The Monongalia County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed John Stewart Jr. did not have his bodycam on at the time of the Pentress shooting.
The investigation into Stewart’s death is over, Sheriff Perry Palmer said. The April 17 shooting was presented to the Monongalia County grand jury, which declined to indict the deputy, he said.
Prosecutor Perri DeChristopher said, “All of the evidence from that incident was presented to the September grand jury, which resulted in no indictment being returned.”
Palmer has not identified the deputy who shot Stewart. He said it is the department’s policy to not name the officers involved in shootings.
“It gets to be a question of his family and everything involved in it,” Palmer said. “Safety of them and everything. That’s the biggest issue.”
According to 911 logs, a deputy responded to the call by Stewart’s sister, Jessica. About 15 minutes later, the deputy reported shots were fired and called for an ambulance.
The Dominion Post submitted several Freedom of Information Act requests to the sheriff’s department seeking bodycam footage related to the shooting. The first request was for the footage recorded by the officer involved. Subsequent requests sought the deputy’s footage specifically during the time of the call. All the requests until the most recent one, submitted on Oct. 30, were denied due to the ongoing investigation.
As a result of the Oct. 30 FOIA, Palmer said the camera’s battery was not charged at the start of the deputy’s shift so his bodycam recording stopped at 4:37:28 p.m., during a call at Marjorie Gardens, the day of the shooting.
The deputy was dispatched at 6:22 p.m. to the domestic dispute call that ended in Stewart’s death.
A department investigation was conducted and it was “handled internally,” Palmer said. He would not elaborate on what punishment, if any, the deputy received.
According to the department’s bodycam policy, deputies are responsible for inspecting and testing their cameras before every shift to ensure they are properly functioning. If there is a problem, a supervisor should be notified.
Deputies should use the camera to record “all contact with citizens while in performance of their official duties, according to the policy. Examples given include traffic stops, any emergency response, Miranda warnings when feasible, vehicle searches and inventories, domestic violence incidents and more.
“NOTE: When in doubt, record it,” the policy states.
Possible punishment for body camera policy violations range from a verbal warning to termination, “depending on the severity of misconduct and at the discretion of the sheriff.”
The department reviewed its bodycam policy following the shooting but no changes were made, Palmer said.
Prior to being issued a body camera, deputies are required to complete online video training and must read and acknowledge the department’s current bodycam policy, Palmer said.
The Dominion Post was told the internal policy and procedure review was complete and the deputy involved in the shooting was back to work on May 15. He had not appeared on the daily reports since April 17, but 911 logs show he worked May 15.
Stewart had a folding knife with a 4-inch blade and made a viable threat against the deputy before he was shot, Palmer said.
In a press release on April 18, Palmer said Stewart refused verbal commands, caused a confrontation requiring the deputy to use pepper spray and pulled a knife on the deputy causing an immediate threat to the deputy, who then discharged his service weapon.
In the 911 call, which was obtained by The Dominion Post through a FOIA request, Jessica said her brother threatened “to stab me and then the cops if any cops come to get him.”
John Stewart Sr. said his son’s death certificate states he was shot twice — in the heart and lungs.
The official medical examiner’s report and autopsy report are not complete yet, according to Palmer.
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