Slip-Up on Police Radio Tied to Death of Wrong Man

A Sheriff’s Department investigation into a deputy’s fatal shooting of an unarmed Hawthorne man he mistook for the robber of a nearby liquor store is focusing on how an incorrect description of the suspect was broadcast over the police radio, officials said Thursday.

After expressing the department’s regrets over the “tragic death” of 30-year-old Marcus Donel, the chief investigator of the incident said a preliminary review has cleared the deputy who pulled the trigger.

Deputy Patrick Maxwell’s actions in the shooting Tuesday night “were based on all the information he had available at the time,” said the investigator, Lt. Joe Brown.

But Brown said he wants to find out how the description of the robbery suspect changed from “Mexican” to black in two radio transmissions only minutes apart.

The second, inaccurate broadcast led Maxwell to follow Donel’s car, which he spotted within two blocks of the liquor store. Donel is black.

Sheriff’s officials said that when Donel was stopped in the driveway behind his apartment, he acted belligerently and appeared to reach for a gun, prompting the deputy to shoot him. But no gun was found.

The family of Donel, who worked as an investigator and courier for a law firm, was devastated and outraged by the shooting, according to Winston McKesson, a lawyer representing the family. Donel is survived by a common-law wife and two daughters, ages 11 and 10, from a previous relationship.

“It’s really to soon to say whether it was racially motivated,” McKesson said of the shooting. “My information is that there were no black deputies on the scene. One has to question whether the robbery was used as a subterfuge to justify the stop” of a black man.

The Sheriff’s Department on Thursday released tape recordings of a phone call reporting the liquor store robbery and subsequent radio communications.

Calling authorities on the 911 emergency line at about 9:50 p.m., Jim Cheong, owner of Capri Liquor described the robber as a male “Mexican,” about 18 years old, wearing a black shirt and black pants, carrying a small revolver. Cheong said he did not see or hear a car.

Patrol Car on Way

The 911 operator assured Cheong a patrol car was on the way.

Moments later, a sheriff’s dispatcher made a broadcast report of the robbery--heard by patrol cars in the area--that mirrored Cheong’s description.

Heard next was a broadcast apparently made by a deputy in a patrol car. The deputy suggests that another car cruise the area while “we’ll try to get a more, uh, better description for you.”

The deputy and his partner subsequently interviewed the store owner, then broadcast the incorrect description of the suspect as, “One male black, 17 to 18, 5-6, 125, wearing all black, and a black baseball cap.”

Cheong, in an interview, insisted that he consistently described the robber as “Mexican.”

Sheriff’s officials said that, in addition to trying to determine how the mistake was made, they are checking Cheong’s assertions that, after the shooting, one deputy “kept talking to me, like he was trying to persuade me I said black.”

The subsequent confrontation stemmed from the fact that Donel, although about 5 foot 9 and 160 pounds, was a close match to the last description broadcast, Brown said.

Donel’s stepbrother, Terry Curd, was also in his car, a white Cadillac. Following the car, Maxwell radioed for a back-up unit.

‘Suspicious Movements’

“A significant factor in the tragedy,” Brown said, was Donel’s “suspicious movements” after Maxwell ordered him from the car.

Donel, Brown said, had “partially complied” with orders to lie down and had “his hands on the ground.” Donel spoke “a stream of obscenities,” Brown said.

“He was ordered to extend his arms to his side. Instead, he drew one arm close to his body, rolled to that side, and appeared to be reaching for a handgun. Deputy Maxwell was very concerned for his safety, for the safety of others, and fired one round, striking Mr. Donel in the chest.”

Three other deputies at the scene also had their guns drawn, Brown said, but none fired.

Brown said a private citizen who witnessed the incident confirmed deputies’ report of “suspicious movements.”

McKesson, the Donel family’s lawyer, says Curd’s account conflicts with the sheriff’s. Thus far, McKesson has advised Curd against talking with investigators and reporters.

Maxwell is temporarily reassigned to desk duties. Officials refused to identify other deputies involved in the incident.