I fully support our Police. However, officers will be required to account for their actions when they have been accused of misconduct. Put simply, we must have laws that are fairly, equally and transparently applied." - Statement from the mayor's office
Statement from the DA:
This morning I requested a warrant charging officer Andrew Delke with criminal homicide. The decision to institute charges by warrant as opposed to presenting the matter directly to a Grand Jury allows this case to be presented in open court in as transparent a manner as possible, because Grand Jury proceedings are secret and not open to the public.
As this is a pending criminal case, I will have no further extrajudicial comments.
The American American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has applauded the arrest of Delke.
Delke is being represented by Attorney David Raybin. A news conference is slated for 3:30 p.m. FOX 17 News will carry it live. Delke is slated to appear in court on Oct. 30.
The Community Oversight Now coalition, which has called for a community oversight board in the wake of the deadly shootings of Delke and Jocques Clemmons, released the following statement after the homicide charge was handed down:
"We are encouraged by today's move toward accountability with the indictment of Officer Andrew Delke by Metro Nashville DA Glenn Funk for the July 26, 2018 homicide of Daniel Hambrick. We stand with his family and the community that was traumatized by his death. While the news is encouraging in regards to this decision, Community Oversight Now reinstates its insistence there be independent oversight of policing in Nashville. There has long been a call for more transparency in the investigations, training and misconduct of Nashville police officers. There has been a tone-deaf response by all departments of local government involved regarding police actions. The video footage of Delke’s execution of Hambrick was horrifying. Shooting a man in the back who is unarmed and in the process of running away from an officer is entirely unacceptable. The February 10, 2017 shooting of Jocques Clemmons reignited a call for independent oversight of policing when Officer Joshua Lippert fired three shots into the back of Mr. Clemmons as he ran from a traffic stop. This came on the heels of eight disciplinaries that found Lippert had been written up for overly aggressive responses to citizens when detaining them. In the case of Andrew Delke there are equally egregious documented violations where he went well beyond any reasonable response when seeking to detain persons. The coalition of organizations called Community Oversight Now, and thousands of Nashville citizens, worked tirelessly on a referendum that allows voters to decide on the oversight process. With the decision today to indict Officer Delke we are both grateful for the indictment and convinced moving toward this referendum was the right thing to do. When Nashville votes on November 6th, the democratic process can maintain this momentum by voting FOR Amendment 1."
The full affidavit charging Delke with criminal homicide can be read below or on mobile here:
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A homicide charge is now being filed against a Metro Police officer in a deadly shooting.
Nashville Judge Michael F. Mondelli found probable cause against Officer Andrew Delke in the deadly shooting of Daniel Hambrick.
Metro Police said they are aware of the charge and an arrest warrant will be issued.
Prosecutors for D.A. Glenn Funk sought the charge in the wake of Hambrick's fatal shooting by Delke in July. The shooting had drawn scrutiny after Hambrick was shot while running away from Delke following a traffic stop.
The move is a reversal of another judge in Nashville the very same morning, who ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Delke with homicide.
Delke is set to appear in court on October 30.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A magistrate has ruled the officer involved in the fatal shooting of Daniel Hambrick should not face a criminal homicide charge.
Prosecutors for D.A. Glenn Funk sought the charge in the wake of Hambrick's fatal shooting by Metro Police officer Andrew Delke in July. The shooting had drawn scrutiny after Hambrick was shot while running away from Delke following a traffic stop. The magistrate believes there is not enough evidence to bring a criminal homicide charge.
As with all officer-involved shootings, the case was investigated by the TBI which then shared their findings with the DA's office.
The ruling follows video released by Mayor David Briley showing what took place on July 26th.
The ACLU of Tennessee has called the shooting "needless" and "preventable."
