Doug Ryback: 
Stanley Creal
Posted on 11/23/2004 5:10:44 AM PST by freepatriot32
ELKHART -- A grand jury Monday cleared Elkhart Police Cpl. Doug Ryback of any charges in connection with the shooting death of Stanley Creal, 50, who was killed Oct. 6 as police executed a search warrant.
Ryback said he couldn't comment on the grand jury's decision, citing policies of the police department and a possible internal investigation, common practice in police shootings.
Ryback's relief, however -- and that of several of his colleagues, who spent the day with him -- was evident after the jurors left the Elkhart Circuit Courtroom.
Prosecutor Curtis Hill also said little about the case or the evidence, the presentation of which took about 51/2 hours Monday.
Grand jurors heard from a forensic pathologist, state police detectives -- state police investigated the shooting -- and Elkhart police officers about the events of that night.
Hill did say he believes Creal was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and said after the jury's decision, "There's the inference that there's a belief that (Ryback's) actions were justified."
Hill's chief investigator, Bill Wargo, said Creal indeed was unarmed. "He made a movement which the officers felt put them in danger. (It) led them to believe he was going for a weapon. No weapon was found."
After the shooting, authorities released a few details, saying officers went to Creal's apartment at 230 W. Jackson Blvd.
They got there about 9:30 p.m. to serve a warrant in connection with an investigation into crack cocaine sales from apartment C. Officers forced entry into the apartment after knocking and announcing their presence, according to authorities.
Wargo said state police found that "all of the appropriate procedures were followed as far as the execution of the search warrant. Stanley made an aggressive movement to the officers."
The building has been raided by police a half-dozen times over the last two years in other drug investigations, Wargo said after the shooting.
Ryback is an eight-year veteran of the police department and is president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge. He's been on administrative leave since the shooting, which also is common practice. It's unclear when Ryback will return to patrol duty.
Creal came from Gary and lived at various addresses in Elkhart over the last four years. He had local convictions for theft and shoplifting and had served a prison sentence for battery.
Truth Reporter Tom Dolan contributed to this story.
Contact Justin Leighty at jleighty@etruth.com.
Doug Ryback: Stanley Creal
And I thought he was just a lowly cook. ;-)
Damn. I hoped this was about the Marine in Fallujah.
lol
That's what I was expecting to read when I clicked on the thread.
You beat me to it.
wodlist ping for you
I have no idea if the shooting was justified or not but it would be extremely rare if a citizen shot an unarmed individual and had the same outcome.
No no no you are totally wrong about that I mean equal justice under the law is written into the constitution specifically so we cant have a group of supercitizens that are above the laws that the peons have to live by.So if you shoot an unarmed man all you gotta do is say opps my bad i thought my life was in danger and im sure you ll be aqqquited by a grand juror becasue the prosacuter sleepwalks his way through the case.This is america after all /rant
To happen a second time when he just happened to be on a train when it was hijacked is quite a coincidence.
Well, yeah. IF it was real life, instead of a vehicle to get some writers, a director and some actors a bunch of money. I'm surprised it hasn't happened again! You find a winning formula, stick with it. Right?
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