SILENCE THE EAGLE
Opelika are not getting unfiltered news involving police shooting incidents. Case in point is the case of Walker Cole Barkley. On a Sunday evening July 25th, 2021, Nicole Barkley called the Auburn Police and asked for assistance. Her husband, was intoxicated and had a gun in his shirt pocket and Nicole was afraid he might hurt himself. The police arrive and are informed 4 children were inside. Within a few minutes, and children inside, the police officer fires through the door, and slight opening, 10 times, seriously wounding Cole. Cole did return fire, two wild high shots inside the house, after, the officer stopped firing and was retreating. The police officer never announced that he was a police officer and Cole who was totally intoxicated had no idea who had shot him. Wounded and bleeding profusely Cole then made a phone call for medical assistance.
Since that night Cole has been recovering from his wounds while incarcerated. He was charged with attempted murder. Here the kicker , when Nicole called the police, Cole had no idea she had done so. Very quickly the call for help became labeled falsely as “domestic Violence”. This is step one in the spin story that will follow.
Tomorrow, August 23 at 3pm, Cole Walker will attend his sentencing hearing. The prosecution wants a sentence of life without parole. This is a classic example of overcharging the defendant, another common practice in Alabama. Political show.
What I have outline is a broad overview of the events. This is probably the first time you have heard about this case.
WHY:
The first sign of corruption or a cover up is to suppress any media coverage, be it newspaper, TV or social media. Your local media attempted to research this case and were stonewalled. Their FOIA requests, {freedom of information act} were deliberately not provided to the press who were working on their own investigation. The police, city or District Attorney’s office, did not want the information public, until after, the sentencing hearing and Cole was returned to jail.
Sadly this happens all over Alabama. The District Attorney, Prosecutor and Judge are all paid politicians and the last thing they will ever do is admit to a mistake. Their position is to unconditionally back the police version of the events, obtain the harshest sentence, and paint the accused as a threat to society. They then all beat their chest and run for office again.
A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. This responsibility carries with it specific obligations to see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice and that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence.
If any of these three elected officials make comments about this article, then ask them why they blocked the media from investigating?
This is the first of many posts that will follow in the next few months, maybe years to come.
