REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
DOVER POLICE DEPARTMENT USE OF DEADLY FORCE

SUBJECT: Terrance Fletcher
OFFICER: PFC Ryan Schmid

DATE OF INCIDENT: August 28, 2015

Dated: May 31, 2016

Scope of the Investigation

 

This is the ?nal report of the Delaware Department of Justice, Of?ce of Civil Rights and
Public Trust, on the investigation of the use of force by Patrolman First Class Ryan Schmid 
Schmid?) of the Dover Police Department against Terrence Fletcher Fletcher?).
Investigators from the Of?ce of Civil Rights and Public Trust examined the crime scene and also
reviewed evidence, reports written by of?cers who reSponded to the scene and witness interviews.
Attorneys with the Of?ce of Civil Rights and Public Trust reviewed the use of force for the
Department of Justice.

Purpose of the Department of Justice Report

The Department of Justice determines whether a law enforcement of?cer?s use of deadly
force constitutes a criminal act. The Department of Justice does not establish or enforce internal
police policies concerning the proper use of deadly force by law enforcement of?cers. Law
Enforcement Agencies are responsible for establishing and enforcing guidelines for the use of
force by their of?cers and for determining whether an of?cer?s actions were consistent with such
guidelines in a given case. This report expresses no opinion whether the of?cer?s actions complied
with departmental policies or procedures concerning the use of force set by the Dover Police
Department or whether, with the bene?t of hindsight, the of?cer could have proceeded differently.

Facts

On August 28, 2015 at approximately 1:00 p.m. a detective with the Dover Police
Department Drugs, Vice, and Organized Crime Unit received a phone call from a con?dential
informant The detective knew the CI and the CI had provided reliable information in the
past. The CI advised the detective that a black male subject (later identi?ed as Terrance Fletcher)
had just left a residence in the area of Division and New Streets in Dover, Delaware. The CI
overheard Mr. Fletcher talking and, based on what he overhead, the CI believed that Mr. Fletcher
was armed with a gun.

The detective, who was off duty when he received the call from the CI, immediately
forwarded the information to PFC Schmid and Master Corporal Turner (?M/Cpl. Turner?) of the
Dover Police Department. PFC Schmid then contacted Senior Probation Of?cer Daniel Stagg
Stagg?), who was also on patrol in the area. All three of?cers are members of Dover Police
Department Safe Streets. All of the of?cers were dressed in black pants and black long sleeve
shirts. The word was written in bold white letters across the front and back of the black
tactical vests worn by PFC Schmid and M/Cpl. Turner. The word was written in
bold white letters across the back of PO Stagg?s black tactical vest. In addition, PO Stagg also
wore a probation and patrol badge on his right shoulder issued by the Dover Police Department.
Each of?cer also wore a fully equipped duty belt.

After receiving the information from the detective, the three of?cers began looking for the
suspect identi?ed by the CI. PFC Schmid and M/Cpl. Turner were partnered in one vehicle and
PO Stagg was in another. After a short time, PFC Schmid informed the other of?cers over the
radio that he thought he saw the suspect standing in front of a house in the 100 block of South New

Street. The three of?cers then developed a plan in which PO Stagg would attempt to approach the
suspect in front of the property on South New Street, and PFC Schmid and M/Cpl. Turner would
position themselves in the parking lot of 120 South Governors Avenue. Based on experience, the
of?cers knew that there was a break in the chain link fence that ran along the parking lot located
at 120 South Governors Avenue, and that suspects ?eeing the area in which Mr. Fletcher had been
observed would run through the alley between 111 and 115 South New Street, through the break
in the fence, and into the parking lot to escape. As PO Stagg approached the property on South
New Street in his vehiclel, he observed the suspect walk from the alleyway on the east side of the
street. Mr. Fletcher made contact with P0 Stagg and ?ed east through the alley toward the
parking lot. PO Stagg stopped his vehicle, got out of the car and gave chase on foot. The foot
pursuit continued down the path between 111 and 115 South New Street. PO Stagg identi?ed
himself as a police of?cer and yelled for Mr. Fletcher to stop, but Mr. Fletcher kept running. As
he was following Mr. Fletcher, PO Stagg observed Mr. Fletcher move his hands to his waistband
in a manner which caused PO Stagg to believe that Mr. Fletcher was armed. PO Stagg, who was
about twenty feet behind Mr. Fletcher, also shouted to Mr. Fletcher to drop the gun.2 Mr. Fletcher
continued to run and crossed from the rear yard of 115 South New Street, through the break in the
chain link fence and into the parking lot of 120 South Governors Avenue. PO Stagg did not
observe Mr. Fletcher throw anything before entering the parking lot through the break in the fence.
When Mr. Fletcher entered the parking lot, PO Stagg heard shots, and he slowed his approach
because he did not know who had ?red the shots.

As planned, PFC Schmid and M/Cpl. Turner were on foot in the parking lot. Cpl. Turner
was positioned next to the fence to the north and right of PFC Schmid. PFC Schmid was positioned
just south of several vehicles parked perpendicular to the fence and deeper into the parking lot.
Due to M/Cpl. Turner?s position, he only observed Mr. Fletcher for a split second as he came
through the break in the fence and then his line of sight was blocked by a parked vehicle. PFC
Schmid ?red two rounds from his department-issued Glock .40 caliber handgun, striking Mr.
Fletcher once in his right thigh. PO Stagg approached through the opening in the fence, saw Mr.
Fletcher on the ground, handcuffed him and started providing ?rst aid. The call for shots ?red was
broadcast by of?cers at 1:18 pm. Of?cers secured Mr. Fletcher without further incident and
continued to render aid until paramedics arrived. Mr. Fletcher was transported to Bayhealth Kent
General Hospital where he was treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his right thigh.

As other of?cers arrived on the scene, PFC Schmid reported that he saw Mr. Fletcher with
a gun, but that he had not been able to ?nd the gun. Of?cers cordoned off the area from the crowd
that was gathering and searched for the gun. During the canvass of the area, Mr. Fletcher?s gun, a
.38 caliber Rossi revolver, was recovered in a grassy area on the other side of the fence adjacent
to the parking lot and just north of where Mr. Fletcher fell after he was shot. The barrel of the gun
was partially lodged in the ground, consistent with the gun having been thrown as opposed to
having been dropped.

 

1 PO Stagg was driving an unmarked Impala.
2 M/Cpl. Turner could not see either Mr. Fletcher or PO Stagg during the foot pursuit but heard
PO Stagg yell to Mr. Fletcher to drop the gun.

During interviews, Mr. Fletcher said that he was standing outside of a residence on South
New Street when a vehicle pulled up in front of the residence. Mr. Fletcher denied knowing that
PO Stagg was a police of?cer but acknowledged that he took off down the alley and into the
parking lot of 120 South Governors Avenue once PO Stagg pulled up in his vehicle. When he
entered the parking lot, he heard one gunshot and realized that he had been shot. He did not see
who ?red the shot that struck him. He recalled hearing one of the of?cers stating, ?He had a gun;
he threw it.? Mr. Fletcher initially denied having a gun but admitted during a later interview that
he had a .38 caliber handgun, loaded with 5 rounds, and that he threw the gun. Mr. Fletcher pled
guilty to Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon on December 16, 2015.

A number of witnesses were interviewed during the investigation. One witness was sitting
in the parking lot in his car with the windows down waiting for a friend when the shooting
occurred. He stated that when he heard the shots he could only see the of?cer and did not see Mr.
Fletcher until after the shooting. He told investigators that he had seen Mr. Fletcher walk through
the same break in the fence just a short time earlier as he sat in his car waiting for his friend. The
witness stated that Mr. Fletcher ?came out of nowhere? and that he believed the of?cer ?didn?t
have choice.? The witness also stated that he did not hear any shouts of ?shoot him? as reported
by another witness3 and did not hear any of the of?cers say the shot was supposed to be a warning
shot, as Mr. Fletcher stated.

None of the of?cers were wearing body cameras and neither PO Staggs? vehicle nor the
Dover Police Department vehicle operated by PFC Schmid was equipped with in-car video. Videos
obtained from the downtown Dover video camera system showed PO Stagg arriving at 111 South
New Street and Mr. Fletcher running as described by P0 Stagg. A video from a nearby business
con?rmed the of?cers meeting to discuss their plan of operation for confronting Mr. Fletcher.
Citizen videos recorded the scene after the shooting occurred but no videos of the shooting were
discovered during the investigation.

Conclusion

After a thorough investigation and review of all statements and reports, it is the conclusion
of the Department of Justice that the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Dover
Police Department PFC Ryan Schmid committed a crime when he used deadly force against Mr.
Fletcher. Section 464 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code generally de?nes the legal use of force in
self protection. It provides, in pertinent part, that ?[t]he use of force upon or toward another person
is justi?able when the [of?cer] believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose
of protecting the [of?cer] against the use of unlawful force by the other person on the present
occasion.? Additionally, Section 465 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code de?nes the use of force for

 

3 One witness stated that the white of?cer chasing Mr. Fletcher yelled, ?He?s coming your way,
shoot him.? That witness did not actually see the of?cer but said he knew he was white. Mr.
Fletcher, however, stated that he heard the person chasing him say ?I?m behind you, bud? and he
realized the person was a police of?cer. Another witness stated that the black of?cer said, ?Shoot
him.? Signi?cantly, Mr. Fletcher did not say that the person chasing him or any of the of?cers
said, ?Shoot him.?

the protection of other persons. It provides that, ?[t]he use of force upon or toward another person
is justi?able to protect a third person when the [of?cer] would have been justi?ed under 464 of
this title in using force to protect the [of?cer] against the injury the [of?cer] believes to be
threatened to the person whom the [of?cer] seeks to protect.?

Under Delaware law, it is PFC Schmid?s subjective state of mind that is of critical
importance in determining whether his use of force was justi?able. The speci?c factual issue is
Whether PFC Schmid actually believed at the time that he intentionally ?red his weapon that such
action was necessary to protect himself or others from death or serious physical injury, so long as
the of?cer was not reckless in having such belief or in acquiring or failing to acquire any
knowledge or belief which is material to the justi?ability of the use of force.

Of?cers were attempting to apprehend a suspect who was believed to be armed with a gun.
PFC Schmid was positioned in the parking lot of 120 North Governors Avenue, and reported
seeing Mr. Fletcher enter the parking lot with a gun. Mr. Fletcher acknowledged that he had a gun
and threw it. He also con?rmed that after he was shot he heard an of?cer say ?he had a gun; he
threw it.?

The investigation of the facts and circumstances found evidence that would support a
defense of justi?cation, if made by PFC Schmid, because he believed that his life and/or the lives
of other of?cers were in danger, and that that belief was not formed recklessly. As a result, the
use of deadly force by PFC Schmid is not subject to criminal prosecution.