A public feud between the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Pleasant Grove Police Department continues after allegations that the sheriff’s office SWAT team refused to help police during a standoff last week.
Sheriff Mark Pettway on Tuesday held a news conference to refute allegations against his office, claiming they received erroneous reports of a hostage situation and then offered to use their negotiators to peacefully talk out the barricaded burglary suspect rather than “kick in’' the front door which he said Pleasant Grove police officials requested.
Pettway called public statements by Pleasant Grove police a “character assassination” and said he believes politics is coming into play.
Following the standoff, Pleasant Grove Police Chief Corky Knight publicly questions the sheriff’s office response in interviews with AL.com and WVTM 13.
“We’re going to make sure don’t end up in a Breonna Taylor situation,’’ Pettway said. “There was no warrant. We don’t do no-knock warrants.”
Following the press conference, Pleasant Grove police Capt. Danny Reid refuted some of what Pettway said.
“They came with a standing order not to engage. They didn’t get on the scene and make a tactical decision not to engage,’’ Reid said. “I don’t want anyone calling into question that we were out there just looking for someone to kick a door without legal process. We had that.”
Reid said they’ve always been able to call on the county’s SWAT team but said whatever politics are coming into play may force them to looking into forming their own SWAT team.
“We need to know that we have them as our button to call and we don’t know that we have that right now,’’ Reid said.
The ordeal began last Wednesday when Pleasant Grove police responded to a burglary after a citizen called to report a man – later identified as 50-year-old Darryl Demetrius Miles - breaking into a home and leaving with guns.
An officer made contact with Miles but was unable to safely apprehend him before Miles ran into his own house, locking himself inside. As back-up units arrived on scene, a perimeter was set up and detectives immediately went to work on a search warrant.
Pleasant Grove police requested SWAT assistance since Miles was armed and barricaded.
Jefferson County’s SWAT team and helicopter Star 1 responded to the scene.
Pettway on Tuesday said that after assessing the circumstances surrounding the request, sheriff’s office patrol command determined that the appropriate response would be to attempt to negotiate with the suspect, as there were no outstanding warrants on Miles.
It was also determined that there was no legal justification to force entry into the suspect’s based on the information they had at the time, Pettway said.
After the search warrant was obtained, Vestavia Hills negotiators were able to ultimately talk Miles into surrendering without incident. A gun that had been stolen in the burglary was recovered.
“Once Pleasant Grove refused the services offered by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, excess personnel were released from the scene,’’ according to a sheriff’s office written statement. “Two SWAT commanders and two negotiators remained at the scene until the replacement agency (The Vestavia Hills Police Department SWAT team) requested by Pleasant Grove Police arrived on the scene.”
“At no time did the Jefferson County sheriff’s Office ever refuse services to the Pleasant Grove Police Department,’’ according to the sheriff’s statement. “Ironically, the services that were performed by the agency who was requested by Pleasant Grove were the exact services offered by the sheriff’s office.”
“The SWAT team leader told Pleasant Grove we could not breach the door but that our negotiator was on the way to talk the suspect out of his house. When it was told to Pleasant Grove Police Department that we could not breach the door, they said, ‘We don’t need you,’’' Pettway said.
Reid agreed said there was no arrest warrant yet but said they had obtained a search warrant from a Bessemer Cutoff judge which allowed them to go in to get the suspect. Formal charges usually come later.
“We told them we needed help conducting a search warrant, ‘’ Reid said. “We told them exactly what it was. This whole yelling out ‘hostage,’ never did that come out of our mouths.”
“To say we didn’t have any legal means to go in there, we had a search warrant,’’ Reid said. “That’s exactly the right way.”
Reid said Pleasant Grove has their own crisis negotiators. “I need the ability, if it becomes necessary, to be able to go in, hit the house and conduct the search warrant,’’ he said. “They said, ‘We can’t do that,’ and I said, ‘Fair enough. Not mad at you.”
Reid said that is when they decided to call Vestavia Hills to come help them instead.
Vestavia Hills PD SWAT also brought negotiators because the negotiators work with their SWAT team.
“I have been in law enforcement over 30 years, and I have never heard nor seen any agency openly criticize another agency,’’ Pettway said. “What I have stated here are the facts of the case. I will not let this deter me nor will it stop me from rendering aid to any agency that calls. It just seems like it’s some type of character assassination.”
Reid’s response to that was, “I’ve never seen an agency get there and see they can’t do anything and then kind of throw us under the bus and say we didn’t have a legal means to go in.’’
Miles, Reid said, presented a possible danger beyond that of a property crime because he has a lengthy criminal history, he’s on probation with the potential to go back to prison, and armed. “We had to take it to the next level,’’ he said. “There was a very good chance this property crime would turn into something else and so we called for backup.”
Pettway said he stands by the actions of his deputies that day. “They made the right call,’’ he said.
The standoff ended peacefully shortly before 6:30 p.m. Miles is charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft of property and resisting arrest.
He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 10:10 p.m. Friday and released the following day after posting $16,500 bond.