a.'??'?? mSSZm WlWHWWWWItiPWIPWPfWPPPWWgl I ?1^?WWII? THE CHRONICLE Volume43,Number25 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, February 25, 2016 EXCLUSIVE Questions surround AG s office BY CASH MICHAELS FOR THE CHRONICLE The former FBI assistant director who reviewed the Winston-Salem Police inves tigation of Kalvin Michael Smith, ulti mately calling it "one of the sloppiest..." he'd ever seen, says he does not under stand why the state attorney general's office does not move for a new trial, given the doubt cast on Smith's guilt in a brutal 1995 assault. Kalvin Smith, 44, has served 19 years of a possible 29-year sentence in prison for the crime. He maintains his innocence. Meanwhile, student supporters of Smith with the Silk Plant Forest Truth Committee [SPFTC] are continuing to blast state Attorney General Roy Cooper for "... evading his prosecutorial responsibil ities" by refusing to join Kalvin Smith's legal defense counsel"... in petitioning the Superior Court to vacate the 1997 wrongful conviction " For its part, the state attorney general's office says it, "... understands the com munity's concerns and we want to work with them on Cooper systematic issues in the criminal justice system. But at this point in the legal process, only a court of law can overturn Kalvin Smith's conviction and release him from prison." Again, supporters are asking Attorney Geperal Cooper to join Smith's defense in petitioning the court for a new trial to accomplish those very goals in the face of incontrovertible evi dence that Smith was falsely convicted for a crime they say he did not commit. The state attorney general's office insists that,"... our office has a duty to represent the state in this particular mat ter ...," but supporters of Kalvin Smith counter that the duty of Attorney General Roy Cooper and his office is to seek the truth and justice, not uphold false convic tions. Chris Swecker, the man whose 2012 review of the Kalvin Smith case uncovered substantial evidence to cast serious doubt on Smith's conviction, apparently agrees with the SPFTC. Swecker had been with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a special agent since June 1982, serving in field offices See AG on A3 ?? t, Photo by Tevin Stinson City Council Member Dan Besse, police Lt. Delray Anthony, community activist Yusef Suggs-el, Lt. Marcus Sutton, community assistance liaison Chris Mack and Judge Denise Hartsfield participate in the Building a Safer Community Forum on Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Malloy Jordan East Winston Heritage Center. Community seeks answers regarding police BYTEVIN STINSON j THE CHRONICLE , < Sunday afternoon, Feb. 21, at the Building a Safer , Community Forum, dozens of concerned citizens gath ered at the Malloy Jordan East Winston Heritage Center j to discuss issues they may have with law enforcement | officers. While a variety of city officials participated in the . forum, including City Council members, judges, and community activists, many of the questions were direct id at Winston-Salem Police Department Lt. Delray \nthony. With the recent spike in the number deaths of civil ians in police custody, many wanted to know what the protocol is for firing a weapon at a suspect. Brenda Mayes of Winston-Salem said to her it seems is if when officers fire their weapons, they are shooting to kill instead of to commandeer the suspect. "I understand that the officers have a job to do, but why can't they aim below the waist or shoot the suspect in the foot?" she asked. "That's why I am here today, because we arc seeing this happen too often." Anthony mentioned every situation is different and officers must treat it as such; however, he did mention officers are trained to aim at the suspect's midsection See Police A9 School system holds meetings on bonds Some leaders are asking for a new East Winston middle school BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools held the first in a series of bond meetings Thursday night, Feb. 18, at Carver High School. The proposed school bond is more than $325 million and is estimated to increase the county proper ty tax by 3.45 cents or $51.75 a year on a home worth $150,000. Superintendent Dr. Beverly Emory gave the overview of the proposed bond proj ects. "It's been ten year since we've had a bond issued," she said. "Our district has grown over that period of time and ... the facilities have aged." During public com ments, several speakers thought that there was something missing from the already long list of bond projects: a new mid dle school in East Winston. Shai Woodbury, a for mer school board candi date, wanted a new "tradi tional middle school" built in East Winston. She felt that without it, the bond's resources aren't being evenly distributed. Local NAACP President Isaac "Ike" Howard had the same request. He lamented the long bus rides students took to schools outside of their community. He said East Winston doesn't have a middle school, dismiss ing middle schools in the area like Mineral Springs Middle School, which has an arts-based magnet pro gram, and Winston-Salem Prep Academy, which houses a residential middle school. "For numbers of atten dance, it's not," he said about WSPA, which has relatively low enrollment. Donald Dunn, a past state PTA President who serves on the national PTA board, also voiced con cerns about what he said was the lack of a traditional middle school in East Winston. He said they'd like to see a school that makes the community more vibrant. "It would also give those kids an opportunity to reattach to their roots," said Dunn. The proposed bond projects include replace ment schools for Branson Elementary, Lowrance See Bonds on AS I