TH E E X A M I N ER10 FR I DAY, NOV EM BER 20, 2009
A
good cop scored a big win
in federal court Thursday,
when a jury cleared him of
violatingtherightsofaman
he shot in self-defense, in the line of
duty.
The question is, will the victory in
federal court persuade D.C.'s police
departmenttostoptryingtokickhim
off the force?
The case is full of sadness but
tells street cops that their own police
department will not back them up.
The story begins on Friday night,
Aug. 3, 2007. Detective Mike McCo-
nnell was on duty in the city's 7th
District, the bloody precincts east
of the Anacostia River. Just after
midnight, he drove past the Eddie
Leonard Carryout near the corner
of Good Hope Road and Alabama
Avenue Southeast. He saw an Afri-
can-American man banging on the
Plexiglas service window.
Many cops might have continued
backtothestationhouse;McConnell
senseddanger,pulledoverandwalked
to the store. He was in plain clothes,
Glock 17 semiautomatic holstered at
hiship.HehadbeenontheMetropoli-
tanPoliceDepartmentfor12years;he
had never fired his weapon on duty.
Enteringthestore,McConnellsaw
a large man trying to get behind the
counter. The owner, Chen Kongri,
had told the man, later identified as
Jason Taft, that the store had closed
at midnight. Taft had been drinking
ethyl alcohol; he was in a rage.
"Police," McConnell said. "Stop
what you are doing."
According to McConnell and a
number of witnesses, Taft wheeled
and rushed the cop. They wound
up wrestling on the floor. Taft bit
McConnell and thumbed him in the
eye. They got up and threw punches,
grabbed one another and brawled
on the ground. Taft started to leave
but turned and jumped McConnell
again.
"I'm gonna choke you out, you
[expletive]," Taft said.
McConnell was beginning to pass
out. He had two thoughts: "I think
I lost this fight." And, "Not tonight
-- I'm not going to die tonight."
TheyfoughtoverMcConnell'spis-
tol. The cop pulled it out, got a grip
and fired. The bullet tore through
his own thumb, but it also hit Taft in
the thigh. He limped into the street.
FearingTaftwouldreturn,McConnell
fired again and hit Taft in the side of
his back. He died an hour later.
It took months for McConnell to
heal. Not one police official visited
or contacted him. Instead, the MPD
accused him of a "bad shoot" and
moved to terminate him.
Taft's family sued for wrongful
death and sought $25 million. The
case was argued in federal court this
week. McConnell was represented
by Robert DeBernardinis and Shana
FrostwiththeD.C.AttorneyGeneral's
Office. "I could not have had two bet-
ter attorneys," he says.
Ironically, McConnell was sched-
uled to come before the MPD's Trial
Board this week to defend himself
againsttermination.Thefederalcase
forced a postponement.
McConnell deserves a medal, not
a slap-down.
"Maybe," he says, "somebody will
do the right thing."
Somebody, like Chief Cathy
Lanier.
E-mailHarryJaffeat
hjaffe@washingtonexaminer.com.
MPD still moving to fire cop
absolved in federal court
LOCAL NEWS
Harry
Jaffe
EXAMINER FILE
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier should put
an end to the department's effort to kick
Detective Mike McConnell off the force.
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