Pubdate: Sat, 21 Feb 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: Jim Houston, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kenneth+Walker ( Kenneth Walker ) DA HANDS CASE TO STATE Citing Ties to Deputy, Conger Asks Georgia's Attorney General to Take Over District Attorney Gray Conger announced Friday neither he nor his staff will handle the case involving the shooting death of Kenneth B. Walker by a Muscogee County deputy sheriff. The move came only hours after Conger received the long-awaited Georgia Bureau of Investigation report on Walker's death. He has asked Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker to take over the case, Conger said. The sole reason for requesting an outside prosecutor is to avoid the appearance of bias or favoritism in a case that already has stirred the emotions of the community, Conger said. "The citizens of this community should believe and feel that justice has been served. This case has had a negative effect, and the resolution of this case requires a prosecutor who can be assumed to have no interest in the outcome," he said. "This decision was made after long and hard consideration and discussion among my office staff and other law enforcement professionals whose opinions I value," said the prosecutor. Although he or members of his staff could take on the case, Conger said the ties that have developed over the years linking him or some staff members to the former Muscogee County deputy who shot Walker could lead some to question any outcome that might result, he said. Night of the Shooting David Glisson shot the 39-year-old Walker during a stop along Interstate 185 shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 10. Before being stopped, Walker and three friends -- Warren Beaulah, Anthony Smith and Daryl Ransom -- had been riding in a gray GMC Yukon seen leaving an Armour Road apartment under surveillance by Metro Narcotics Task Force agents, according to official accounts. All four men were ordered from the vehicle. During that process, Walker was shot. An autopsy report shows he received two gunshot wounds to the head, Muscogee County Coroner James Dunnavant said. Walker died at The Medical Center during lifesaving attempts by doctors. No drugs or weapons were found in the Yukon or on Walker or the other three occupants. Glisson was on paid administrative leave from the sheriff's department until Thursday, when Sheriff Ralph Johnson announced the deputy had been fired. Explaining Decision Among the links Conger cited as reasons for seeking an outside prosecutor are Glisson's almost 20-year tenure as a deputy working cases with local prosecutors, Glisson's instruction on firearms practices and techniques to some staffers, and Glisson's stints as a member of the court detail protecting the courtrooms in which prosecutors practiced. "I didn't want to do it," Conger said of his decision to relinquish the case. "I do believe it's in the community's best interest to have it handled by someone who cannot be accused of having any interest in the outcome." Although he hasn't read the six-volume GBI report, which will remain sealed and locked in his office's vault until an outside prosecutor is appointed, the district attorney said he has his own opinion as to what the next step in the Walker case should be. "I would expect it to be presented to the grand jury, based on what I know of the evidence and what the community knows," Conger said. Although his office's removal may cause a month's delay or even more in taking the case forward, it's a price that should be paid in order to assure that no hint of impropriety or favor is attached to the ultimate conclusion -- no matter which way the case may go, he said. "Our hearts go out to the Walker family," Conger said. Baker to Act on Letter Although Conger made his verbal request to the attorney general's office on Friday, no action will be taken by Baker until he receives Conger's letter officially stating that request, said Russ Willard, a spokesman for the attorney general's office. The department receives such requests monthly from district attorneys around the state, Willard said. Baker's response depends on the circumstances, but includes these options: . Baker could prosecute the case himself or appoint someone from his staff. . A district attorney from a nearby judicial circuit could be appointed. . A qualified attorney who is not a prosecutor could be appointed. "Usually, if the case is outside of the Atlanta metro area, the attorney general appoints a district attorney from a nearby jurisdiction," Willard said. "It's too costly for him to send someone from this office." Upon receipt of Conger's letter, Willard said Baker will "act as expeditiously as possible." The Reaction The attorney general's office also received a call Friday from state Rep. Calvin Smyre, D- Columbus, who had been notified by Conger that he was requesting an outside prosecutor for the case. Smyre, who has spoken out on the case on behalf of the county's African-American elected officials, said his call to the attorney general was only to convey the urgency that is felt in Columbus. "In light of all that has occurred, I'll request that he expedite his decision," Smyre said. "We don't need this case to linger any more than it has." The Columbus lawmaker said he respects Conger's decision. "It appears to be the proper move," Smyre said. "He expects the attorney general to select someone of neutrality." Like Smyre, Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, hoped Conger's move won't slow down the process. "This needs to move quickly," Harbison said. "If the district attorney is doing this to be fair, then I applaud him. I hope the attorney general will move expeditiously because we need this to be over. We must get on with it." Some other community leaders concerned about the delays already endured since the Dec. 10 roadside shooting added their support for the district attorney's request. Columbus Branch NAACP President Ed DuBose said the decision is "a good move" and shows Conger wants the same thing as the NAACP -- a fair and independent investigation. "... The NAACP feels comfortable that the process is at least moving and some action is taking place," DuBose said. Columbus Councilor Julius Hunter said Conger's decision eliminates the possibility someone could "second-guess" any outcome of the case, including the possible exoneration of the deputy who fired the shots that killed Walker. "If that happened, there was always the chance of somebody playing Monday morning quarterback and saying the DA was not vigorously pursuing the case, and that if he had it might have had a different outcome," Hunter said. Mayor Bob Poydasheff, who was in Charleston, S.C., for a memorial service for his brother-in-law, also applauded Conger's decision. "We respect the wisdom of the district attorney and think he's made a good decision, and we support him in it," Poydasheff said in a response relayed through Ed Wilson, executive to the mayor. Jack Key III, chairman of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, said it's sad to realize there'll be further delay of a case that needs a prompt resolution for the community's sake, but he's supportive of the district attorney's decision. "If he felt this was the right thing to do, I trust it was," Key said. Dwayne L. Brown, the Montgomery attorney representing Yukon occupants Beaulah, Smith and Ransom, said Conger's decision to turn the case over to the state attorney general's office is "long overdue." Brown said he has verbally and in writing asked since Jan. 5 for the district attorney to recuse himself and appoint a special prosecutor. He's not questioning Conger's decision, only suggesting "the public would not respect a probe that was investigated by people who work with each other," the defense attorney said. "In cases of this magnitude, it's been customary to get a special prosecutor involved simply because you can't have entities investigating other entities with whom they have had past relationships," Brown said. The GBI report was delivered to Conger's office shortly before 10 a.m. by Special Agent Chris Hosey, accompanied by Agent Dan Robertson. They carried a nearly 18-pound, white plastic bin filled with stacks of binders containing the findings from the agency's two-month long investigation. Hosey presented a brief oral summary of the agency's findings to Conger, but offered no recommendation. "It will be up to him to decide if there's any prosecution," Hosey said. "If it ever goes before a grand jury, then of course, we would play a role, if called upon." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake