Eurie Stamps Investigation Files Released By Middlesex DA

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Middlesex District Attorney's Office on Wednesday released a trove of documents related to the 2011 police killing of Framingham resident Eurie Stamps. The release comes after the DA's office pledged to take a fresh look at the case.

The release includes over 400 pages detailing everything from photos of Stamps' home after the shooting to interviews with the officers involved. The documents were previously released in court filings and in the media, but this is the first time they have been assembled in one place. The DA's office also said it is "in the process of identifying and assembling additional documents that may be available relative to the death of Eurie Stamps Sr."

Stamps died in January 2011 after the SWAT team raided his Fountain Street home during a drug investigation. Stamps was lying on his stomach when officer Paul Duncan apparently tripped and fired the fatal shot, according to documents.

Stamps' stepson, Joseph Bushfan, and another man were the targets of the drug investigation. Police arrested Bushfan the night of Stamps' death after finding eight bags of cocaine and about $400, according to the documents released Wednesday.

According to the documents, Duncan was making a move to check Stamps for weapons when he lost his balance.

"Duncan 'very quickly' realized that "his right foot was off the floor" and that the tactical equipment that he was wearing was making his movements 'very awkward,'" a state police report from 2011 says. "While falling, Duncan, who had both hands on his rifle, removed his left hand from his 'long arm' (rifle), which was pointing down towards the ground, in an attempt to try and catch himself. As he did so, he 'heard a shot' and then his body made impact with the wall."

In an interview after the shooting, Duncan said that the safety switch on his M4 rifle was off, and that he was pointing his gun in the "low ready" position at Stamps. Duncan also says he was unsure if Stamps had a weapon, and was moving to handcuff the 68-year-old former MBTA bus driver.

"So I make a decision at that point," Duncan said in the interview, according to the documents. "My options are focus on him like this and say, 'Don't move. Don't move.' But what happens if there's a gun or something hidden anywhere, and he just reaches quick? What happens? Well, I'm still in a position where I got to make a decision. Do I fire? Do I not fire? And in my mind, as quickly as it was going, I made the decision, I'm going to take that out of this equation."

The state police report concludes that the shooting was an accident.

READ: Eurie Stamps Death Investigation Under Review: Middlesex DA

Following high-profile police killings this summer, activists have demanded that officials take another look at Stamps' death. Activists were planning to rally at the state Legislature on Wednesday over the death of Stamps and other Massachusetts residents killed by police.

The records release also follows a formal apology issued to Stamps' family. The Framingham City Council on Sept. 3 approved a short apology letter to Stamps' widow, Norma.