Pubdate: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA) Copyright: 2004 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/enquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: MURIEL TAN NO DETAILS LIKELY TO BE PUBLIC SOON The completion of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's probe into the Kenneth Walker shooting and the transfer of those findings to the district attorney's office will not necessarily result in the public release of more details, according to a letter sent by the agency's director to state Rep. Calvin Smyre. In a letter sent Thursday to Smyre, GBI Director Vernon M. Keenan said the case "is considered active and not subject to public dissemination until such time as the district attorney has either concluded the prosecution of the case or made a determination that no prosecution will occur." Keenan's statement came in response to Smyre's request for clarification of the GBI's investigative process into the fatal shooting of Walker. The 39-year-old husband and father was shot Dec. 10 by Muscogee County Sheriff's Deputy David Glisson after Walker and three friends were stopped in a GMC Yukon matching one that drug agents had believed was carrying armed men from Miami. No drugs or weapons were recovered in the vehicle, nor were any arrests made. Keenan's statement, together with previous ones made by District Attorney Gray Conger, suggest the release of a videotape of the incident is unlikely anytime soon. Various civil rights groups, along with WRBL-TV and the Ledger-Enquirer, have sought release of the tape. Citing state bar rules, Conger said Thursday that ethical considerations prohibited him from "releasing information that might be prejudicial to any possible or subsequent litigation" in the case. Smyre has said a delayed release of the tape would "not be good for the community." "For those who work in public policy, it would behoove us to try and work together on this," he said. "That's what I'm hoping for. And I'm giving everyone the benefit of the doubt." In addition to the state investigation, a parallel investigation by the FBI is ongoing. Once completed, the FBI's findings will be forwarded to the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. The results from the FBI's inquiry will also be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice for review, said Selby McCash, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop. "Congressman Bishop was advised by the Justice Department that the FBI was investigating and that attorneys from the civil rights division in the U.S. Attorney's office will review the results of the investigation and determine what, if any, action should be taken at that point," McCash said. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart