What Harm Can An Unarmed Guy Do?
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2015 2:12 am
Man charged in Birmingham detective's beating; outrage follows support of attack on social media
A Center Point man with a violent past is now charged with attempted murder in the pistol-whipping of a Birmingham police detective during a traffic stop Friday morning.
Police today identified the suspect as 34-year-old Janard Shamar Cunningham, also known as Janaris Shavar Cunningham. He has at least a half dozen convictions dating back to 1999, and as many arrests in which charges were dismissed during the same time period.
Cunningham is charged in the beating of a detective who is a six-year veteran of the force. Authorities said Cunningham stole the detective's gun and then repeatedly hit him in the head until the detective stopped moving.
Police have not publicly released the name of the detective, but said he was released from UAB Hospital Friday evening without being held overnight. He is now resting at home with his family, said Lt. Scott Thurmond.
It all began just after 11 a.m. Friday when the detective, in plain clothes and an unmarked car, stopped a maroon 2012 GMC Yukon in the 9100 block of Parkway East in the Roebuck Plaza, possibly in connection with some burglaries in the area. He approached the vehicle, and told the suspect to stay in the SUV while he waited for a marked unit for backup.
Birmingham Police Officer Assaulted In Eastern Birmingham Lt. Theophilus Smith gives an update on a Birmingham Police officer who was assaulted in eastern Birmingham Friday shortly before noon.
Cunningham got out of the vehicle despite the officer's demands, and began to question the detective about why he was being stopped. A tussle followed and the suspect assaulted hit the detective in the head with his own weapon.
The detective issued a plea for all available help over the police radio at 11:15 a.m. The detective was rushed to UAB Hospital, with police blocking off downtown intersections to make way for the detective's arrival via ambulance.
Police chased the SUV to the Roebuck Springs neighborhood about one mile away and set up a perimeter. Nearby W.J. Christian School was put lockdown during the search. Dozens of officers and U.S Marshals were on the scene. Tracking dogs were brought in to help search for a possible third suspect, but authorities later said they believed there was no remaining suspect.
The second man taken in to custody with Cunningham has not been charged with any crime, Thurmond said today.
Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper had this to say about the incident Friday afternoon: "This incident underscores the danger that our officers and others experience every day. I think about the recent murders of the Memphis and Shreveport police officers and recognize we too could have lost an officer today. We ask the community to keep this officer and his family in your thoughts and prayers."
Cunningham has a criminal history dating back to at least 1999, and was just arrested in June for driving without a license . He was convicted in 2011 of disorderly conduct; 2006, second-degree assault; 2003, robbery and assault; 2000, three counts of receiving stolen property; 1999, breaking and entering a vehicle.
In addition to those convictions, Cunningham has been arrested multiple times during the same time period on charges including assault, attempted murder, robbery and menacing, but those charges were dismissed. He also has a string of traffic violation citations.
Not long after the attack, photos began to surface on social media showing the detective lying face down on the pavement. Another photo showed him bloody and kneeling, but awake. In some cases on Facebook, the photos were accompanied by words of support for whoever beat the detective.
That, police say, is outrageous. Officers are angry that any photos were shown at all, but even more so that there were some who mocked the incident. "He was laying there lifeless and people were standing around taking pictures,'' said Birmingham police Sgt. Heath Boackle, president of the Fraternal Order of Police. "If the tables were turned, and that was a suspect lying there, they would be rioting."
There is a continued sentiment that police officers are at war, and Boackle agrees. "You're only going to win a war if you have a good partnership, and right now the local police officers don't have that,'' he said. "The boots-on-the-ground officers across this country are at war, and if we do not have the help of citizens and local governments to stand behind us, we'll never win."
Boackle said officers everywhere are hesitant, given the national climate. "There is a saying that 'he who hesitates is lost' and that's why (the detective) lost, because he hesitated,'' Boackle said. "If the officers on the streets were not in fear of losing their jobs, it wouldn't have gotten to the point it did yesterday. Officers are second-guessing every move because they're afraid they're going to be judged, by the media and by the public."
"If the officer would have shot him, then he would have shot an 'unarmed man.' Instead, he took the gun from the officer,'' Boackle said of Friday's incident. "The officer had every right to shoot him. We're lucky we're not talking about him killing the officer."
A Center Point man with a violent past is now charged with attempted murder in the pistol-whipping of a Birmingham police detective during a traffic stop Friday morning.
Police today identified the suspect as 34-year-old Janard Shamar Cunningham, also known as Janaris Shavar Cunningham. He has at least a half dozen convictions dating back to 1999, and as many arrests in which charges were dismissed during the same time period.
Cunningham is charged in the beating of a detective who is a six-year veteran of the force. Authorities said Cunningham stole the detective's gun and then repeatedly hit him in the head until the detective stopped moving.
Police have not publicly released the name of the detective, but said he was released from UAB Hospital Friday evening without being held overnight. He is now resting at home with his family, said Lt. Scott Thurmond.
It all began just after 11 a.m. Friday when the detective, in plain clothes and an unmarked car, stopped a maroon 2012 GMC Yukon in the 9100 block of Parkway East in the Roebuck Plaza, possibly in connection with some burglaries in the area. He approached the vehicle, and told the suspect to stay in the SUV while he waited for a marked unit for backup.
Birmingham Police Officer Assaulted In Eastern Birmingham Lt. Theophilus Smith gives an update on a Birmingham Police officer who was assaulted in eastern Birmingham Friday shortly before noon.
Cunningham got out of the vehicle despite the officer's demands, and began to question the detective about why he was being stopped. A tussle followed and the suspect assaulted hit the detective in the head with his own weapon.
The detective issued a plea for all available help over the police radio at 11:15 a.m. The detective was rushed to UAB Hospital, with police blocking off downtown intersections to make way for the detective's arrival via ambulance.
Police chased the SUV to the Roebuck Springs neighborhood about one mile away and set up a perimeter. Nearby W.J. Christian School was put lockdown during the search. Dozens of officers and U.S Marshals were on the scene. Tracking dogs were brought in to help search for a possible third suspect, but authorities later said they believed there was no remaining suspect.
The second man taken in to custody with Cunningham has not been charged with any crime, Thurmond said today.
Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper had this to say about the incident Friday afternoon: "This incident underscores the danger that our officers and others experience every day. I think about the recent murders of the Memphis and Shreveport police officers and recognize we too could have lost an officer today. We ask the community to keep this officer and his family in your thoughts and prayers."
Cunningham has a criminal history dating back to at least 1999, and was just arrested in June for driving without a license . He was convicted in 2011 of disorderly conduct; 2006, second-degree assault; 2003, robbery and assault; 2000, three counts of receiving stolen property; 1999, breaking and entering a vehicle.
In addition to those convictions, Cunningham has been arrested multiple times during the same time period on charges including assault, attempted murder, robbery and menacing, but those charges were dismissed. He also has a string of traffic violation citations.
Not long after the attack, photos began to surface on social media showing the detective lying face down on the pavement. Another photo showed him bloody and kneeling, but awake. In some cases on Facebook, the photos were accompanied by words of support for whoever beat the detective.
That, police say, is outrageous. Officers are angry that any photos were shown at all, but even more so that there were some who mocked the incident. "He was laying there lifeless and people were standing around taking pictures,'' said Birmingham police Sgt. Heath Boackle, president of the Fraternal Order of Police. "If the tables were turned, and that was a suspect lying there, they would be rioting."
There is a continued sentiment that police officers are at war, and Boackle agrees. "You're only going to win a war if you have a good partnership, and right now the local police officers don't have that,'' he said. "The boots-on-the-ground officers across this country are at war, and if we do not have the help of citizens and local governments to stand behind us, we'll never win."
Boackle said officers everywhere are hesitant, given the national climate. "There is a saying that 'he who hesitates is lost' and that's why (the detective) lost, because he hesitated,'' Boackle said. "If the officers on the streets were not in fear of losing their jobs, it wouldn't have gotten to the point it did yesterday. Officers are second-guessing every move because they're afraid they're going to be judged, by the media and by the public."
"If the officer would have shot him, then he would have shot an 'unarmed man.' Instead, he took the gun from the officer,'' Boackle said of Friday's incident. "The officer had every right to shoot him. We're lucky we're not talking about him killing the officer."
