WASHINGTON A NASA executive and former police officer has been charged with second-degree murder. Michael Hetle of Springfield, Virginia was arrested at the scene of the shooting of his neighbour Javon Prather after officers were called to the scene at about 4.50pm on Tuesday. Hetle has been charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, alongside second degree murder and is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Mr Prather’s mother, Shavon Prather told The Washington Post that the two men had disagreements dating back years and believed there to be a racial motivation as Mr Prather and his wife were in an interracial relation ship. “[Hetle] would call the homeowner’s association and say there was dog poop in their backyard,” said Ms Prather. “He would call and complain when they put out trash. Anything he could do to scold them and to get them in trouble.” Fairfax County Police Lt Stephen R Wallace told The Post that police did not currently have any evidence that the shooting was racially motivated. Mr Hetle previously fatally shot two people in 2001 and 2003 respectively in separate line-of-duty incidents. He was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in both cases, but a civil suit was settled between the family of the man killed in 2001 and Mr Hetle and Bellevue.? The 2001 shooting proved controversial, as Mr Hetle shot an unarmed Latino man, leading to protests and accusation of racial bias, according to The Post. The 52-year-old resigned from the Bellevue Police Department in 2003 after reaching a settlement to drop a claim of emotional distress against the department when he was accused of racial bias during a traffic stop. The police department confirm that they are still continuing their investigation into the incidents leading up to the shooting.—AFP
