From the Raleigh News and Observer (11/26/08): A Johnston County judge has blocked the release of tape recordings of 911 calls made just before sheriff's deputies fatally shot a man at his home near Kenly.
Superior Court Judge Tom Lock signed an order Monday afternoonsealing the tapes at the request of the Johnston District Attorney’sOffice. Release of the tapes “could jeopardize the investigation andhinder the process of determining the circumstances of the shooting,”the order said.
Reggie Witcher, 54, died after two deputies shothim Saturday night. A friend of Witcher’s who was at the scene hasdisputed the assertions of police that Witcher shot at the deputiesbefore they fired at him.
Tapes of 911 calls are considered public records under state law unless they are explicitly sealed.
DistrictAttorney Susan Doyle said she thought it was appropriate to seal thetapes until the investigation is completed. Though she wouldn’t commentdirectly on this case, she said that such tapes, if widely distributed,can influence witness statements.
“When key people haven’t beeninterviewed, I don’t think it’s unrealistic for me to ask that thesetapes be sealed for a short period of time,” Doyle said.
News & Observer Senior Editor Linda Williams said attorneys for the paper have requested a hearing today before Lock.
AmandaMartin, an attorney for the N.C. Press Association, called sealing thetapes an “extraordinary measure” that should be used only in the rarestof cases. State law does not allow public records to be sealed solelybecause they are being used in an ongoing investigation.
“There’s nothing in the statute that says this should be treated differently than any other ongoing investigation,” she said.
Thetapes are expected to include two calls that came to emergencydispatchers before the shooting of Witcher. The first caller soughthelp for a woman who had fallen during a birthday party. The secondcame from EMS crews seeking help from law enforcement in dealing with”a highly intoxicated crowd,” according to an incident report preparedby deputies.
The incident report said the deputies “encountered an armed man with a shotgun,” when they responded to the EMS call.
Aspokeswoman for the Johnston sheriff’s office said on Sunday thatWitcher had fired at the two deputies before they shot him. The writtenreport, however, did not mention Witcher firing the shotgun at deputies.
TammyAmaon, the spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the omission was notsignificant. The two-page incident report is only part of a five-pagereport on the incident that includes more detail but has not beenreleased.
“This is just a brief narrative,” Amaon said.
ThomasWayne Mooney, a neighbor who was at Witcher’s party that night, saidthat Witcher was holding a shotgun when deputies approached the housebut did not aim the weapon at them.
Mooney also said the deputies fired at Witcher through a glass storm door.