To Larry Lee, Jose Lemus-Rodriguez was not a man rightfully shot to death while trying to harm officers more than a year ago; he was a victim.
And to Larry Lee, the residents of Fort Wayne are now victims as well.
A local businessman with a Harvard law degree, Lee is one of a select few who have watched squad car videos depicting Lemus-Rodriguez’s 2007 shooting death at the hands of Fort Wayne Police Officer James Arnold.
It’s disturbing to him that anyone could think Lemus-Rodriguez did anything that warranted his dying that day, Lee said, and the city’s refusal to release the videos to the public in the aftermath of what it called an independent investigation is nothing short of shameful.
“This is embarrassing,” said Lee, owner of Leepoxy Plastics in Fort Wayne who watched the videos with the permission of Jaime Palma, personal representative for the Lemus-Rodriguez family. “This is embarrassing to the mayor, because I know what role the city has played, at least what I read in the papers, that the city has refused to allow these tapes to be run either by our electronic media, the TV stations or the print media to comment on it. There’s something wrong with that.”
A request to interview Mayor Tom Henry on whether he has seen the videos or whether he had a response to Lee’s comments was denied. City spokeswoman Rachel Blakeman said the mayor does not comment on pending litigation. Lemus-Rodriguez’s family is suing the city, alleging wrongful death.
In a recent guest column for The Journal Gazette, the mayor wrote that the city is withholding the videos out of respect for the Lemus-Rodriguez family. Lee said the videos might make national headlines.
“I’m telling you, and I hate to say this to the embarrassment of our city and the embarrassment of our police department, if this particular video is allowed to be shown, and if it is ever shown, it will warrant national attention,” Lee said. “It is that bad. It is that unprovoked.”
According to police, an intoxicated Lemus-Rodriguez led officers on a chase on the southeast side of town Dec. 23, 2007. The chase ended with his car going onto the curb at Oxford and Warsaw streets. Lemus-Rodriguez – an illegal immigrant whom an officer tried to pull over for running a stop sign before the chase – put officers in danger of being struck by his car when he began to back up, Fort Wayne police later said.
This prompted Arnold, police said, to empty his Glock handgun – 18 rounds – into Lemus-Rodriguez’s car.
Arnold, a rookie officer less than two months into his career and a former Marine who had combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, was put on leave for a time then desk duty. He has since returned to regular street patrol.
A consultant hired by the city to review the case cleared Arnold of any wrongdoing. Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards also declined to charge Arnold with a crime.
Despite the city’s claim, no officer seemed in harm’s way during the episode, Lee said. Lemus-Rodriguez appeared in the videos to be trying to escape instead of trying to ram officers, Lee said.
“There was nobody at the side, in front or behind that car that was in any danger of being hit or run over or anything akin to that,” Lee said.
Lee said he watched three separate squad car videos of varying lengths with faint audio. The videos show an officer – not Arnold – holster his drawn weapon as he approaches the driver’s side of Lemus-Rodriguez’s car, Lee said. Lemus-Rodriguez’s car by then had been blocked in by squad cars to the front and back, Lee said.
As the officer tries to open Lemus-Rodriguez’s door, the car begins to go in reverse, Lee said. Arnold, in front of the car just off the passenger side, immediately fires three shots into the windshield. The officer who tried to open the door recoils with his hands in the air, as if startled by the shots, Lee said.
“It was shocking that even one shot was seen as necessary or warranted under the circumstances,” Lee said.
There’s a pause in the shooting. Arnold then fires more rounds into the windshield, Lee said. Arnold walks methodically toward the car as he fires, Lee said. At some point, the car makes a sharp turn.
There are no officers in the car’s path visible on the videos, Lee said.
“The other thing is there were two police officers behind the car that were in far greater danger of the crossfire from the shots, the 15 total shots by the police officer doing the shooting, than they were by the possibility of being hit by a car in reverse,” Lee said.
One officer standing behind Arnold without his weapon drawn yells either “shots fired” or “stop firing” twice, Lee said.
“It’s scary to think that this particular gentleman would still be on the streets and, quote unquote, enforcing the law,” Lee said of Arnold. “It scares me.”
After the shooting, there is a lot of yelling on the videos, Lee said. At one point he could hear “officer down” being said over the radio transmissions, he said.
Police Chief Rusty York said the videos might cause various reactions among people who view them, but his officers did nothing wrong, he said, and the video shows that. Plus, he said, the outside consultant verified that nothing inappropriate occurred.
“You have officers placed in a situation by a very reckless individual, and they reacted,” York said. “I stand by the officers, and I stand by what the outside expert saw. I’ll go with those people trained in police matters.”
The city has denied The Journal Gazette’s request to view or copy the videos.
Lee said he has followed the case in the media and watched the videos twice at the office of local attorney Mark GiaQuinta, who represents Palma and the Lemus-Rodriguez family.
Lee simply asked to see the videos, and Palma granted his request.
GiaQuinta and Palma have filed a civil suit against the city on behalf of the family. A federal judge overseeing the case ruled this year that the city cannot do anything to prevent GiaQuinta from showing the video to the public or the media, but GiaQuinta is hesitant to do so.
“As a lawyer, I have some other issues about disseminating information that I know is evidence in a case,” GiaQuinta said. “I don’t want the city of Fort Wayne filing a grievance against me.”
Lee said he gains nothing from GiaQuinta or Palma or anyone else by speaking out. He said he is friends with the Henry family and has supported the mayor in the past but believes he has to do the right thing.
His motives, though, are strictly to see that justice is done.
“I’ve never practiced law, this is strictly as a private citizen seeking justice on any number of fronts,” Lee said. “You know, the family (of Lemus-Rodriguez), the citizens of Fort Wayne with a loose cannon of a police officer still on the streets, and the city itself, being open and candid with its citizens, in fact in this case not being so, as far as allowing a video to speak for itself. I have a real problem with that.”
