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http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/ZONE03/706050422
And a follow-up article:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/ZONE03/70605027
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Reason for driver shooting unclear
Former officer says it was self-defense
By Jessie Halladay and James Wagner
The Courier-Journal
By Jessie Halladay and James Wagner
The Courier-Journal
One was a retired 20-year Jeffersontown police officer, the other a small-business owner who installs equipment for the elderly.
Both men were legally carrying semi-automatic handguns when their argument at a four-way stop erupted in gunfire Sunday afternoon outside a Kroger in Jeffersontown.
Now, 33-year-old Darren Pickerill, a Shawnee High School graduate, lies in critical condition in University Hospital's intensive care unit, with bullet wounds to his left arm, chest and head.
And 50-year-old Richard Koenig, the former officer who says he shot Pickerill in self-defense, is being investigated by the department he served for two decades. No charges have been filed.
"We're trying to give it due diligence," said Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders. "We've talked to a number of witnesses that were in the parking lot."
Sanders said he expects to meet with Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Stengel this week. Stengel's office would decide whether to take the case before a grand jury.
The shooting took place about 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the Kroger parking lot in the Stony Brook shopping center at Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway.
The preliminary investigation indicates that Pickerill pulled up to a stop sign in a black Hummer H3; Koenig rolled up to the same intersection in a tan Jeep, Sanders said.
The men got into a brief argument, which Sanders said apparently centered around who had the right of way. Sanders said it appears that Pickerill pulled into the intersection in front of Koenig as he attempted to turn left and that is when the exchange occurred and the shooting took place.
Neither man had left his vehicle when Koenig fired six to eight times at Pickerill, with several rounds passing through Pickerill's Hummer and striking a nearby National City Bank branch, Sanders said.
"Officer Koenig stated that he saw a weapon and fired in self-defense," Sanders said.
Sanders said the whole incident took about a minute. Arriving emergency workers found Pickerill still in his car. Sanders did not comment on whether Pickerill's gun had been fired.
Roxann Marling, Pickerill's sister, said in an interview yesterday that she'd like to know what happened to prompt such violence.
"There's a lot of unanswered questions and we hope we can get honest answers for them," she said. "It's not worth being in this kind of shape over road rage."
She said her brother is not talking but is clearly in a lot of pain.
A Jefferson County court search turned up no criminal activity or traffic violations for either Pickerill or Koenig.
Koenig joined the Jeffersontown Police Department in 1986 after serving initially as an officer in Houston, Texas. Police did not release personnel records from Koenig's time on the department.
He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Yesterday, shoppers near the Kroger said they were surprised the shooting took place in that area, which they consider safe. But most said it would not impact whether or not they would return there.
"It looks like two oddballs ran into each other," said Larry Curtis, who said he has lived in Jeffersontown for nine years.
Sanders said there were several people in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, and he appealed to any witnesses to report what they saw.
He said he was concerned about the danger to others in the area during the shooting, as rounds passed through the Hummer, eventually striking the nearby bank.
"Any time you have gunfire in a public place you have fear of danger," Sanders said.
Police have begun looking at surveillance tapes from businesses in the area, but Sanders said he didn't know if any of them captured the incident.
Reporter Jessie Halladay can be reached at (502) 582-4081.
Reporter James Wagner can be reached at [email protected].
And a follow-up article:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/ZONE03/70605027
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
UPDATED: 5:06 PM
Retired officer in shooting had disciplinary problems
By Jessie Halladay and Sara Cunningham
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
By Jessie Halladay and Sara Cunningham
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
A retired Jeffersontown Police officer who shot a man Sunday after an argument at a four-way stop had a history of disciplinary problems with the department and was facing a citizen complaint when he retired in February.
During his 20 years as a Jeffersontown police officer, Richard Koenig served at least three suspensions, had four chargeable traffic accidents, twice lost his take-home vehicle and received more than a dozen warnings in his file for violating department policies, according to his disciplinary file released yesterday.
His file also contained about 20 letters of commendation for actions he took during his career.
Jeffersontown Police plan to release the disciplinary record of retired Officer Richard Koenig tonight at 6 p.m.
Koenig, who retired from the police department in February, was involved in a shooting Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of a Kroger off Taylorsville Road and Hurstbourne Parkway.
Darren Pickerill, 33, is at University Hospital with gunshot wounds to his left arm, chest and head.
No charges have been filed in the case as Jeffersontown Police continue to investigate.
The Courier-Journal filed a request for Koenig’s personnel file, including his disciplinary history yesterday, but could not get the file until tonight, after it had been copied.
The shooting happened about 3:30 p.m. Sunday when Koenig and Pickerill came to a four-way stop in the Kroger parking lot at about the same time.
Jeffersontown Police Chief Rick Sanders said a verbal argument followed over who had the right of way, then gunfire erupted in the intersection, leaving Pickerill wounded.
Both men legally had .40-caliber semiautomatic handguns in their possession.
Neither got out of his vehicle, according to police. Sanders did not say whether Pickerill fired his weapon.
Pickerill’s family spoke out about the shooting today during a news conference at the office of community activist Christopher 2X.
“We are confused as to what happened and why a turn at a stop sign is worth shooting someone seven times,” said Roxanne Marling, Pickerill’s sister.
Marling said doctors have not been speaking with certainty about Pickerill’s condition. He cannot speak, open his eyes or move all of his limbs, she said.
Doctors have not determined how many times he was shot and no bullets have been removed because they are trying to keep him stable, Marling said.
There’s a chance that if Pickerill survives, he will face multiple surgeries and could never walk or talk again, Marling said.
She said the family just wants to know what happened.
“It’s easy to say it was self-defense but did it require him to unload into my brother?” Marling said. “He can’t tell us what happened to him so we have to try to figure it out for him.”
Reporter Jessie Halladay can be reached at (502) 582-4081.
Reporter Sara Cunningham can be reached at (502) 582-4335.
