Josh Moon

Montgomery Advertiser

A Montgomery police officer was arrested Wednesday on charges of murder in the shooting death of unarmed black man, while an attorney for the officer called the arrest an effort by city and police officials to stifle protests.

Patrol officer Aaron “AC” Smith was charged with murder in the shooting of Gregory Gunn, Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey announced at a news conference. Gunn was shot multiple times by Smith following an altercation that occurred last Thursday when Gunn was stopped while walking home around 3 a.m. from a neighborhood card game.

Bailey said evidence uncovered in the case, which has been primarily investigated by the State Bureau of Investigations, led to enough probable cause to arrest Smith. What that probable cause is, Bailey declined to say.

“(SBI) investigated this thoroughly and determined that enough evidence was there to constitute probable cause,” Bailey said. “We were in discussions throughout this process and they informed me of their findings and their intentions of making an arrest. We agreed with them.”

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A few hours after Bailey’s announcement, Smith’s attorney, Mickey McDermott, a former MPD officer, called the arrest “a publicity move” meant to head off planned protests at the expense of Smith, who used deadly force only after using non-lethal force on Gunn six times.

“We’ve had protests all over the city – there are people outside of my building protesting right now,” McDermott said. “They have sold out a good officer – a second generation officer whose parents were both in MPD. He was doing his job when a tragedy occurred, but Officer Smith followed protocol and followed his training.”

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According to McDermott, Smith was patrolling the Mobile Heights neighborhood where Gunn, 58, lived with his mother. Before leaving for patrol on third shift, McDermott said Smith was given a “red sheet” that contained a list of crimes in the “red district” he was patrolling. A “red district,” McDermott said, is a high-crime area.

“Because of the staffing issues in this department, under this administration, you have a young, 23-year-old officer out there in a high-crime area on patrol on third shift by himself,” McDermott said. “But Officer Smith accepted this assignment and was doing his job.”

McDermott said Smith stopped Gunn and began a routine search when Gunn “broke and ran, and Officer Smith gave chase.” Over the next several seconds, McDermott said Smith fought with Gunn, used his Taser on Gunn six times and attempted to subdue him with his baton.

“After all of that, Mr. Gunn picked up a weapon and turned towards (Smith),” McDermott said. “He had no choice at that point but to use his firearm to protect himself. It is a terrible tragedy what occurred. But Mr. Gunn bears the responsibility for that tragedy, not this young officer.”

In a phone interview Wednesday night, Bailey said he disagreed with McDermott’s characterization.

“(Smith) did have a choice,” Bailey said. “Why did any of that happen – that’s the crux of the matter.”

Bailey declined to go into details or respond to other specific comments made by McDermott about the altercation between Gunn and Smith. However, he did provide a cryptic clue about the allegations that body camera or dash camera footage of the incident doesn’t exist – a possibility that was first stated publicly during a press conference held by local black leaders on Sunday.

“I’m not going to get into the evidence and what’s there or not there, but I will say that if people paid attention to the press conference (Wednesday), I said that most of the rumors that have been put out there about this case and the different aspects of it are untrue,” Bailey said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Smith’s arrest on Wednesday appeared to somewhat calm growing displeasure between many in Montgomery’s black communities and the police and city officials. Outside of the Gunn home, where Gregory Gunn’s mother, Nellie Ruth Gunn, 87, still lives, a small press conference was held to thank Bailey and the city leaders for their actions.

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At a press conference in City Hall, Mayor Todd Strange said he was unaware that an arrest would be made until receiving a phone call from Bailey a couple of hours beforehand. He called Smith’s arrest “not a great day” in the history of the city.

“From the outset, we said we would follow the facts and let the truth come out,” Strange said. “We still say that today. We trusted the process and this is where it has brought us. It’s unfortunate, but this is a time for grieving for the Gunn family and our sympathies and hearts go out to them.”

Strange said he has reached out to the Gunn family through ministers and hopes to meet with family members in the coming days.

The arrest of Smith was apparently not popular among some in the police community, according to McDermott, who said it was local police officers who donated the money for Smith’s $150,000 bail and a number of them were still donating in order to pay for Smith’s legal bills.

McDermott said the arrest was out of protocol for MPD and the DA’s office, which normally allows a grand jury to determine whether probable cause exists to indict an officer before an arrest warrant issued. Had that process been followed, Smith could have remained on the force and receiving pay.

“Why are we allowing this to take place?” McDermott said. “Why are we allowing an officer to have to go into hiding out of a fear for his life? Why have they deviated so from the normal protocol? This was a publicity move to stop protests. Nothing more.”

Bailey refuted that, saying that when it was determined from the outset that the case would be handled no differently from any other possible murder case, this outcome became a possibility.

“SBI found probable cause and made the arrest,” Bailey said. “That’s how it works for everyone else. These charges will be taken to the grand jury now to get an indictment. Had SBI not found probable cause, there would have been no arrest and it would have gone to the grand jury like all others. It’s just that simple.”

McDermott said he plans to file paperwork as early as Thursday requesting a preliminary hearing in the case. That hearing would likely be held within the next 60 days.