Innocent Young Man Shot Five Times by Police in Rapid City, SD

Innocent Young Man Shot Five Times by Police in Rapid City, SD
Posted by: "Rosepetl5@aol.com" Rosepetl5@aol.com rosepetl5
Mon May 10, 2010 8:34 pm (PDT)





Itis with so much sadness that I post the following articles. Thefirst two are from the Native Sun, Rapid City, SD. They tell thetragic story of Christopher Capps, a young Native man who was shotFIVE TIMES in a misunderstanding with police. As he approached themfor help, the 15 year veteran police officer felt threatened, and heshot Christopher repeatedly.

Whattruly makes this story all the more tragic is the cover up the policeare guilty of. They released an incomplete and factually incorrectstatement to the Rapid City Journal, which is the third story below.The article's author told me she wrote the story based on theinformation she was given. Unfortunately, this is a real case ofhalf the truth is an outright lie.

RapidCity was celebrating a Year of Unity. As if the shooting was notbad enough, the Rapid City Journal portrayed the boy who was killedin a dishonorable way, which has, according to Tim Giago, sent themback to Square One.

Whatwill it take for the hate, the fear, the misunderstandings to cease? South Dakota MUST shine a light on the racist actions taken by thosewho were sworn to protect!

Allit would take is a little effort for the police to get to know thepeople in these communities. The police cannot go on foreverburying themselves in hateful lies while the innocent children areburied needlessly. What they have done is a crime.
ChristineRose

Whowas Christopher J. Capps?

Writtenby Randall Howell, Native Sun News Managing Editor
Thursday,06 May 2010 10:47
UserRating: / 2
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Hewas college-bound.

Instead, Friday, May 7, will likely be theday of his funeral.

“They murdered my son,” said JerryCapps, the young man’s father, who lives in Sunnyside Mobile HomeCommunity with his wife, Jaylene, the young man’s mother.

Thecommunity, where the Capps family has lived for a dozen years, isjust off Sturgis Road, not far north of the Rapid Cityline.

Christopher J. Capps, 22, who died of multiple gunshotwounds on Sunday night at Rapid City Regional Hospital, had beenaccepted by the University of South Dakota – Vermillion.

“Hewas excited about starting this fall. He was planning for it,” saidCapps’ mother, Jaylene Capps. “He was going to study computeranimation,” said his mother.

“He really loved that kind ofwork. In fact, he’d already done some of it for some big companies– companies that wanted him to do everything from voice-over toanimation coordination,” she said, indicating that his work washands-on.

A 2006 graduate of Stevens High School, Capps’funeral arrangements are with Sioux Funeral Home in Pine Ridge andSerenity Springs Funeral Home in Rapid City. On Tuesday, his parentswere headed to Pine Ridge to plan the funeral of their son.

“We’rejust devastated,” said Capps’ mother about their only child.“It’s been so hard for us. The local news has been so bad aboutmy son.”

Her son, who went to Dakota Middle School and BlackHawk Elementary School, was going to build his college career aroundcomputer science and biology.

“He was really into computers –computer animation,” she said, though Capps participated in sportsand music in his earlier school years. “In high school, he was moreinto them (computers).”

Described as a “very outgoing”young man, Capps was well known around the neighborhood where wasshot in a hail of bullets that may have ranged as high as five or sixshots from Sheriff Department deputy David Olson, a nearly five-yearveteran of the department.

“He would meet anybody at any time.He had a lot of friends here,” Capps said about his son, who livedwith his parents at the time of his death. He also was a walker, asare his parents.

“All of us usually went walking in theevenings,” said his mother. “But we didn’t go with him onSunday evening, though he went anyway.”

It was during Capps’walk, which started about 6:00 p.m. Sunday that things went awry,according to Capps’ father.

“We had a big meal and he hadeaten too much – too many tacos,” said Capps’ father. “Hesaid he needed to walk it off.”

An unassuming young man, Cappswas 6-ft. 1-in. tall and weighed in at about 200 lbs., according tohis father, who said his son had black hair and dark eyes. He wassporting a moustache and beard when he died.

“He just wasn’timposing at all,” said his father, who said his son was beingharassed by two people when law enforcement officials arrived at thescene on Sunday.

“Some are saying my son was wandering aroundknocking on doors on Saturday evening,” said Capps’ father, whois disturbed by what he calls the police cover-up stories about hisson. “That’s not true. He spent the entire evening in the housewith us – all night.”

Capps was up late on Saturday nightand had slept in on Sunday, according to his father, who railedagainst reports that his son was stealing a bicycle at the time ofthe incident.

“He owns a new $600 touring bike,” Capps’father said. “He wasn’t interested in a $45 bike. My son didn’tneed to steal a crappy, cheap bike.”

Capps’ father andmother are convinced that their son continued to approach the deputybecause he was “seeking safety” from the gangers who reportedlyhad been chasing him – an incident that reportedly prompted theinitial police call.

“We love him and we’re going to misshim so much,” his mother said. “The world is going to be a worseplace without him.”

Publishedwith permission of the Native Sun News
www.nsweekly.com

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Sheriff’sdeputy shoots and kills Oglala Lakota man

22-year-olddies after multiple gunshot wounds

ByRandall Howell

NativeSun News Managing Editor

A22-year-old Oglala Lakota man has died of wounds after being shotseveral times at close range by a Pennington County Sheriff’sDepartment deputy.

ChristopherJ. Capps of Sunnyside Mobile Home Community – a rural countyneighborhood off N. Highway 79 (Sturgis Road) about three miles northof Rapid City, died at Rapid City Regional Hospital on Sundayevening, May 2, according to South Dakota Atty. Gen. Marty J.Jackley.

Capps,who allegedly was reaching into his pocket for his cell phone at thetime of the shooting, was pronounced dead at the hospital after theincident, which happened about 7 p.m., according to a press statementreleased on May 2 by the sheriff’s department.

PenningtonCounty Sheriff Don Holloway said that the deputy, David Olson, wouldbe under administrative leave – a standard practice when a lawenforcement officer is involved in a shooting. An autopsy wasscheduled for Tuesday, May 4.

“Thecop murdered my son,” said Jerry Capps, the young man’s father.“He (Christopher) was one of the best people you’d ever meet inyour life. The world will be a worse place without that kid.”

Capps’father said that it was a continuing story in Rapid City, referringto the attempted cover-up of the facts involving shootings of NativeAmericans.

“Itold the cop ‘you shot my son because

hewas brown,’” the father said. “There was no reason for this …no reason at all.”

Capps,who was in a field at the rear of the mobile home community onEverest Road when he was shot, had been pursued by the deputy as partthe officer’s response to a report involving “ganging,” anuncle, Darvis Weston, told NSN. Weston is a graduate of the policeacademy at Artesia, N.M. and worked as a police officer for manyyears.

Meanwhile,Capps’ parents were at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on Tuesdaymaking arrangements for their son’s funeral, which was tentativelyscheduled for Friday through the auspices of Sioux Funeral Home atPine Ridge and Serenity Springs Funeral Home in Rapid City.

SouthDakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation has assumedresponsibility for the resulting investigation of the sheriff’sdeputy involved in the shooting, according to a statement fromJackley, who said that they were doing so at the request of thesheriff’s department.

Thesheriff’s department said it received a report that an “unknownman” in his mid-twenties was assaulting a 15-year-old male. Thattriggered a response that eventually involved nearly a dozen lawenforcement officers and emergency medical technicians – most ofwhom remained at the scene until the early hours of Monday morning,according to witnesses in the community.

Twomales were encountered by the deputy in a field behind theneighborhood – essentially, mobile home units No. 52, No. 53 andNo. 54 – after the reported assault on a teenager. It was unclearfrom Jackley’s statement whether the males encountered by thedeputy involved both Capps and the “assaulted” teenager.

Thenow-suspended deputy did confirm that one of the two males was Capps,who reportedly left the scene on a bike that had been ridden by a15-year-old juvenile. Capps, a graduate of Stevens High School inRapid City, lived with his parents – Jerry and Jaylene Capps – inthe mobile home community. The Capps family has lived in thecommunity for 12 years.

“Hewas very friendly and outgoing,” said his mother. “People aroundhere knew him.”

Jackleystated that the “reported reason” for the officer’s actions(multiple shooting) was that the deputy “was acting in response tothe suspect’s exhibiting (of) threatening and aggressive behavior”to the teenager and the deputy, who is nearly a five-year veteran ofthe Sheriff’s Department.

Again,it was unclear who “the individual” was that Jackley referred toin the statement – the so-called assault victim, a second teenageror whether officers reported that they were one in the same.

Meanwhile,on May 3, a community resident told NSN that she watched the shootingincident unfold. What she didn’t witness was that the college-boundCapps was being “ganged” by two unidentified people.

“Hewas being harassed and was coming to the deputy for protection,”said Capps’ father. Law enforcement reports indicate that theStevens High School graduate was fleeing the scene on a bicycle hereportedly had stolen.

“Myson didn’t need a crappy $45 bike,” the dead man’s father saidon May 4. “He owns a $600 touring bike that he rides only in thesummer months.”

“Thosekids were chasing him, harassing him, ganging him,” said JerryCapps. “He wanted help from the cop. That’s why he kept comingforward.” One of the witnesses said that Capps was within six toseven feet of the deputy before the gunfire began.

“First,we saw the cop (sheriff’s deputy) running in the field,” said thewoman, who declined to be identified for the story. “He was chasingthis guy across the field; then, the guy stopped and turned aroundand came running back toward the cop (sheriff’s deputy).”

Thewoman said that the deputy was “yelling” at the guy to stop andget down on the ground.

“Buthe kept coming toward him, running at first,” said the woman, aformer California resident. “This happens all the time inCalifornia and I moved here to get out of that kind of stuff.”

Asshe described the situation, the gunfire – at least five shots –erupted when the young man was “within six to seven feet” of thedeputy and “facing him (the deputy) straight on.” The woman saidit was still very light outdoors and she was out grilling on the deckof her home at the time.

“Ididn’t recognize the guy who was shot,” she said, indicating thatthe shooting went down beyond a six-board, north-south running,weathered, wooden fence and an east-west four-string, wire-and-postcross fence. “I’ve never seen him in the neighborhood.”

Capps,who was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans at the time, wasn’tsaying anything, but the deputy was “yelling to the guy to stop buthe (Capps) wasn’t listening,” she said, explaining that the youngman came back up out of a “slight draw” just beyond the twofences. The draw to the northeast leads to a lower field set off bymature trees that run northwest by southeast.

Aboutthe only evidence at the scene on May 3 was a foot-long strip ofyellow plastic crime-scene tape tied to the witness’ mobile homedownspout. Only part of the black “Police …” line could be seenburied in the knot that secured it as something of a symbol forSunday evening’s shooting.

Meanwhile,Jackley’s office said that DCI plans to issue a case report andshooting summation to be reviewed by the attorney general, the countystate’s attorney and the sheriff’s department.

Thatcase report is expected to serve as “final determination” on thedeputy’s actions (multiple shooting). No time frame was givenregarding the case report, however. "

Deputyand suspect in fatal Sunday shooting identified
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AndreaJ. Cook Journal staff | Posted: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 6:00 am | (28)Comments
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Manshot, killed by sheriff's deputy west of Rapid City
TheRapid City man shot and killed by a Pennington County deputy Sundayevening has been identified as Christopher J. Capps, 22, according toSouth Dakota Attorney General Marty J. Jackley.
TheSouth Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is investigatingCapps’ death at the request of the Pennington County Sheriff’sOffice.
Thedeputy who shot Capps was identified late Monday afternoon as DavidOlson, a 4-1/2 year veteran of the sheriff’s office.
MajorBrian Mueller of the sheriff’s office said that in accordance withsheriff’s office policy, Olson is on paid administrative leave.
Olsonwas sent to the Sunnyside Mobile Home Community on Everest Roadaround 7 p.m. after a caller reported that a man in his mid-20s wasassaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Accordingto witnesses, Capps attacked the teen in front of his 15-year-oldgirlfriend, then fled on the boy’s bicycle.
Acouple who witnessed the attack, Tony and Tammy Schribner, and theirnephew pursued Capps until he abandoned the bicycle and leapt over afence into an open field.
Olsonlocated Capps running through the field with the Schribners’ nephewgiving chase. According to Jackley, Olson shot Capps when heexhibited “threatening and aggressive behavior” toward the deputyand the Schribners’ nephew.
Cappsdied from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Jackley.
The15-year-old assault victim was treated and released from Rapid CityRegional Hospital Sunday evening, according to the hospitalcoordinator.
Cappslived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, according toPaige Wilbur of the Attorney General’s Office.
Witnessesat the scene Sunday said that someone had been knocking on doors andwandering through the trailer park on Saturday night.
Initialreports on the shooting suggested that Capps threatened Olson with aweapon. Jackley said Monday that he was still reviewing reports andwitnesses’ statements.
“Ihave been on the phone with DCI director (Bryan) Gortmaker, WestRiver DCI supervisor Pat West and Sheriff (Don) Holloway, and wouldlike to give our agents the full opportunity to conduct theinvestigation, Jackley said.
Oncethe investigation is completed, DCI will release a case report andshooting summary, which will be reviewed by his office, thePennington County State’s Attorney and the Pennington CountySheriff’s Office for a final determination.
ContactAndrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com.