The mother of a black man fatally shot in the United States by a former white Nashville officer wept, screamed and knocked down a court lectern on Friday as she begged a judge not to accept a statement agreement that she said he was secretly murdered without knowing it, a chaotic scene that briefly delayed an audience.
Former officer Andrew Delke pleaded guilty to murder and will serve a three-year prison sentence for the death of 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick in 2018 as part of a deal with prosecutors.
As part of the agreement, Delke agreed not to pursue parole or appeal the case. However, Delke’s defense team said he will likely serve a year and a half in prison with standard credits.
Prosecuting police officers in the U.S. is difficult because courts and juries tend to side with the police. That may change. Promoted by widespread Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s death in 2020, US Congress is debating police reform proposals.
The audience became volatile when Hambrick’s mother, Vickie, made a lengthy statement as family members and others applauded. Other supporters, outside the corridor courtyard, knocked on the door as support. Delke’s family sat on the other side of the room with the security guards.
“I hate you,” Vickie Hambrick shouted again and again, while shouting desecrations, directing some to Delke and prosecutors.
In a chaotic moment, the mother knocked down the lectern and a computer monitor and relatives hurried to her side. Delke and Judge Mount Watkins were briefly brought out of court.
Delke, 27, was about to face trial on a first-degree homicide charge, but his lawyer announced he would plead guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.
“I hope that this case can contribute positively to the much-needed discussion how police officers are trained and how we want, as a community, police officers to interact with citizens, ”Delke said shortly after filing his petition.
At times, in a broken voice, Delke apologized and said he “deeply felt the damage caused by my actions.”
A group of about two dozen protesters gathered in front of the court, singing “no racist police” to show their opposition to Delke’s plea deal. Others wore T-shirts stating that police officers and whites receive lighter sanctions to commit the same crimes as blacks and browns.
Hambrick’s family said they were not contacted or consulted and that they did not know the claim agreement until it ended.
“I have contempt for this system. I have contempt for that reason. I have contempt for [Fraternal Order of Police]. And I have a special disdain for Andrew Delke. May you all go to hell, ”said attorney Joy Kimbrough, who read Vickie Hambrick’s statement as she cried behind her.
District Attorney Glenn Funk told reporters he informed Hambrick’s family’s attorney Wednesday and spoke with Vickie Hambrick on Thursday. He said he had been in contact with them for three years and knew Vickie Hambrick wanted Delke to be convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Vickie Hambrick enters court where Andrew Delke pleaded guilty to murder for killing his son Daniel Hambrick in Nashville, Tennessee. [Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP]
In accepting the claim agreement, Funk said he made the decision in the best interests of the state of Tennessee. There was a “very high percentage” of chances that the case would have ended in a hanging jury, said Funk, who said it would have meant the excitement seen on Friday in court “would have been played out a hundred times.”
Funk called it “significant progress” that “tonight will be the first night Nashville has a police officer in jail for shooting a black man on duty.”
Prosecutors focused on surveillance footage that captured the shooting, in which Delke stops chasing and shoots the fleeing man.
The Nashville Subway Council has approved a $ 2.25 million deal to settle one civil lawsuit by the Hambrick family.
For legally blind Vickie Hambrick, the loss of her only child will haunt her forever.
“My son was my eyes,” Kimbrough said, reading Vickie Hambrick’s statement. “Since he left, things have not been the same and never will be.”
