Stories

This symbol indicates a story that has won an award. Click on the story’s headline for more information.

For slain officer’s family, it’s still ‘very, very hard’ Eric Freeman’s mother was wrapping his Christmas present when got the news: Her son, a Huntsville police officer, had been fatally shot in the face during a traffic stop. This story recounts the night when Freeman was shot from his heartbroken family’s perspective. It printed on the one-year anniversary of his death.

One killed, five hurt in pursuit This crash devastated the community and stunned Redstone Arsenal authorities. The secure Army base has a mutual aid aggreement that allows other law enforcement agencies to enter its gates, but its officials began to rethink that agreement after one of their own engineers died in the chase. Also see the follow-up special investigation, “Deadly Decisions.”

Deadly Decisions: How the arsenal crash unfolded  Immediately following the deadly police chase chronicled in the story above, I requested a series of documents from the Huntsville Police Department. Several officers had told me (off the record, unfortunately) that the chase was unnecessary and continued for much longer than it should have. I asked for a series of documents related to the chase and past pursuits in hope of uncovering the minute details that would change everyone’s perception of the crash.

A day’s toll is six pit bulls The Huntsville animal shelter euthanizes six pit bulls a day because the shelter won’t take the chance of letting a family adopt a potentially dangerous dog. This Sunday package takes a closer look at the breed and the people who own these dogs, including a man who uses them to visit the elderly and spread the Gospel.

Officer shot, is ‘very serious’ Huntsville police officer Eric Freeman was fatally shot in the head during a traffic stop in mid-December. The shooting happened not long after all other reporters and editors left for the night. I was cleaning my desk when I heard the call: “Officer down; shooting in progress!” This story was done within the hour.

Police ‘hurting inside’ This is the “Day 2″ story. Officer Eric Freeman died early the morning after he was shot. Freeman was the second Huntsville police officer to die in the line of duty in a two-year period, and only the eighth in the department’s history.

Where does your traffic fine go? Since I spend at least an hour a day in the public safety complex (which includes the police station, jail and municipal court), I often hear complaints like this: “Oh, that cop just needed to make some money, so he wrote me a ticket.” I decided to look into the traffic ticket fines and write a story about where the money goes. To my surprise, the largest percentage goes to a jail project that is over budget, past its completion date and wrought with structural problems.

‘Nothing that we could have done’ During the final day of Huntsville’s air show, a gust of wind — later determined to be a microburst, or a strong wind that blows directly toward the ground — uprooted several tents, one of which housed 5-year-old Josiah Miller and his family. An air conditioner in the tent fell on Miller and killed him at the scene. Huntsville International Airport authorities refused to comment until later in the week, and the public was pointing fingers at the company that set up the tents. This “day 2″ story gave the owner of the tents a chance to speak about the accident.

Bullets don’t deter suspect A six-foot fence, three dogs, 385 pounds worth of teenage boys and three gunshot wounds to the buttocks didn’t stop this alleged burglar from breaking into three homes one night in March. I called the homeowner who shot the man, and she added a little color that the police couldn’t provide. The visual of a woman weilding an umbrella and then a gun is both humorous and frightening. I love these stories, because sometimes we just need a good laugh. Ridiculous criminals are a good place to start.

Father is charged in boys’ deaths Just hours after police discovered a pair of half brothers, ages 10 and 13, stabbed to death in their home, officers arrested the 10-year-old boy’s father. This brutal stabbing shocked neighbors and shook up two schools.

Together in life … and death This story chronicles the lives of Antwan Green and Fredrick Thomas Jr. after Green’s father allegedly stabbed the two boys to death. Dozens of friends, family members and teachers spoke at the joint funeral. Unlike many funerals, this one was fraught with anger and confusion.