August 21, 2020 - 8:03 AM
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - A Massachusetts prosecutor says her office will review the investigation into the 2011 fatal shooting by police of an unarmed 68-year-old Black man during a drug raid targeting his stepson and another man.
Eurie Stamps was shot and killed in a Framingham apartment in January 2011 by the Framingham police SWAT team.
The Middlesex district attorney’s office had previously ruled the shooting an accident and the officer who fired the fatal shot was not criminally charged. The town later reached a $3.75 million settlement with the Stamps family.
Current Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan was not the district attorney at the time.
“The death of Eurie Stamps has had a profound impact on his family, friends and the entire community,” Ryan said in an emailed statement Thursday to The MetroWest Daily News. “We recognize how important it is that the public has confidence in these types of investigations, which is why we are in the process of gathering and reviewing the documents relative to the investigation that was conducted by the previous administration into the death of Mr. Stamps."
A group called #JusticeForEurie has recently held two rallies demanding justice for Stamps.
Selvin Chambers, a spokesperson for the group, called Ryan’s announcement “a good first step.”
Police pledged co-operation with the review.
“The Framingham Police Department will fully co-operate with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in regards to the review of the Stamps investigation,” Interim Police Chief Ronald Brandolini said.
Police, who had a search warrant, went to the apartment seeking Stamps' stepson and another man suspected of selling crack cocaine from the home.
After police broke down the door, Stamps complied with an order to get on the floor.
He was shot in the head by an officer who said he lost his balance when he tripped over some debris in the hallway, causing him to accidentally fire.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020