CHARLESTON - Five minutes after an ambulance crew wheeled into Robert Webb's driveway and found him lying there with mortal wounds inflicted by two sheriff's deputies, an emergency technician testified Wednesday in U.S. District Court that he was advised any further medical attention was futile. Webb was hit by police gunfire as he stood in the driveway of his Cabell Heights home the morning of July 4, 2006, clutching a semi-automatic rifle with a full banana clip, and a live, 7.62mm round in the chamber.
One key dispute in the federal lawsuit filed by his widow, Mary Webb, was whether Cpl. Gregory Kade and former Deputy John Hajash, both of the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department, issued a warning for Webb to disarm himself and show empty hands.Kade insisted earlier in the trial that he called out, Police show us your hands, to Webb, but two neighbors testified they never heard such an order before the deputies opened fire, Kade with a Remington Model 870 shotgun and Hajash using a 40-caliber Glock handgun. Critical to the case is whether the plaintiffs can prove that the lawmen denied immediate medical attention to Webb while photographs were taken at the crime scene. Harold Burnside, an emergency medical technician with Jan-Care Ambulance Co., testified during the trial's third day that the crew wasn't impeded in approaching the mortally wounded Cabell Heights resident. Burnside said the crew arrived at 1:21 a.m. and he noticed a flowing pool of blood, suggesting to him Webb's heart was still beating and thus he was alive. While heart monitors were installed, he said deputies cautioned him not to cut away bullet holes in the man's clothing. Following protocol, Burnside said a check was made with the regional command, and a doctor advised them at 1:26 a.m., Do not resuscitate. Burnside testified he found it unusual that a medical examiner didn't examine the body until about 90 minutes after Webb was pronounced dead. Usually, in my experience, a medical examiner goes right up ... .he said. Without elaborating, Burnside said he received a number of anonymous calls on his cell phone after the fatal shooting. He said the calls warned him to mind (his) own business, and that he considered them threatening. Detective James Canaday, who supervised the internal inquiry of the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department, said he found Webb''s actions necessitated the use of deadly force, but emphasized he looked into the matter as he would any other homicide. It's not being actively investigated, he said of the case, but it's not concluded. The defense introduced Webb's semi-automatic rifle, along with a banana clip and the live round found in the weapon that night. While Mary Webb and some police officers repeatedly have called it an AK-47, Webb's attorney, Travis Griffith, of Charleston, corrected them on the proper nomenclature, noting it was a ROMARM-CUGAR Model SAR-1.Canaday explained why he found a live round from Kade's shotgun, along with a spent shell, and casings from Hajash's pistol. In the heat of the moment, Kade ejected the shotgun shell, the detective said. When you're in a high stress situation, a lot of times, you do what comes naturally, he said.
Basically, he was fighting for his life. Canaday said the two officers were placed in extreme stress by the nature of the call. It was reported that a man was shooting toward his house, and police didn't know if there were hostages inside, or whether anyone was endangered by Webb's firing of the weapon. They had to imagine the worst and respond accordingly, he told defense attorney Chip Williams.... and they were thinking they might not come out of this. Canaday said his goal in conducting the investigation was to determine if a crime had occurred and that he found both officers cooperative. In fact, he said, Kade insisted on being interviewed only a few days after the incident, but Canaday preferred to give him two more days to settle down from the trauma. It takes a while for the body to recover from the adrenaline flow, the detective said. After conferring with the prosecuting attorney's office, Canaday said he arrived at the same conclusion that no crime had occurred and there was no reason to provide evidence to a grand jury. I didn't find anything that I probably wouldn't have done, the officer told the court. As for the plaintiff's complaint that Webb was denied immediate medical attention, he added, I didn't find that in the course of my investigation. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger recessed the afternoon portion, allowing an alternate juror to keep a doctor's appointment. Early on, Berger cautioned the jury that she expects the trial to last at least seven days.
By Mannix Porterfield E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x1475585110/EMT-testifies-in-police-shooting