The Case of Ryan Frederick

Ryan Frederick of Cheseapeake, Virginia was turned in early on January 17, 2008. He needed to be awake early the next morning to go to work. Frederick held a job with a soft drink vendor, and routinely started his day before sunrise. A week prior, his home had been broken into, and while nothing was taken, his belongings had been ransacked. Frederick still felt the sting from the violation of his property. Around 8:30 PM, Frederick awoke to his two dogs barking, and suddenly there was a slam against his front door. The door was almost torn from it's hinges, and Frederick saw a figure trying to enter through the lower portion of the door.

Frederick was armed with a .380 pistol. He fired at the figure. The shot killed a police officer, Jarrod Shivers, who was serving a "no knock" search warrant. Shivers was a narcotics detective and a father of three children. Frederick had no prior criminal record, and he was not growing marijuana as a confidential informant had claimed. Frederick was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Two .380 shell casings were recovered, as well as a .223 hull. Judge Thomas M. Ammons III has denied bond. Frederick is represented by attorney James Broccoletti.

In a jailhouse interview, Frederick stated he did not realize the intruders were law enforcement. "I just wish I knew who they were," he said. "I didn’t want any trouble. I thought it was the person who had broken into my house the other day." Frederick is also charged with use of a firearm and possession of marijuana. A small quantity of dope was found in his home. Prosecutors claim that Detective Shivers was standing in Fredrick's front yard when he was shot. The marijuana that Frederick was supposed to be growing turned out to be a Japanese maple tree.

The loss of a father and police officer is certainly a tragedy, and an event that most law abiding people would want to prevent. So who was it that killed Jarrod Shivers? Was it Ryan Frederick? Frederick did pull the trigger, that is true, but did Frederick do anything a rational homeowner would not do? Or was Shiver's death the result of a dangerous policy of slamming down citizen's doors to capture evidence before it is destroyed? Is securing the evidence of a crime worth that kind of risk to law enforcement? That is a question law enforcement must examine themselves. Or was the real killer of Jarrod Shivers the confidential informant who gave the police bogus information in exchange for favors? If that is the case, then why is the informant still being protected? Was the informant the person who had previously broken into and ransacked Ryan Frederick's home? Time will tell.

One thing is certain.......This nightmare, like that of Cory Maye should be in the back of every home defenders mind. It should also be in the back of every police officer's mind. Bullets are irretrievable. Once fired, the person who ignited the round owns it forever. Lives are snuffed out and other lives are irrevocably altered in an instant of fear and failure to follow Rule Four. I can not fault Ryan Frederick, although I am sickened by Jarrod Shivers' death. I, too, have a small Japanese maple tree. There, but for the grace of a confidential informant and perhaps the common sense of a police officer, go I.