Officer who shot woman cleared
County cop acted in self-defense, authorities say
By Eric Ferkenhoff and Aamer Madhani
Tribune staff reporters
Published December 4, 2001
An off-duty Cook County sheriff's officer was acting in self-defense when he fatally shot an ex-girlfriend who allegedly kicked in his apartment door and cut him on the arm, police said Monday.
Ricky Haynes, a 16-year veteran officer on medical leave since May, was released from police custody late Sunday and is not expected to be charged in the death of Annette Clay, police said.
Chief of Detectives Phil Cline said the case was reviewed by the Cook County state's attorney's office, which found the 43-year-old officer fired his gun in self-defense. He said Clay, 33, had allegedly committed a home invasion by kicking in Haynes' door before slashing the officer, an act that would make the shooting justifiable.
"I understand it was a justifiable shooting," said Sheriff Michael Sheahan, who added there would be an internal investigation to make sure the officer acted appropriately. Such investigations are routine when an officer fires his weapon, said Sheahan spokesman Bill Cunningham.
Clay's family acknowledged she suffered from mental illness and had a troubled relationship with the officer, but they doubted Clay would have kicked her way into the apartment.
"She loved him and she couldn't hurt him anyway," said Clay's sister, Monica. "She was a skinny woman and he was a big, strong cop. I can't believe he would need to shoot her to defend himself from her."
Police did not say why Clay had gone to Haynes' apartment in the 4300 block of North Hazel Street early Sunday. Her sister said Clay took a bus late Saturday to the officer's home to pick up her disability check that had been sent to the officer's home.
Police said Clay had been seen around the building as early as 2 a.m. Eight hours later, when a guard left to do a floor check, Clay got into the secured building and went to Haynes' 17th-floor apartment, police said.
Haynes, who was in the apartment with another woman, refused to allow Clay inside. She became enraged, police said, and kicked in the door, breaking the lock. Once inside, she allegedly slashed at Haynes with a razor or box cutter.
The officer then fired his service revolver, a .32-caliber handgun, striking Clay once in the chest, police said. The officer, who suffered minor cuts, was allowed to carry his badge and weapon while on medical leave. The officer has been off since May, when he had surgery to his knee for an injury unrelated to his job, police said.
Clay and the officer first met several years ago when she visited her inmate husband at Cook County Jail. Haynes was a guard at the time, her family said. She later had Haynes' first name tattooed on the side of her neck and on her chest.
Family members described Clay as a paranoid schizophrenic but said she was able to live a relatively normal life and was raising three sons, ages 11, 9, and 5.
"Tomorrow is the 9-year-old's birthday, and he keeps asking if his mother is going to be there for his birthday," Monica Clay said. "It's not right that he's going to get away with this."
Clay had been arrested several times. At least three of the arrests involved battery, including a 1998 case in which she allegedly stabbed a relative in the face. But court documents suggest most of the cases were later dropped.