Mistaken ID case prompts effort

The FBI apologized but said it can't assure that stopping an innocent person won't happen again.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city human relations commission and the local FBI office are working on settling a case of mistaken identity.
The two sides explored ways Tuesday of making police more sensitive to what the people they deal with experience.
The case involves Jesse McQueen, a black city resident.
One December morning last year, McQueen, 26, was driving on Hubbard Road when he got the scare of his life.
The Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, which is overseen by the FBI, stopped his car. He and his car fit the description of a fugitive felon the task force was seeking.
Officers boxed in McQueen's car and jumped from their vehicles with guns drawn and pointed at him. He was taken from the car and handcuffed. McQueen says in the chaos he didn't know the men were law enforcement and feared he would be shot and killed.
Officers let him go, however, when they compared him to the picture of the person they really wanted and realized they had the wrong man.
McQueen wanted to file a complaint about the episode but never heard back from the FBI. Finally he approached the commission for help.
Since then, William M. Carter, the commission's executive director, said he has been unsuccessful in getting information from the FBI.
Primarily Carter wants a written apology for McQueen and documentation that the officers involved all are properly trained for such work.
Carter, who is black, also is concerned about a police comment made to McQueen that such stops happen all the time.
Innocent young blacks are in jeopardy of being shot if such stops happen often or police don't identify themselves, always draw their guns or aren't well-trained, he said.
Carter pointed to a recent court case.
Another case
A federal court jury acquitted a 25-year-old black city man earlier this month on charges filed after a shootout with task force members. The man said the officers didn't identify themselves and that he shot at them in self-defense.
FBI Special Agent John Kane, who heads the bureau's local office, explained to the commission his agency's position.
First, he explained circumstances of the McQueen case:
Officers had a confidential informant with them who mistakenly pointed out McQueen as the wanted man.
Officers drew their guns because the felon was known to carry a weapon and be violent.
Officers were wearing clothes that identified them as police. They always do, for their safety, too, he said. "That rule is never compromised," Kane said.
McQueen was released immediately once police realized he was the wrong man.
Kane apologized on behalf of all the officers involved but said he can't assure that stopping an innocent person won't happen again.
"It's not an exact science," he said. "It does happen. It doesn't happen a lot. It's unfortunate."
If such mistakes happened all the time, there would be many more victims taking their stories public, Kane said.
He also explained officer training and how the task force is put together:
Officers in departments from around the region and FBI agents make up the task force. Only experienced officers are eligible. Their chiefs handpick them. They are interviewed by the FBI and given background checks, too.
Then, officers spend a week training at the FBI school in Quantico, Va. Afterward, monthly training is done.
Kane assured Carter that every task force member gets the same training. He didn't volunteer records, however, saying confidentiality laws may apply.
Kane said he was open to other ideas on resolving the McQueen case, such as making officers more aware of how people feel who are involved in such occurrences.
McQueen said Tuesday he just wants the task force to do its job right so that others don't have the same experience. No innocent person should have to go through what he did, he said.
"It's not even really about me," he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com