Protest Planned Over Indictment Of Man Who Accidentally Killed Cop During SWAT Raid

A rally is planned for Feb. 23, 2008, in Chesapeake, VA, to protest the indictment of Ryan Frederick for the death of a police officer killed when a SWAT team raided Frederick's home. The raid was based on an informant's incorrect claim that Frederick was growing marijuana.

The Virginian-Pilot reported on Feb. 12, 2008 ("Frederick Supporters Plan Rally Outside Chesapeake Jail") that "Frederick has been held at the jail since his arrest following the Jan. 17 shooting of Detective Jarrod Shivers, 34, a father of three. He is charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm and first-offense possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. Shivers, an eight-year police veteran, was shot while executing a drug search warrant at Frederick's home in the 900 block of Redstart Ave., in the Portlock section of Chesapeake. Police said Shivers was attempting to enter the suspect's home when "shots were fired from inside the residence," striking the detective. Frederick, in a jail interview with The Virginian-Pilot, said he did not know it was a police kicking in his front door and fired his .380-caliber handgun at what he thought was an intruder. A special prosecutor from Northern Virginia has been appointed to handle the case. Paul Ebert, the commonwealth's attorney from Prince William County, was appointed when Chesapeake prosecutors removed themselves from the case to avoid any perceived appearance of bias."

According to the Virginian-Pilot, "Supporters of Ryan Frederick, the man accused of fatally shooting a city detective, are planning a march and rally Feb. 23 at the city jail where the 28-year-old is being held without bail. The rally is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chesapeake Correctional Center, 400 Albemarle Drive. Frederick is expected to appear in Chesapeake General District Court two days before the planned rally for a bond hearing."

The case has had reverberations well beyond Virginia. As Victorville, CA Desert Dispatch noted in an editorial on Feb. 12, 2008 ("Unnecessary SWAT Raids Put All Parties At Risk"), "Right now, in Chesapeake, Va., Ryan Frederick is in jail, charged with murdering a police officer. On Jan. 17, a police SWAT team converged on Frederick's home after an informant told police he was growing marijuana, according to the Virginian-Pilot. Based on this information, the police organized an evening raid. Frederick, who was apparently asleep, said he thought somebody was trying to break into his home. The circumstances are not fully clear, but he ultimately shot one of the officers as they broke down his front door. The officer later died. The police did not find a marijuana-growing operation in Frederick's house. He was growing tree saplings in his garage apparently. He had a slight amount of marijuana for recreational use, a misdemeanor. His first one. According to the Virginian-Pilot, Frederick was afraid because somebody had broken into his garage three days before the police raid, which may well explain the source of the informant's claims. As a result, an officer is dead and a man who believed he was protecting his home from an intruder may stand trial for it. The community is coming out in support of Frederick, but it's a tragedy all around."

The Desert Dispatch wrote that "SWAT raids should be intended as a tool of last resort, when lives are endangered and there is no other way for authorities to safely enter a home or building. Even in the appropriate circumstances these raids can be deadly for all involved. A SWAT officer was killed last week in the Los Angeles area in a raid trying to stop an apparently mentally ill man who killed three members of his own family. When authorities misuse these raids – for whatever logical reason – to execute search warrants, they put themselves and sometimes innocent people at risk."