Off-duty officer involved in death. Police: Victim tried to steal her car
Raleigh Officer Michelle Peele is accused of shooting and killing Nyles Arrington.
By MANDY LOCKE AND SARAH OVASKA, Staff Writers
RALEIGH -- An off-duty Raleigh police officer shot and killed a man who police say tried to steal her car early Sunday.
Master Officer Michelle Peele was moonlighting as a security guard Saturday night at La Rosa Linda's, a Mexican restaurant tucked off New Bern Avenue, outside the Beltline, that draws patrons for late-night music and dancing on weekends.
Peele, 33, told police she spotted a man shortly before 1 a.m. who appeared to be stealing her private car, which had been parked in the lot in front of the strip-mall restaurant. Raleigh police said Peele shot the man, later identified as Nyles Arrington, 42, of Raleigh. He drove out of the parking lot, struck a parked car and came to rest in a median on New Bern Avenue.
Police would not release further details.
Arrington's family, however, said Internal Affairs investigators told them that Arrington sneaked behind the wheel of Peele's car when she ran inside the restaurant to respond to a call. Then Peele, seeing Arrington behind the wheel of her car, stepped in front of the moving car. Arrington continued to drive toward her; she shot him once in the chest, Arrington's brother-in-law, Tim Williams, said Sunday night.
Doctors at WakeMed Raleigh Campus declared Arrington dead a short while later.
Arrington has an extensive criminal history in North Carolina, including several convictions for financial card theft and possession of stolen goods. Drug and larceny charges were pending against him.
"He was a great guy, but he has some demons," Williams said as family members flooded the living room of Arrington's wife's home in Southeast Raleigh.
A cocaine problem drove Arrington from his family six months ago, said Christi Arrington, his wife of 15 years. He was living somewhere outside the city, she said. The couple had three children together, ages 15, 11 and 8, and Arrington helped raise his wife's older son.
Arrington, who could play any instrument he picked up, loved to record his own music, said Jason Rutherford, Arrington's brother-in-law. He wanted to produce music full time but painted houses and did odd jobs to pay his bills, family said.
Peele joined the force in 1999 and earns $45,850 a year patrolling downtown Raleigh on a bicycle. Women who answered Peele's phone Sunday morning and evening said the officer had no comment. They did not identify themselves.
Police spokesman Jim Sughrue refused to say whether Peele was wearing her uniform, whether she shot Arrington with a department-issued weapon or whether Arrington was driving off when she shot him. Raleigh police guidelines prohibit officers from shooting at moving vehicles in most circumstances.
"The safety of innocent people is jeopardized when a suspect is disabled and loses control of his or her vehicle," stated a memorandum from Raleigh Police Chief Jane Perlov dated Aug. 25, 2004, to all personnel.
The policy does allow officers to shoot at a moving vehicle if they think their lives are in direct danger.
But the policy gives this guidance: "An officer should not intentionally position himself or herself into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Whenever possible, officers should take reasonable steps to get out of harm's way if a vehicle is moving toward them."
Sughrue also wouldn't say if Arrington was armed. An official chronology of the events will be released in five days after an internal investigation, Sughrue said.
The State Bureau of Investigation also is investigating the incident, standard procedure when an officer uses deadly force.
...
Peele's job is part of a city ordinance requiring some nightclubs to hire licensed security guards to monitor late-night revelry. Until this summer, the jobs went solely to off-duty Raleigh police officers. After nightclub owners lobbied the city to relax the rules, the town changed the policy to target problem clubs.
The revised policy, which went into effect this month, also allows state-licensed security guards -- not just police -- to handle the late-night shifts.
Nothing in the ordinance specifies what force, if any, is appropriate when apprehending trouble-makers, said Thomas McCormick, Raleigh's city attorney.
but possibly more difficult to justify the shooting if the thief was further away!
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