NAACP seeks federal review of fatal police shooting

The Charles County NAACP is asking the U.S. attorney general to review a police-involved shooting death last month in Pisgah.

Cornelius Maurice Warren, 44, of Indian Head was shot and killed by two sheriff's officers at 3:25 p.m. Oct. 2, after he was pulled over at Nelson Point and Mason Springs roads in Pisgah. He was unarmed.

The attorney for Warren's family, F. Scott Lucas, said the family will file a lawsuit but has not decided whether it will be in federal or state court.

"You should not be killed when you get pulled over for speeding," Lucas said.

During the traffic stop, officers found a large quantity of marijuana in the vehicle in which Warren and an unidentified person rode, police said. A struggle followed, and Warren attempted to grab an officer's gun, according to police. Two of the three officers on the scene discharged their weapons for a total of 11 shots, police said.

"We strongly believe the shooting was aggravated by the officer himself," said William Braxton, president of the Charles NAACP.

Warren had a police record. "Does that mean, because he is an ex-offender, he should be treated differently?" Braxton said.

Braxton and other NAACP members saw a video from the officer's dashboard camera about a week ago and want it released to the public. Because of the ongoing investigation, he would not specify what is on the video.

"If the public could get ahold of the dash-cam video, it would answer a lot of questions," Braxton said.

A search of judicial records found the several charges against Warren were dropped. He was found guilty of violating probation in 2001 in a case associated with fraudulent controlled dangerous substances and distribution charges in 1997.

Sherwin Warren, 42, said his brother "wasn't perfect, but that is no reason to kill a person. He is not the person [the sheriff's office is] portraying him to be."

The officers involved in the incident -- Stephen Miller, 39, a three-year sheriff's officer; Eric Leukhardt, 35, an 11-year veteran; and John Freeman, 36, a 10-year veteran -- are on administrative leave, police said.

Diane Richardson, a Charles County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, said in a statement: "While we understand the family's desire for immediate answers, there is a judicial process . . . which we must follow to ensure a fair and impartial investigation."

An outside laboratory has been hired to examine forensic evidence, and the sheriff's office has been working with the state's attorney, she said. Once completed, the investigation results will be passed to the state's attorney and heard by a grand jury, she said.