0 CASE SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT . Printed: 07/11/2017 16:54
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Dneville Police Department OCT-E: 16002 7 5 0

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Case Status: Case Mug Status: Occurred: 04/12/2016
Offense: DEATH REPORT

Investigator: THORNTON, J. C. (E003156) Date Time: 04/14/2016 09:24:25, Thursday
Supervisor: (0) Supervisor Review Date Time: NOT RE VIE WED
Contact: Reference: Follow Up Narrative

On 04/12/16, Capt. Carter, Det. Hendrix, and I (Det. Thornton) responded to the Goodyear plant, 1901 Goodyear
Blvd, in reference to an industrial accident. Upon arrival, we were escorted to the #5 banburry area where I saw a male
lying face down next to the waste water pit under the banburry. I Spoke with an employee, Ronnie Setliff, who stated
that the victim?s name was Charles Cooper, aka. ?Skinny", and that he had been changing the skimmer rope used to
pull oil off the top of the waste water before it is discharged into the city?s sewer. Setliff continued to say that multiple
people had been looking for Cooper when he went missing, and that Brian Shore had been the person who found him. I
spoke with Brian Shore, who told me that everyone had been looking for Cooper and that he (Shore) had come down to
the banburry to look for Cooper. When Shore shined his light on the water pit, he was able to see the top of Cooper?s
head ?oating in the water. Shore then noti?ed other personnel and a ?Man Down? call was sent out. Shore stated that
there had been a lot of steam comin up from the water, due to it being at boiling temperatures, and did not initially see
Couper due to the lack of visibilityionnie Setliff, Bryan Shore, Bill Williams, and Rodger Rigney all assisted in
getting Cooper?s body out of the pit. They initially used a hook to grab Cooper?s overalls and were ?nally able to get a
rcpe around Cooper?s ankles and hoist him out of the pit. The Goodyear ERB team also responded and assisted in the
recovery.
After seeing the crime scene, I spoke with Sammy Lee Richardson, the area manager that evening. Richardson stated
that he came into work at 1 am and saw Cooper at the computer a little after 1 am. Richardson said that he knew that
the skimmer rcpe had been broken for 2 days and had told Cooper to replace the rcpe on the skimmer. At
approximately 2:30 am, Richardson saw that the rope had not been replaced yet. Sometime between 3:30-4:00 am
Richardson came back through the banburry and saw that the rope had not been replaced and Cooper was nowhere to
be found. That was when Richardson began looking for Cooper. Richardson stated that employees began looking for
Cooper and it was not till the ?Man Down? call came out at approximately 6:00 am that he realized what had happened.
I asked Richardson to explain to me the purpose and Operation of the pit. He said that the pit pulls water from the
banburry, which has oil mixed in with it. The water then goes to the water pit and a skimmer rope pulls the oil from off
the trap of the water before it is sent to the city? 3 sewage system by a sump pump. That normally there is an electric
sump that pumps the water from the it to the waste line, but the electric pump on the #5 banburry had been broken for
months and a pneumatic pump had on used to pump the water out. When the electric pump broke, it was removed
and left a large hole on top of the pit. There was a metal cover plate, which was removed prior to recovering Cooper?s
body, but there was still a huge hole eft directly over the pit. (A diagram of the pit is attached to this report) The steam
combined with the large amount of on the t0p of the metal plate covering the water pit produced a low visibility and
slick environment.
After speaking with Richardson, I connected back up with Crime Scene, Det. Hendrix, and Jennifer Vernon (the plant
Safety cell, (434)791-9122 work. We all met in a conference room and discussed the case.
Crime Scene officers stated that the body had been sent to the office for autopsy and the scene processed. I
explained to CSSU Off. Willard and Cannaday that I had spoken with Capt. Carter and that we needed to take

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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