State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden announces that after diligent investigation and review no criminal prosecution will be commenced against Corey Marioneaux Jr. for a shooting incident that occurred during the lawful execution of a search warrant at his residence on Feb. 3.
Marioneaux was arrested by the Pensacola Police Department after discharging a 9mm semi-automatic pistol as officers made entry into his residence. The officers knocked and announced their presence by shouting “Pensacola Police Search Warrant†three times at approximately 5 am before utilizing a ram to breach the front door. Marioneaux, apparently awoken by the knock-and-announce, fired once from the central hallway of his residence at the exact moment the door burst open. The projectile struck the tempered glass window of a ballistic shield wielded by a Pensacola Police officer positioned outside the doorway. The officer returned fire by discharging one shot. No one was injured in the exchange. Marioneaux, exhibiting shock, immediately put his firearm down, and stated that he was sorry, and that he didn’t know it was the police. He also stated that he thought the police were people who were looking for him, apparently fearful of others in the community who he felt intended him harm.
Careful review of the case has determined that there is insufficient proof to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Marioneaux knew that he was firing at a police officer. Knowledge is an essential element of the offense. The evidence would show that Marioneaux fired the shot at the exact moment the door burst open. Under the unique set of circumstances, he did not have adequate time to perceive and appreciate that it was a uniformed police officer equipped with a ballistic shield on the other side of the door. The manner in which he repudiated his intent to fire upon a police officer substantiates his claim that he did not know it was the police when he fired the shot.
This office has consulted with the Chief of the Pensacola Police Department and he has indicated his understanding of the decision, and support. This office found that the execution of the search warrant was done in conformity with applicable state law. There will be no further comment on this incident from the Office of the State Attorney.
We’re not done yet. We still don’t still know which city official authorized the SWAT raid and which ones knew about it in advance. We still don’t know if the SWAT Officers knew that there were children in the home. Was the home put under surveillance before the raid or did they just show up and breach right at 5 am? We still don’t know why the SWAT Officer fired into a dark room where he might not have even been able to see Marioneaux or his children. Is it city policy that a PPD Officer has to see where his rounds will impact before firing his weapon? It seems a safe policy for everyone involved. If the SWAT Officer could not see into the house, maybe a better “tactic” would have been to hold his fire, keep his shield in front of him and back out of the doorway. Had that been done and someone yelled into the house – “Stop Shooting, We’re the Police.†– Marioneaux would have yelled back – “OK. My kids are in here with me.†We still do not know what was so time-sensitive that the SWAT raid had to be conducted at 5 am in the morning in the dark? Marioneaux seems like an upstanding citizen. He works for Navy Federal. He’s getting his job back, right, with back-pay and a party, right? We still don’t know if PPD ever found the evidence used to justify the search warrant. We don’t need the specifics of the evidence because this is an ongoing investigation but PPD should be able to at least say if they found what they were looking for or not. If not, I sure hope that the city is going to pay to fix-up Marioneaux’s home. I know a bit about the city’s annual budget now swollen in excess of $250 million. In truth, there was plenty of money to buy body cameras for all PPD Officers within months of then Police Chief Simmons making the decision to use them. After the shooting, Police Chief Randall told WEAR TV Channel 3 that the reason SWAT Officers were not wearing body cameras is because the city had not had the money for seven years to buy them. In addition to that not being true, all of the PPD Officers on the SWAT team have other jobs, some may have multiple jobs. A good question for a curious city council member to ask Mayor Robinson tonight would be the number of PPD Officers currently on the payroll and the number of body cameras held by the department. Mayor Robinson should today fire Police Chief Randall and his supervisor City Administrator Fiddler. One change that the Charter Review Commission can propose is to give the city council the power to remove from office by impeachment the Mayor, Charter Officers, Department Officers and everyone else in the city’s bloated Senior Executive Service. That is fully consistent with both the Mayor-Council and Council-Manager forms of government.