Long cleared in death

It was a long time coming for former sheriff's deputy Christopher M. Long. For the family of Peyton Strickland, it was a bitter blow that compounds the pain from the death of their son.

The decision Wednesday by a New Hanover County grand jury not to indict Long, 35, on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the Dec. 1 shooting death of Strickland cut both ways. Observers said the unusual action by Judge Michael Beale to allow Long to offer a statement to a grand jury, and Don Strickland to speak before the panel about his son, may be precedent-setting.

It has been an emotional roller-coaster ride for Long, whose eyes welled with tears as he stood outside the courthouse surrounded by family members. It's the second time a grand jury heard evidence in the case. An incorrectly marked indictment form filled out by the foreman of the first grand jury in December led Long to believe he had been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder. But it was a mistake.

District Attorney Ben David turned the case over to the state Attorney General's Office in February, and the latest grand jury deliberated about nine hours over three days before the foreman checked the "not true bill" box Wednesday morning and handed the indictment form to Beale.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper issued a statement later in the day: "This was a tragic event for everyone involved. The grand jury has spoken and we do not anticipate any further criminal proceedings by our prosecutors in this matter."

That was music to the ears of Mike McGuinness, who with colleagues Thomas Hicks and Carter Lambeth represented Long.

"Two bites at the apple are enough," McGuinness said.

Long declined to comment, as did Don Strickland.

"We're pleased with the outcome. It has been very difficult for all concerned. We had faith in the system and in God," said Harry Long, Chris Long's father.

The Strickland family also issued a statement.

"Our unarmed 18-year-old son, Peyton, was killed when Chris Long, a deputy sheriff, fired three bullets from a submachine gun through the front door of Peyton's house while he was answering the unlocked door. The failure of the grand jury to indict Long on any charge compounds our family's tragedy," the statement said.

Family spokeswoman Joyce Fitzpatrick said Don Strickland and his wife, Kathy, are "devastated" by the grand jury's decision not to indict Long.

"They're trying to pull themselves together," she said.

Long was a member of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team, which was serving an arrest warrant for Strickland and another man in connection with the November robbery of two Sony PlayStation3's from a University of North Carolina Wilmington student, who also was assaulted.

In a statement presented to the grand jury, Long said Strickland and another man sought in connection with the PlayStation robbery, Ryan Mills, "were expected to be armed with firearms and dangerous," a conclusion drawn from photographs on a Web site showing Mills and others brandishing guns. The photos were downplayed by Strickland's friends as a joke. Mills and another man, Braden Riley, pleaded guilty earlier this year to robbery-related charges in connection with the crime. Charges against Strickland were dropped after his death.

Long said in a statement to the grand jury that a man came to the front door of Strickland's rented Long Leaf Acres home after a deputy knocked, but did not answer the door. Instead, he saw the man inside "dart suspiciously" to the left and heard a loud bang caused by a battering ram manned by another deputy.

Long fired three to six shots from his gun through the door. Strickland was struck twice and died of a head wound.

"I believed the subject had fired a weapon at the team and me," Long wrote in his statement.

Sheriff Sid Causey dismissed Long about a week after Strickland was shot.

Defense lawyers maintained during court motions before the grand jury heard evidence behind closed doors that police officers are insulated from criminal liability in instances where they are required to make a split-second decision to use deadly force.

Two special prosecutors from the attorney general's office argued that Long's position as a law enforcement officer doesn't excuse criminally negligent conduct.

A civil lawsuit from the Strickland family could be filed soon, McGuinness said.

"We would hope we would not have to deal with that, but it is a possibility," he said. "We would hope to see some closure. There has been some divisiveness in the community about this case, and we wish the community would move on as well."

Long is currently employed, but McGuinness would not say where.

Two State Bureau of Investigation agents also appeared before the grand jury for the prosecution, far more standard witnesses for a grand jury than the person under consideration for indictment and the father of the person shot.

"We felt it was important to get Chris' information in front of a grand jury," Hicks said. "I think it's clear from what they saw there is insufficient evidence to indict on any charge. Of course we don't know what went on in the grand jury room."

Grand juries rarely indict law enforcement officers in incidents involving deadly force.

McGuinness said the shooting and its aftermath "has been a tragedy for everybody, including the Stricklands and every law enforcement officer in this state. This is what they fear most. We're just appreciative that the system has worked for a second time."

Staff writer Gareth McGrath contributed to this report.

Ken Little: 343-2389

ken.little@starnewsonline.com