# Slain Virginia Officer's Partner Fired



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*MATTHEW JONES*
_The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)_









NORFOLK -- The family and attorney of police Officer Seneca Darden's partner are questioning the timing of his firing.
Officer Jason M. Canfield was told last week that he was being dismissed from the department. This notice came the day before Canfield would have reached his two-year anniversary, thereby ending his probationary period, said Canfield's attorney, Michael F. Imprevento.
Because of the timing, Imprevento said Canfield "has no procedural rights to review" and cannot file a formal grievance, as an officer who had finished his or her probationary period could in similar circumstances.
Vice Mayor Paul R. Riddick, who has been critical of Canfield's dismissal, was angered by the timing.
"It was not a whole day, but just 12 hours, before the period ended," he said. "What a terrible thing to do to the young man."
This action, Riddick said, "continues to show the insensitivity of the persons in power in this city."
Canfield was with Darden the night he was shot to death by K-9 Officer Gordon Barry during a chaotic confrontation in Young Terrace in late May.
The partners, who were supposed to have been on an assignment in Ghent, arrived to help control a group of people incensed by a shooting earlier that evening.
Barry did not know that Darden, who was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, was a police officer. Fearing for other officers' safety amid the confusion, Barry shot Darden multiple times.
The partners were later criticized for procedural missteps, while a State Police investigation ultimately cleared Barry of wrongdoing in Darden's death. Darden's family is considering a lawsuit against the city.
The City Council met for 80 minutes in closed session Tuesday to discuss Canfield's dismissal in detail, Riddick said, adding that he is even more convinced that Canfield's firing was a mistake.
Riddick said he tried to persuade City Manager Regina V.K. Williams to reconsider, "but she hasn't changed her mind and nobody on council other than me seemed interested in trying to persuade her."
Meanwhile, Imprevento said he is preparing to go to court to try to persuade a judge to grant Canfield grievance rights.
As for Canfield himself, Riddick offered an e-mail he recently received from Billy Pettit, Canfield's father-in-law.
"My daughter and grandkids have watched him suffer with the guilt of what he could have done different to save his partner's life that night," the e-mail read.
"Then when it seemed like it could not get any worse, they not only take his career but his good name as well."

n\Reach Matthew Jones at (757) 446-2949 or online.com.
n\Reach Harry Minium at (757) 446-2371 or [email protected] online.com.

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