Accounts of Kenly officer, witnesses differ, Johnston DA says

Witnesses tell a different tale from the Kenly police officer charged in the death of a Smithfield man.

Jesse Santifort has actually given multiple accounts of when and why he stunned Alexander Warren Thompson four times, District Attorney Susan Doyle said during Santifort’s first court appearance on Sept. 8. But two witnesses, questioned separately, give the same account, and it doesn’t jibe with what Santifort told investigators, Doyle said.

Thompson, stunned March 3 after a high-speed chase, died three days later at WakeMed in Raleigh. On Sept. 6, a Johnston County grand jury indicted Santifort, 30, on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Santifort first said he stunned Thompson, 37, after the Smithfield man wrecked his truck and ran from law enforcement, Doyle said. Later, Santifort changed his story, saying that when he approached Thompson’s truck, he saw a knife case on Thompson’s side but nothing in his hands. Santifort said he then holstered his gun and got out his stun gun.

The officer said he fired his stun gun when Thompson lunged at him. He stunned him a second and third time when Thompson put his hands near his waist. Another officer at the scene also said Thompson lunged at Santifort.

But two witnesses, traveling together in a car, said they saw the chase in progress and pulled over to avoid it. They said they saw Thompson wreck his truck and Santifort pull over.

Thompson used his left foot to push his truck door open, then put his hands up, the witnesses told State Bureau of Investigation agents, who questioned the witnesses separately. “They said he never got out of the truck, and he never put his feet down on the ground,” Doyle said.

When Thompson opened the truck door and raised his hands, Santifort stunned him and Thompson fell out of the truck, the witnesses said, adding that Thompson “had nothing in his hands and that they saw his palms completely open,” Doyle said.

One of the witnesses then told the other, “That man is killing that man,” Doyle said.

The chase

In court, Doyle painted a picture of an officer too eager to join a chase that began in neighboring Wilson County. Deputies there were monitoring a house as part of a drug investigation when Thompson appeared at the home. When deputies tried to stop him, Thompson fled, according to a report.

Law enforcement pursued Thompson through several towns, including Kenly, where Santifort joined the chase, even though he didn’t know why Wilson authorities were pursuing Thompson. Two minutes after joining the chase, Santifort said he would back off since the chase was entering the Selma town limits, Doyle said, citing radio traffic.

Santifort’s supervisor also called him off the pursuit, and Santifort said he would stop, Doyle said. But 20 seconds later, Santifort said he might have spotted Thompson’s truck, and he resumed pursuit, Doyle said, even though Wilson County deputies had ended their pursuit.

“He has no idea at this point why he’s chasing,” Doyle said, adding that Santifort admitted he didn’t know why he was pursuing Thompson at speeds that reached more than 100 mph.

Shortly after that, Thompson’s truck hit a fire hydrant between Pine Level and Princeton.

“Not Kenly,” Doyle said.

Thirty-nine seconds after reporting the wreck, Santifort said he had stunned Thompson and radioed his location. One minute later, Santifort said, “He’s, uh, a little electrified at the moment but, uh, I think we’ve come to an understanding.”

Unsecured bond

After Santifort’s arrest, a magistrate set an unsecured bond of $20,000. In court, Doyle asked visiting Superior Court Judge Beecher Gray to change the bond, saying it was “very rare and very unusual” for a person charged with a felony to receive an unsecured bond. Doyle said she did not believe Santifort was a flight risk but did say he could be a danger to the public.

But Gray denied the request and kept the bail at $20,000, meaning Santifort did not have to report to jail before posting bond. Gray did strip Santifort of his authority to arrest, after Doyle said Santifort was the biggest danger to the public “when he ... had a badge and a gun and a Taser.”

Santifort, now on reserve status with the Kenly Police Department, has been allowed to carry a weapon since the March 3 incident, said his attorney, Walter Scott Webster.

Thompson had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death, and he had a slightly enlarged heart, Doyle said. But the medical examiner determined “he would not have died but for the Tasing,” Doyle said.

A computer chip in Santifort’s stun gun revealed that he stunned Thompson four times for a total of 37 seconds within about one minute. Standard procedure for a single stun is five seconds, Doyle said.

“The first time was for five seconds, which is the standard duration” Doyle said. “Five seconds later, the defendant deployed the Taser for 22 seconds. One second later, the defendant deployed the Taser for 5 additional seconds. ... Twenty seconds later the defendant again deployed the Taser for an additional five seconds.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Accounts of Kenly officer, witnesses differ, Johnston DA says."