There were no bad guys in the police-involved shooting of a Decatur man who called 911 for help, said the prosecutor who announced this week no charges would be brought against the officer who killed Kevin Davis in his own apartment.
“It was not your typical police shooting case,” said DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James. “A lot of people could find themselves in the same situation.”
Davis’ only mistake, according to James, cost him his life.
“Everything changed when he doesn’t put his weapon down,” he said.
But did Officer Joseph Pitts, who said he twice ordered Davis to drop his firearm, give Davis enough time to respond, considering the chaotic scene outside the apartment’s front door? James said he thinks so, but the evidence is a bit murkier.
“It’s a judgment call. We weren’t there,” James said. “We’re not in the position of second-guessing discretionary decisions by police officers.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained the 911 tape from Dec. 29, 2014, chronicling Davis' plea for help for his girlfriend, April Edwards, who had just been stabbed by a roommate. It's clear on the 911 audio that 16 seconds elapses between the shooting of Davis' pit bull, which caused him to leave his bedroom, revolver in hand, and Pitts' shooting of Davis.
“That would mean Davis had nine to 13 seconds to encounter Pitts at the front door before the second round of shots were fired,” the district attorney’s report states.
It’s an estimation Mawuli Davis, the attorney for the Davis family, rejects.
“Their calculation is off,” said Mawuli Davis, who plans to conduct his own investigation into those disputed 16 seconds.
During that time there are variables that may never be known. For one, did Davis have his gun on him when he heard the gunshots in the hallway, where Pitts had just shot his dog. Or did he have to retrieve it from a closet or chest of drawers? How long did that take?
According to the district attorney, the only witness, April Edwards, was intoxicated and unreliable.
“She told two different stories,” James said.
Mawuli Davis said Edwards was still in the bedroom with the phone when Davis was shot. Pitts told investigators she appeared with Davis in the doorway. They were haranguing him about shooting the pit bull, said Pitts, who was about 15 feet down the hallway.
On the recording, you can hear Davis react to that shooting, but the phone doesn’t capture anything clearly until the next round of gunshots.
Soon after, Davis is heard saying, “He shot me. I can’t move my leg.”
He was shot in the chest, abdomen and arm. Davis died two days later at Grady Memorial Hospital.
In a video interview with DeKalb's CSI team, Pitts said when Davis did not comply with his second command to drop the gun he thought "he's not going to drop the gun."
“I was scared for my life,” Pitts said.
Pitts’ gun was pointed at Davis throughout their brief confrontation. Davis’ held his revolver by his side.
“Actions are faster than reactions,” James said. “The officer had no choice, as I see it.”
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