School slaying suspect -- an officer’s son -- was temporarily freed
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By Ben Schmitt
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — Detroit police are investigating whether a homicide lieutenant gave special treatment to the son of a fellow officer by releasing the teen while two other defendants remained locked up in connection with Thursday’s shootings at Ford High School.
Lt. Steve Walton interviewed and subsequently released 18-year-old Derryck Brantley after the shootings, police said.
Brantley, the son of Detroit police homicide investigator Derryck Thomas, was arrested at his home the following day.
Christopher Walker, 16, was killed and three others were wounded in the attack at Pembroke and Evergreen just after school ended.
Daniel Cherrin, a spokesman for Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., said an internal investigation will determine whether Walton violated any departmental rules by releasing Brantley. Walton has been reassigned to the department’s Western Operations.
Lt. Eugene Goode, president of the Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association, said the decision to reassign Walton cannot be challenged because the homicide section is an exempt unit, meaning officers can be involuntarily transferred at any time.
“It doesn’t sound abnormal,” said Goode, who hadn’t heard about the reassignment.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office authorized charges Sunday night against Brantley, Devon Bell, 18, of Oak Park, and William Morton, 15, of Detroit.
All three were arrested about five hours after the shootings. They were all arraigned Monday in 36th District Court on first-degree murder charges and ordered held without bond.
The investigation was turned over to Attorney General Mike Cox’s office Saturday by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office because the county office regularly works with Brantley’s father on homicide cases.
But any theory that Walton played favorite to Brantley is far-fetched, according to one of his friends and colleagues.
“He’s a seasoned veteran and very experienced and highly intelligent,” said Lt. Charles Flanagan, who works in the Eastern Operations. “I’m assuming that as a homicide lieutenant, he would not kick a person until he had conferred with the homicide section of the Prosecutor’s Office, which frequently requires more evidence. We are constrained with how long we can hold people.”
Attempts to reach Walton for comment were unsuccessful.
Walton’s wife is a lieutenant in the Detroit Police Department’s internal affairs section, but Flanagan said internal affairs would not investigate the matter unless there are criminal allegations.
Police spokesman James Tate said Walton’s actions will be investigated by his superior officers. He said he could not comment further on an internal investigation.
Copyright 2008 Detroit Free Press