WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:01.590
- [Kalyn] Hi, my name is Kalyn Womack,

2
00:00:01.590 --> 00:00:03.360
and I'm a staff writer at The Root.

3
00:00:03.360 --> 00:00:05.010
This weekend, I'm taking you to Detroit

4
00:00:05.010 --> 00:00:07.740
to explore the shooting of
Aiyana Mo'nay Stanley-Jones

5
00:00:07.740 --> 00:00:09.663
on this episode of Small Town Horrors.

6
00:00:12.750 --> 00:00:15.450
In the wee hours of May 16, 2010,

7
00:00:15.450 --> 00:00:18.240
seven-year-old Aiyana Mo'nay
Stanley-Jones was sleeping

8
00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:20.730
on the couch while her grandmother
watched her crime shows.

9
00:00:20.730 --> 00:00:21.870
On the outside peering in

10
00:00:21.870 --> 00:00:23.730
were about a dozen masked officers,

11
00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:25.890
part of Detroit's Special Response Team.

12
00:00:25.890 --> 00:00:27.930
Suddenly, they threw a flash-bang grenade

13
00:00:27.930 --> 00:00:30.180
through the window, landing
close enough to Aiyana

14
00:00:30.180 --> 00:00:31.500
that it burned her blanket.

15
00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:33.330
Officer Joseph Weekley led the squad,

16
00:00:33.330 --> 00:00:34.470
bursting through the front door

17
00:00:34.470 --> 00:00:36.120
looking for a murder suspect.

18
00:00:36.120 --> 00:00:38.640
In a matter of seconds, he
fired a bullet at Aiyana,

19
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:41.160
sending a fatal shot to
her head, through her neck.

20
00:00:41.160 --> 00:00:42.330
Initially, the police claimed

21
00:00:42.330 --> 00:00:45.180
Aiyana's grandmother grabbed
Officer Weekley's gun.

22
00:00:45.180 --> 00:00:47.160
Then, they changed the story
to claiming she brushed

23
00:00:47.160 --> 00:00:49.260
against the gun as she ran past the door.

24
00:00:49.260 --> 00:00:51.030
However, Aiyana's grandmother claimed

25
00:00:51.030 --> 00:00:53.190
she was across the room,
lying on the couch.

26
00:00:53.190 --> 00:00:54.480
- [Attorney] Did you knock his gun away

27
00:00:54.480 --> 00:00:56.610
as someone was coming in the room?

28
00:00:56.610 --> 00:00:57.443
- No.

29
00:00:57.443 --> 00:00:58.276
- [Attorney] Did you do
anything to interfere

30
00:00:58.276 --> 00:00:59.760
with the police trying to
execute that search warrant?

31
00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:01.350
- No, I did not.

32
00:01:01.350 --> 00:01:02.940
- [Kalyn] The botched raid
was captured on camera

33
00:01:02.940 --> 00:01:05.400
by the crew of A&E's "The First 48."

34
00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:06.690
Though the tape was never aired,

35
00:01:06.690 --> 00:01:08.640
it instead was used as evidence in a trial

36
00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.020
against the officers.

37
00:01:10.020 --> 00:01:12.480
Both trials in the case
resulted in hung juries.

38
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.560
In 2019, the city settled
an $8.5 million lawsuit

39
00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:17.913
filed by the Jones family.

40
00:01:18.960 --> 00:01:20.040
Tune in next weekend to see

41
00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.690
which Small Town Horror we
visit next at TheRoot.com.