Groups protest, demand justice
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 28, 2016 1:45 AM
Members of several groups from outside Wayne County gathered at the Wayne County courthouse Thursday afternoon to demand that District Attorney Matthew Delbridge prosecute a state highway patrol trooper who fatally shot a black man in Kinston in March.
According to a March report from the state highway patrol, trooper William Hardison, who is white, was responding to a shooting at a Kinston night club when 18-year-old Deriante Miller began running toward him with another man. Hardison reportedly saw that Miller had a gun and fired on Miller after Miller pointed it at him.
After the shooting, the SBI launched an investigation which concluded in mid-July. The protesters organized to demand that Delbridge release the results of that investigation, and to prosecute Hardison. They refuted the police's account of what happened that night, saying they had interviewed eyewitnesses who said Miller did not have a gun. They accused the troopers of planting a gun on Miller's body.
Investigators reportedly recovered two weapons from the site.
"We are dealing with human beings here, this is not just paperwork," said a protester who would only identify himself as Anthony D., reading from a prepared statement handed to him before the event.
Don Cavellini, co-chairman of the Pitt County Coalition against racism, called Hardison an "assassin" who used his badge and gun to kill black people. Hardison was involved in another incident in 2010, when Hertford County man Clayton James died after Hardison shot him with a taser.
In a letter delivered to Delbridge's office, the protesters demanded the release of all materials involved in the investigation, including statements, audio and video clips and investigation notes of any kind. The 12-point list of demands also called for ballistics reports from Hardison's gun, as well as the registration number, model and identification number of the gun allegedly found near Miller's body.
The letter asked that the information be sent to Michelle Miller, Deriante's mother, who did not attend the protest. The protesters claimed that Delbridge had called Mrs. Miller to dissuade her from coming to the protest.