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Mother claims she was detained by police after son shot and killed
Mother claims she was detained by police after son shot and killed
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Milwaukee Police Lieutenant confirms with FOX6 News the Milwaukee Police Department has received claims from the mother of a murder victim that she was detained at the scene by police after her son was shot in her home on Wednesday, July 24th.
The shooting occurred just before 11:00 p.m. in the 4300 block of N. 26th Street.
According to police, 21-year-old Derrick Ashford was shot and killed inside a residence after suspect(s) forced their way into the home.
Police are now shedding more light on this incident, after Ashford's mother, Latonia Little reportedly made claims that she was detained at the scene.
"I got upset when they said my son was asking for me and they wouldn't let me in the house. I got upset," Little told FOX6 News.
Police say Ashford was shot by a suspect who had accompanied an acquaintance of Little's to the home to purchase illegal prescription drugs from Little.
Police say Ashford was shot and killed during a struggle for the suspect's gun.
The suspect fled the scene, and Ashford was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Police say Ashford's mother remained at the scene and was interviewed by detectives. Police say Little was able to provide valuable information to detectives on the identity of the suspect, who, according to police, Little acknowledged had come to the house to buy prescription drugs from her.
However, in an interview with FOX6 News, Little denied she was selling prescription drugs.
"Whatever they was coming for, or trying to come for, they were looking for it upstairs. They probably was trying to come for some weed. They probably thought we had weed up in here. That's what I told police," Little said.
Police say during their interview with Little, Little asked officials whether she could leave for the hospital. At that point, police say a detective asked Little whether she would be willing to answer several other questions to help identify her son's shooter. Police say she agreed, and the interview continued.
In an interview with FOX6 News, Little says she asked police whether she could ride in the ambulance to the hospital, but police wouldn't let her.
"I'm asking them if I can go with them. They said 'no, it's the law. No you can't ride with him,'" Little said.
In a statement, a Milwaukee Police spokesman writes:
"A primary distinction between this case and the Darius Simmons homicide last year is that in the Simmons homicide, the victim's mother was not herself involved in criminal activity contributing to the death of her son."
Darius Simmons was shot to death by his next door neighbor, John Spooner. Spooner was recently found guilty in the case, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Some groups called for an investigation after Simmons' mother, Patricia Larry, who witnessed her son’s murder, said she was held in a police squad car at the scene for two hours.
They also expressed concern over Simmons’ older brother being detained at the scene for an outstanding warrant, and officers reportedly leaving Simmons’ home in disarray after searching it on the day of Simmons’ murder.
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn defended the investigation, saying:
“We have one chance at a homicide investigation to get a fresh, uncontaminated, unadulterated statements immediately after the incident, and that is as soon as we get there. We photographed every single room (in the home) that we searched afterwards. Those photographs exist. They’ll be available for examination at trial. They clearly show nobody’s house was trashed,” Flynn said.
In the Simmons case, the Fire and Police Commission deemed officers insensitive, and ruled that allowing Simmons' mother to go to the hospital wouldn't have hurt the investigation -- but police say in this case involving Ashford's mother, things were different because police say Little told them she was selling prescription drugs.
According to a statement from Milwaukee Police:
"The Milwaukee Police Department's Metropolitan Investigations Division follows the policy: The success of our investigations is dependent upon the support, trust and cooperation of our witnesses. While it is critical to gather information in a timely manner, the circumstances of an investigation and the emotional state of a witness should be considered and may occasionally necessitate that an interview be delayed. The determination to delay an interview may only be made by a member assigned to an Investigations Division."