The Eagle – by Maggie KielyHEARNE — For many of the 150 Hearne residents who showed up for a march and rally following the fatal shooting of a 93-year-old woman by a police officer, Thursday was about putting an end to years of accepting what they call unfair and unequal treatment by police.
“We can’t bring Ms. Golden back, but we can turn a tragic murder into a positive message to Hearne police — ‘We won’t stand for it any longer,'” said Hearne native Dewayne Jones.
Lifelong Hearne resident William Foster III spoke to those gathered across the street from Brookshire Brothers moments before a short march took place to the police station, telling them: “We can’t just keep sitting around accepting what’s going on with this town. It’s time for a change.”
As the large group, which consisted mainly of African-Americans, but included whites and Hispanics, marched down Second Street and around the corner to the station, participants shouted in unison: “What do we want? Justice!” and “No justice, no peace!”
The crowd came together outside the department as a protest was led by Houston activist Quanell X, demanding the termination of Officer Stephen Stem for not only having killed Pearlie Golden this week, but also for his fatal shooting of 28-year-old Tederalle Satchell in December 2012.
The sentiment was echoed by Hearne Mayor Ruben Gomez, who was welcomed with applause when he arrived near the end of the rally, and afterward told the media he plans to recommend Stem be terminated during a City Council meeting Saturday.
Stem, who is currently on paid administrative leave, has been with Hearne police since July 2012, and prior to that spent a year with Lott police and nearly three years as a Bryan officer. He was licensed as a peace officer in 2008 and received his advanced peace officer certificate in August 2013.
There was no sign of any Hearne officers during the rally and no police vehicles parked outside the department.
Police Chief Thomas Williams refused requests for comment after participants had dispersed.
Few details have been released by police so far about what happened between Stem and Golden the evening the elderly woman was killed by more than one bullet.
Stem and another Hearne officer, Chris Witzel, responded to a call about an armed woman in the 1400 block of Pin Oak Street at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. When they arrived, Golden “brandished a firearm,” and then was shot by Stem several times, according to a press release from the department.
Robertson County District Attorney Coty Siegert, who will present the case to a grand jury at the completion of an investigation by the Texas Rangers, said based on the preliminary investigation, Golden was shot after being told to put the weapon down and not following the command.
He said there is no evidence that she fired any shots, but a claim that she pointed her gun at someone is under investigation.
Siegert described the community as “mournful and upset.”
Jones said he and other Hearne residents are grieving and angry, adding that he’s tired of what he characterized as “constant brutality” from the police.
Department history
The relationship between Hearne police and many residents, particularly the black community, has been tense for the past couple of decades, but hasn’t always been that way, Jones said.
“When I grew up in the ’80s, we were comfortable with the police,” Jones said. “Today, kids run from the police. We used to run to them.”
According to an Eagle story quoting former Hearne police chief Mike Fisher, the first shooting of a civilian by a police officer in the city’s history occurred on Aug. 2, 2001. Golden’s death marked at least the fourth use of deadly force by a Hearne officer.
During the 2001 shooting, a 16-year veteran with the department shot and wounded a man in the arm who, according to police at the time, refused to put down what officers believed was a .45 semi-automatic handgun. The gun turned out to be a BB gun, according to the Eagle story, and the officer was later no-billed by a grand jury.
More than a decade later, on July 21, 2012, Sgt. Stephen Yohner fired at and hit a 20-year-old Hearne man, striking and injuring his knee.
What led to Yohner shooting Benny Carroll Jr., who had never been in trouble with the law and had worked as a clerk in the Hearne police department prior to the incident, is still not clear and attempts to talk to police about the incident were not successful.
Yonher and other officers were responding to a call of a burglary and heard gunshots as they arrived on scene. Yohner encountered Carroll while searching the perimeter of the home they were dispatched to, according to authorities at the time.
Carroll told The Eagle in August 2012 that he and a friend had stopped inside a vacant home out of curiosity. Realizing police were outside, he exited the home and immediately heard a female officer yell “freeze,” which he did. Carroll said he then heard two gunshots and took off running out of fear.
While running, Carroll said in the 2012 interview, he heard gunshots and froze to cover his head. That’s when a bullet hit him, he said.
According to Carroll, the female officer asked him after he was shot where his gun was, but he did not have a weapon on him.
Yohner — who’s been with the department since 2011 and before that had served as Bremond police chief for a year — was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Texas Rangers, but was back on patrol by December 2012, when Stem’s first fatal shooting took place.
Based on what was released by officials after Satchell was fatally shot on Dec. 30, 2012, Stem and several other officers were responding to the Columbus Village Apartments in reference to a large crowd in the parking lot and were informed by dispatch en route that shots had been fired from a white vehicle carrying three people.
When officers arrived, they spotted the vehicle and the three people matching the description from dispatchers, and subsequently “Stem was involved in a shooting resulting in the death of one subject,” according to the press release issued by Hearne police after the incident.
A gun that didn’t belong to an officer was located on the scene, the department reported.
The case was one of the first as district attorney for Siegert, who was sworn into office Jan. 1, 2013, replacing longtime former District Attorney John Paschall.
Siegert said the Texas Rangers handled the investigation, which was turned over to him and presented to a grand jury that determined Stem shouldn’t be criminally charged for the shooting.
According to Siegert, Satchell was spotted with a gun at the apartments and chased behind the building by one of the officers. As Stem rounded the corner behind the building, he saw Satchell holding a gun and refusing to put it down as the other officer was directing him to, prompting Stem to shoot.
Johnnie Demeritt, one of Satchell’s aunts who grew up and still lives down the street from Golden’s home, told The Eagle Wednesday that the family is skeptical that Satchell was armed when killed.
With police refusing to comment, it was not possible to ask them to respond to Demeritt’s concerns or any questions about previous instances.
It’s expected that members of Hearne’s black community will attend Saturday’s council meeting, most of which will be held in executive session when council members will be briefed on the investigation of Golden’s death.
Any vote by the City Council regarding disciplinary action against Stem will be taken publicly.
Next Wednesday, Quannell X plans to return to Hearne for a town hall meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at St. Emanuel’s Baptist Church to talk about how the community can come together to help quell tensions within the town.
“I feel good about what happened today,” Debra Terry, a 45-year-old Hearne woman, said after the rally. “This is not about racism, this is about justice and fairness.”
“…the family is skeptical that Satchell was armed when killed.”
The police made darn sure he was armed AFTER he was killed. Old story there. I think it’s about time to disarm the police otherwise people are going to realize that the cops are more likely to kill you than help you and start to get vengeful.
“We can’t bring Ms. Golden back, but we can turn a tragic murder into a positive message to Hearne police — ‘We won’t stand for it any longer,’” said Hearne native Dewayne Jones.”
Prove it…
Start shooting back.