WILMINGTON — A Wilmington Police Department internal affairs investigation found two officers acted “improper” while handling a death investigation case, yet consequences remain unclear.
The family of a man found dead at a local brewery in April say law enforcement mishandled the case, ignored requests to provide evidence and witnesses, and lied to them over the last five months. As a result, the father of the deceased filed formal complaints against the department, prompting the investigation. Not satisfied with the outcome, he is now considering civil action.
READ MORE: Val D’Auvray death ruled accidental, WPD closes case
ALSO: Father of man found dead at brewery says video shows son telling police he was being chased
CATCH UP: Family of man found dead at TRU Colors wants answers
While the submitted grievances against officers were determined to be true, some were also deemed “justified” according to the department’s policies.
“As far as consequences concerning an employee through an IA investigation, I am not at liberty to discuss any outcomes,” WPD’s Lt. Leslie Irving said.
The public records requests for personnel files, submitted on Sept. 19 only released officers’ pay and promotions. It detailed Corporal William Ostrosky and Detective Jameson Hutchings, who were involved in IA investigations, had received during their tenure pay increases, June 2020 and June 2021, respectively. Files do not show previous infractions in disciplinary history.
Thirty-three-year-old Joseph Valentine Flor D’Auvray III, known as “Val” was found lying face down on the concrete with a head injury Monday, April 18, at TRU Colors on Greenfield Street. The brewery — which announced its closure two weeks ago — is surrounded in the back by an 8-foot fence that was reported damaged in part at the scene of the crime. A brewery employee called 911 after finding Val that morning.
WPD closed the case Aug. 26, after a four-month investigation, determining the death was by accident due to a fall.
“There are no facts or circumstances unearthed during our investigation or through the autopsy that led us to believe that his death was anything but a tragic accident,” according to a WPD press release.
The release also stated WPD detectives interviewed numerous individuals associated with the case, though did not verify how many. The release goes on to state they found no one had “relevant non-hearsay information about his death.”
However, D’Auvray’s father said there is more to the story. He told Port City Daily he presented WPD with “a slew of evidence and they did nothing.”
“This whole thing was handled horribly,” he said.
For example, D’Auvray said he was told when WPD encountered his son, Val was erratic and paranoid, yet video showed him coherent and cooperating. He said officers noted Val was only wearing pants, when he was fully clothed. The family also was informed the run-in with officers happened hours before his death, when it occurred the day before.
“It’s unfortunate because I’m having to fight the police instead of the police doing a thorough investigation,” D’Auvray said.
Val suffered from alcoholism and substance-use disorder for most of his adult life. He was in an outpatient program at local nonprofit substance use facility Coastal Horizons, receiving medication-assisted treatment.
About two weeks before his death, Val was released from a six-week hospital stay. He was supposed to move into another facility for treatment but left. According to his dad, Val’s visits to Coastal Horizons to receive his daily dose of methadone became sporadic.
It was within a couple days of his absence that D’Auvray filed a missing person’s report on his son.
Body cam footage from the day before Val’s death — which his father obtained through the courts in July — shows him at Accordius Health of Wilmington, an assisted living facility, around 3 a.m. A nurse called 911 reporting Val was trying to “break in,” which also ended up not being true. Val told officers he was simply seeking refuge in a well-lit area because he was being chased.
“I don’t know why they’re chasing me,” he told officers. “I don’t know if it has something to do with one of my friends. I look like some other people; they could think I’m someone else.”
When officers ran Val’s record, there was no evidence of the missing person’s report.
It has since been revealed the missing person’s report D’Auvray asked for on his son was never filed.
On May 10, the department submitted a complaint against Corporal William Ostrosky — who has been with WPD since 1998 — for not tendering the report on D’Auvray’s behalf.
“My son would be alive if [the report] had been filed six days prior to his death,” D’Auvray said. “They would have picked him up on the missing persons the week prior at Coastal Horizons where Val was an outpatient … not to mention the 911 call could have saved him as well.”
Last month, D’Auvray received a letter informing him the internal affairs investigation concluded and Ostrosky was “sustained” on both counts.
According to WPD’s policies and procedures, sustained means “the allegation is true and indicates improper conduct on the part of the employee being investigated.”
The department’s professional standards policy also states less serious allegations, such as “performance-related issues or rudeness” would not result in serious disciplinary action; while more severe allegations, such as excessive force or illegal conduct, would be further investigated. It’s not clear where “not filing a missing person report” would fall on WPD’s scale of severity.
WPD’s Lt. Irving could not speak to specifics on the internal affairs investigations, as it is a violation of employee confidentiality. Yet, she confirmed “sustained” means an allegation is true, but it all depends on the exact verbiage of the complaint filed.
“Hypothetically, it could be anything, say a complaint filed on the narrative of a report, or say it was classified wrong or you feel like the officer didn’t call you back in a timely manner,” she explained. “It depends on what his complaint was related to.”
Beaufort Police Chief Paul Burdette, N.C. Association of Police Chiefs district VIII regional director (which covers New Hanover County), was more straightforward.
“If an allegation is sustained, it means the officer is guilty,” Burdette explained to PCD. “They did exactly what the complaint said they did and they weren’t supposed to.”
D’Aurvey said he was encouraged by WPD to file the complaint, which he did on June 22, against Detective Jameson Hutchings, who led Val’s death investigation. The grievance was sustained for on-duty performance, meaning misconduct was acknowledged but was “exonerated” for truthfulness.
In WPD’s policies and procedures, exonerated means “the allegation is true, but the employee’s action was justified, lawful and proper.”
“It means the officer did exactly what was in the complaint but there’s nothing wrong with it,” Burdette explained. “They didn’t violate any rules or laws.”
While Hutchings — who joined WPD as a cadet in 2014 — was found to have lied or hid some facts from Val’s family, the WPD found it to be within the measures of his job.
Irving confirmed any citizen has a right to file a formal complaint against an officer, which is then sent to internal affairs. Upon conclusion of the internal review, the individual who filed will receive a written documentation of the outcome.
Burdette said, in general, there are always consequences related to a sustained allegation.
“What those are are dependent on the agency’s policy and the officer,” he added.
He said it varied based on the officer’s work and behavioral history: “You can have two officers do the exact same thing wrong and receive different punishments.”
As a result, there is no “magic number” of filed and sustained complaints that dictate a certain punishment. However, there are certain events that could cause an overall review of an officer’s performance.
“One of those triggers is the number of complaints, but it can vary from agency to agency,” he said.
For example, in Beaufort, Burdette’s policy of three complaints within six months prompts a full performance review. He said an officer is then evaluated to see if there is a substantial issue at the root cause.
Consequences from sustained allegations can range from a mandatory counseling session to written warnings, days off without pay or termination.
It all depends on the incident, Burdette iterated.
Departments typically have an internal affairs division that reviews complaints; however, on occasion, neighboring law enforcement agencies or even state and federal organizations are better suited to handle allegation reviews.
“Sometimes it’s not appropriate to ‘do your own laundry,’” Burdette said, though not specifically speaking to WPD’s investigation.
WPD Sgt. T.R. Williams investigated Ostrosky, according to documents, and Lt. Stephanie Boucher reviewed allegations regarding Detective Hutchings.
D’Auvray, still working to get to the bottom of his son’s death, appeared in court last Monday requesting additional video and audio recordings. New Hanover County Superior Court Judge Frank Jones ruled in his favor; D’Auvray will be receiving the footage from WPD officers from the day Val’s body was found at TRU Colors.
The petition states: “The Wilmington Police Department is also authorized to release the recording at their discretion, to any other entity or individual.”
D’Avuray said he’s also hoping to receive relevant WPD casework to see if detectives followed through on “new evidence” he provided six weeks before the department closed the case. He said he turned over to detectives lists of alleged witnesses and persons of interest, along with phone numbers and addresses, and claims it was never followed up on.
WPD did not answer PCD’s inquiry about whether the new evidence was looked into.
D’Auvray also took umbrage with personnel changes while Val’s death was being reviewed and investigated. Captain Thomas Tilmon, who oversaw criminal investigation, was transferred out of the division. WPD Lt. Irving confirmed it “had nothing to do with the case.”
“Every couple years, we rotate all our personnel; all captains rotate,” she explained. “That was in the works for months. The chief feels like to be a well-rounded officer or supervisor, they need to be in whole different positions in the department.”
Lt. Stephanie Boucher was moved into the role as Detective Hutchings’ supervisor for the remainder of the case.
“Lieutenants get briefed on every single case that comes in, every homicide, every overdose,” Irving explained.
“I just wanted the facts, the truth on whether my son committed suicide, fell by accident or whether he was murdered, where this a greater chance of that than anything else,” D’Auvray said. “We have not been provided with any substantial evidence to the fact that my son fell.”
Medical professionals declared Val’s injuries were consistent with a fall.
An initial medical exam by New Hanover County physician’s assistant Jeffrey Probst, ruled Val’s death an accident, saying he “fell over the fence or from the top of the building.” It also indicated he died from blunt force injury to the head.
D’Auvray requested his son’s body receive a full autopsy; ECU’s Dr. Robert Falls did ane in-depth examination and indicated multiple blunt force injuries to the head, torso and extremities. It noted 12 specific injuries, which were revealed as “consistent with the consequences of a fall, as opposed to being struck by an object.”
Three weeks ago, D’Auvray, his sons, attorney Jim Lea — who has been acting as the family’s sounding board and legal representation — were called into District Attorney Ben David’s office. They thought they were being summoned to have their questions answered about the case.
Instead, they were told the case was being closed.
“When I asked about the new evidence, I’ve never seen more dumbfounded people look like a deer caught in the headlights,” D’Auvray explained. “They were unable to answer anything correctly like a good detective should because they never did any investigative work.”
Lea said he’s been asked by Val’s family to investigate whether WPD acted with negligence. Lea told PCD the decision for filing a civil suit will be made before the end of the year, but they “don’t have a conclusion on that yet.”
“Just because you close a case, doesn’t mean if somebody comes forward with more definitive evidence they wouldn’t open it,” Lea said.
D’Auvray has not officially retained Lea financially. He said it’s really not what he wants because it won’t resolve anything.
“I don’t want to sue, but I want to know what happened to my son,” he said. “Our family just wanted the truth based on facts and transparency. It leaves us no choice.”
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