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From The Newport News Daily Press and Liberty Pulse:
STORY: Deadly police search in Hampton began as raid for painkillers
William A. Cooper was killed during police raid Saturday
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The crime scene at Clifton Street and Kecoughtan Road in Hampton where officers shot dead a man who police say fired at them during a narcotics operation. (David Macaulay, Daily Press / June 18, 2011)
By Peter Dujardin, pdujardin@dailypress.com
(757) 247-4749
6:49 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2011
HAMPTON — A friend of the Hampton man shot and killed during a police raid at his house Saturday said he thinks the 69-year-old man opened fire on officers because he was startled and thought they were criminal intruders.
William A. Cooper had poor eyesight because of cataracts and would often sleep late, said Richard Zacharias, 58, a retired NASA employee who was renting a trailer home from Cooper and planned to buy it from him.
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STORY: Police identify armed man shot dead by police in Hampton
STORY: Neighbors react to death of Hampton man shot by police
PICTURES: Mug shots from local arrests
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Both of those factors, Zacharias said, might have caused him not to realize that it was the police that were in his home at 10 a.m.
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"People around here sleep with a gun beside their bed because of all the home invasions we've had," Zacharias said. "The guy was a nice guy. The guy was a good guy."
By "around here," Zacharias said he wasn't referring only to a specific section of Hampton, but the entire region and beyond. A Hampton police spokesman said that there haven't been any home invasions on Clifton Street or the nearby surrounding area in the past five years.
A search warrant affidavit filed in Hampton Circuit Court before the search said police were investigating allegations that Cooper was illegally selling prescription painkillers out of his home.
The affidavit said a confidential informant told police that Cooper had sold methadone, Percocet and "several other unknown prescription pills" from his home on Clifton Street, off Kecoughtan Road in Wythe.
Police executed the warrant in search of those drugs just after 10 a.m. Saturday, with a neighbor saying he saw Cooper's door being forced open. Police said two officers shot Cooper inside the house after he fired at them.
Cooper was pronounced dead at about 11 a.m. at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
Hampton Police Chief Charles R. Jordan Jr. has backed the two officers involved in the shooting, saying the case appears to be a justified act of self-defense. The officers — one with 23 years of experience and the other with another with 14 years of experience — are now on administrative leave with pay.
"The investigation thus far supports the actions of the officers," Jordan said Saturday. "They were met with deadly force and had no alternative other than to return fire."
Zacharias has a different slant. "He wasn't real big, he wasn't real threatening," Zacharias said. "It doesn't smell right." The police killed Cooper "in his own house, and that doesn't sit right with me."
He said that Cooper, also known as "Bootsie," often used a cane, talked a lot about back and knee pain, and used a lot of painkillers, telling friends the drugs he was getting "weren't enough" for the pain.
Hampton police spokesman Jason Price said police officers executing the warrant identified themselves when they arrived. "We did knock and announce our presence," he said. "It was not a no-knock search warrant."
Price declined to say whether the officers forced entry into the home. But the neighbor's report of a forced entry was backed by the fact that the left side of the front door, near the door jam, was severely broken.
A common practice in executing a warrant is for police to announce their presence with loud knocks on the front door and words such as, "Police!" or "Police search warrant!"
After a few moments of warning, the door is typically broken, often with a battering ram or other device.
The element of surprise is considered important in many such cases to not allow time for the suspect to hide or dispose of the drugs, such as by flushing them down the toilet.
Price said that even after officers are inside a home, they continue to call out, "Police! Police! Police!" in loud tones. He also said that officers conducting such searches wear clothing marked on both front and back with large letters saying, "POLICE."
"It's very obvious that we're the police," he said.
Price said that in this case, there was an exchange of gunfire, with Cooper shooting first and the officers firing back.
Price declined to say whether painkillers or other drugs were found in Cooper's home. But he said that the search warrant's list of returned items would soon be filed with the court.
The incident will be investigated by police as both a criminal and administrative matter. The results of the investigation will be turned over to Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Curtis, who will make the final call on any charges.
In the meantime, the community is left to wonder how exactly the events transpired that morning.
There was an empty bar stool at the White Oak Lodge, a bar and restaurant on Kecoughtan Road that Cooper would frequent. Cooper would come in almost daily, take his regular seat at the corner of the wooden bar and order Budweiser beer. He would often bet on horse races through an electronic betting system, and tell stories about fishing and the crab docks.
A White Oak bartender said Cooper was at the bar on Friday night from the time she got in to work around 6 p.m. until when he left at around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. It was "early for him" to leave, she said. "I was expecting to see him the next day. I'm still trying to piece it all together. He was a good, old gentleman. It's very sad."
Cooper's small home on Clifton Street had a black El Camino car parked in the driveway Monday morning. There were three small and worn American flags posted into the ground around a small tree, a posted sign for "24-hour security," and some tomato plants around back.
Daily Press reporter http://bio.tribune.com/michaelholtzclaw contributed to this report.
STORY: Deadly police search in Hampton began as raid for painkillers
William A. Cooper was killed during police raid Saturday
Share1261Comments 108
The crime scene at Clifton Street and Kecoughtan Road in Hampton where officers shot dead a man who police say fired at them during a narcotics operation. (David Macaulay, Daily Press / June 18, 2011)
By Peter Dujardin, pdujardin@dailypress.com
(757) 247-4749
6:49 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2011
HAMPTON — A friend of the Hampton man shot and killed during a police raid at his house Saturday said he thinks the 69-year-old man opened fire on officers because he was startled and thought they were criminal intruders.
William A. Cooper had poor eyesight because of cataracts and would often sleep late, said Richard Zacharias, 58, a retired NASA employee who was renting a trailer home from Cooper and planned to buy it from him.
Related
STORY: Police identify armed man shot dead by police in Hampton
STORY: Neighbors react to death of Hampton man shot by police
PICTURES: Mug shots from local arrests
Stories
HOMICIDES IN HAMPTON ROADS FOR 2011
Links
Read more crime and courts news
Text DPTOPSTORY for the daily top story; click here for more text alerts
Topics
Police Investigations
Homes
Rentals
See more topics »
XCondos and Houses
Hampton (Hampton, Virginia)
Celebrities and Health Issues
Bars and Clubs
Hospitals and Clinics
Murder
Crimes
Space Programs
Dining and Drinking
Criminals
Riverside Regional Medical Center
Lawyers
Pain
Justice System
Armed Conflicts
Feet
NASA
Alice Cooper
Methadone (drug) Maps
100 Clifton St, Hampton, VA 23661, USA
Both of those factors, Zacharias said, might have caused him not to realize that it was the police that were in his home at 10 a.m.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be the first to know! Text HAMPTON to 71593 to receive alerts about Hampton. Click here for other text alert options.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"People around here sleep with a gun beside their bed because of all the home invasions we've had," Zacharias said. "The guy was a nice guy. The guy was a good guy."
By "around here," Zacharias said he wasn't referring only to a specific section of Hampton, but the entire region and beyond. A Hampton police spokesman said that there haven't been any home invasions on Clifton Street or the nearby surrounding area in the past five years.
A search warrant affidavit filed in Hampton Circuit Court before the search said police were investigating allegations that Cooper was illegally selling prescription painkillers out of his home.
The affidavit said a confidential informant told police that Cooper had sold methadone, Percocet and "several other unknown prescription pills" from his home on Clifton Street, off Kecoughtan Road in Wythe.
Police executed the warrant in search of those drugs just after 10 a.m. Saturday, with a neighbor saying he saw Cooper's door being forced open. Police said two officers shot Cooper inside the house after he fired at them.
Cooper was pronounced dead at about 11 a.m. at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
Hampton Police Chief Charles R. Jordan Jr. has backed the two officers involved in the shooting, saying the case appears to be a justified act of self-defense. The officers — one with 23 years of experience and the other with another with 14 years of experience — are now on administrative leave with pay.
"The investigation thus far supports the actions of the officers," Jordan said Saturday. "They were met with deadly force and had no alternative other than to return fire."
Zacharias has a different slant. "He wasn't real big, he wasn't real threatening," Zacharias said. "It doesn't smell right." The police killed Cooper "in his own house, and that doesn't sit right with me."
He said that Cooper, also known as "Bootsie," often used a cane, talked a lot about back and knee pain, and used a lot of painkillers, telling friends the drugs he was getting "weren't enough" for the pain.
Hampton police spokesman Jason Price said police officers executing the warrant identified themselves when they arrived. "We did knock and announce our presence," he said. "It was not a no-knock search warrant."
Price declined to say whether the officers forced entry into the home. But the neighbor's report of a forced entry was backed by the fact that the left side of the front door, near the door jam, was severely broken.
A common practice in executing a warrant is for police to announce their presence with loud knocks on the front door and words such as, "Police!" or "Police search warrant!"
After a few moments of warning, the door is typically broken, often with a battering ram or other device.
The element of surprise is considered important in many such cases to not allow time for the suspect to hide or dispose of the drugs, such as by flushing them down the toilet.
Price said that even after officers are inside a home, they continue to call out, "Police! Police! Police!" in loud tones. He also said that officers conducting such searches wear clothing marked on both front and back with large letters saying, "POLICE."
"It's very obvious that we're the police," he said.
Price said that in this case, there was an exchange of gunfire, with Cooper shooting first and the officers firing back.
Price declined to say whether painkillers or other drugs were found in Cooper's home. But he said that the search warrant's list of returned items would soon be filed with the court.
The incident will be investigated by police as both a criminal and administrative matter. The results of the investigation will be turned over to Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Curtis, who will make the final call on any charges.
In the meantime, the community is left to wonder how exactly the events transpired that morning.
There was an empty bar stool at the White Oak Lodge, a bar and restaurant on Kecoughtan Road that Cooper would frequent. Cooper would come in almost daily, take his regular seat at the corner of the wooden bar and order Budweiser beer. He would often bet on horse races through an electronic betting system, and tell stories about fishing and the crab docks.
A White Oak bartender said Cooper was at the bar on Friday night from the time she got in to work around 6 p.m. until when he left at around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. It was "early for him" to leave, she said. "I was expecting to see him the next day. I'm still trying to piece it all together. He was a good, old gentleman. It's very sad."
Cooper's small home on Clifton Street had a black El Camino car parked in the driveway Monday morning. There were three small and worn American flags posted into the ground around a small tree, a posted sign for "24-hour security," and some tomato plants around back.
Daily Press reporter http://bio.tribune.com/michaelholtzclaw contributed to this report.
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