Fort Worth Police Officers For Matt Pearce Aren’t Happy About McIver Jr.’s Rights Right Now
Fort Worth police officers have to be livid about the release of Ed Sullivan McIver Jr., whose attorneys have re-filed charges against, for a capital murder conviction after the shooting that wounded officer Matthew Pearce.
In fact, it’s the third in a series of “wins” since his capture that has upset police officers. Early last month, the win happened when a grand jury refused to convict McIver Jr. as there was no evidence to show that he had shot at the officers. Instead, his father McIver Sr., had allegedly done the shooting according to local Fox 4 News affiliate.
On March 15, police officers attempted to pull over McIver Sr. as they had felony warrants against him for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault family violence. It turned into a chase through Dallas and into Fort Worth where McIver Jr. and Sr. bailed out of the vehicle and fled on foot into the woods.
When police surrounded the area, McIver Sr. opened fire at the officers, hitting officer Matt Pearce seven times. Pearce survived, but McIver Sr. was killed in the shoot out.
The grand jury’s decision clearly upset police officers because according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, they immediately refiled for the charges.
“We believe strongly this case should be prosecuted and have refiled those two charges to be presented to the next grand jury,” said Samantha Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.
The second charge is for a controlled substance.
After his father was killed, he hid for hours before police caught him.
Sources say that the District Attorney is allowed to re-file the charges, which certainly guarantees a conviction, but an attorney for McIver Jr. says that they have never encountered a situation like this before.
A statement from PCS Bail Bonds owner Paul Schuder, who was involved in reducing the bail amount, explained their side of the issue on their site, which includes the story of McIver’s release. It was also published on Fox 4 News when McIver Jr. was released on June 14.
“This is within the law. After not being indicted within 90 days, McIver Jr. was entitled to a more reasonable bail amount, which the court decided was $17,000. It’s the way the system works. Everyone is entitled to a fair case, no matter the nature of the charges, everyone is treated with the fairness representative of the legal system. This case is no different.”
Over the last couple of years, police officers have been under a new level of scrutiny for what many have said is the use of excessive force, causing increased investigations against police departments and uncovering scandals and corruption. This resulted in more convictions for officers in a short amount of time than ever in the history of law enforcement.
This has also caused the polarization in communities that are either for or against police officers, increasing fundraising campaigns and even drawing it into politics in the news media.
During this time, the media has also turned grand jury indictments into prime-time television ratings, where police officers have usually had all charges against them dropped no matter how severe the incidents might have been, often creating an outrage in communities and in social media.
The ability to turn those decisions over has never been successful.
Soon after the initial decision prior to the refiling of charges, according to the Ft Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth police sergeant Marc Povero made a statement on the decision.
“To say that the officers of the Fort Worth Police Department are disappointed in the grand jury’s decision is an understatement. We believe that the acts of Mr. McIver should be heard in a public forum before a jury of his peers.”
The source also got a statement from McIver’s grandmother and mother who applauded the decision but also — when told of the refiling of charges — expressed disappointment, saying that it was wrong, and stating that McIver Jr. was not the type of person to open fire at the officers.
The family has also expressed concern over officer Matt Pearce’s condition and said that McIver Jr. felt bad about it as well.
CW local news reported on officer Pearce’s recovery. He not only started off the Firestone 600 IndyCar race as the grand marshal but was also given a motorcycle after the officers pooled their money together for it, saying it would help his recovery.
It has been reported that police officer Matt Pearce is now home but his recovery will take months.
[Image by Ken Lund via Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0]
