FBI probe into fatal shooting by Pinellas deputy

[Judi Lynn]

Published Wednesday, May 25, 2005

FBI probe into fatal shooting by Pinellas deputy

The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
The FBI has launched an investigation into the death of a teenager who was shot twice in the back by a Pinellas County sheriff's SWAT team member during a drug raid.

The agency wants to determine whether authorities violated the civil rights of Jarrell Walker, 19, who died April 12. Black community leaders have raised questions about the shooting, and eight police cars were damaged when a protest at a city park turned violent May 8.

"This is what we've been asking for, hoping for," Walker's mother, Wanda Walker, told the St. Petersburg Times. "We wanted an outside agency to look into this. I'm just shocked they did do it, and I'm pleased."

St. Petersburg NAACP president Darryl Rouson asked for a review of Walker's death in a May 11 letter to the FBI after Pinellas prosecutors concluded the shooting was legally justified. Deputy Chris Taylor, 33, who shot Walker, has been involved in two other shootings since joining the force in 1998.
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http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050525/APN/505250598