No Indictments in Black Undercover Police Officer's Death - Killed by Fellow Mount Vernon Cops

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A grand jury has voted not to indict the four policemen involved in the fatal shooting of an off-duty officer who was making an arrest on a downtown street, a police union official said Wednesday.
The officer's mother, however, said she still believes her son was "executed."
"I feel in my heart he was executed by the Westchester County Police Department," said Felita Bouche, after she was notified of the grand jury's decision.

Sgt. Michael Hagan, president of the county police union, said he was told by the district attorney's office that none of the officers were indicted in the killing of Mount Vernon Officer Christopher Ridley.
Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for District Attorney Janet DiFiore, would not comment pending a news conference later in the day.

Ridley, 23, was killed Jan. 25 after he saw a beating under way and tried to arrest a suspect.
As he chased the man, he ducked into the Westchester County office building and called for help. Four county officers emerged, apparently unaware that Ridley was a policeman, and saw him holding a gun on the suspect.

They may also have heard the gun go off during a struggle between Ridley and the suspect.
Witnesses said the four officers shouted at Ridley to drop his gun, but he did not obey, possibly because he did not hear them. The officers fired several shots and Ridley was killed.

Ridley was promoted to detective after his death.

Hagan said Detective Robin Martin and officers Jose Calero, Frank Oliveri and Christian Gutierrez were relieved to hear of the grand jury decision, although they had been "confident that they did everything they were supposed to do."

"These officers can now start moving on with their careers," he said.
Hagan said there was no celebrating and added that the lack of an indictment "shouldn't take away from the fact that Detective Ridley still acted heroically on the street."

Of the four officers, one is black, one is white and two are Hispanic. Soon after Ridley's death, his pastor called it "an outrageous execution of a young African-American" and the Rev. Al Sharpton questioned whether Ridley would have been shot if he were white.

But there was no apparent rancor at the Mount Vernon Police Department's mournful memorial ceremony, where Ridley's badge numbers were retired. The police chaplain, the Rev. Richard Dixon, said Ridley "gave his life so we may come together." [MORE]