A few weeks ago In Pinal County, Arizona a man was shot and killed after leading police on a high speed chase and then seemingly resisting arrest. At the time of the shooting the county Sheriff’s office said, “Officers and deputies attempted to use less lethal means to take him into custody including firing several bean bag rounds and Taser deployments. The suspect refused to obey the commands and suddenly reached back into the vehicle. A deputy felt the suspect was reaching for the gun he reportedly had, so he then fired two rounds.”
Sadly, it seems that the police lied. They apparently did not realize that a nearby bystander was filing the whole thing with his camera phone.
Here’s the video, along with the local news report showing the police seemingly murdering the man on the street.
CBS 5 – KPHO
He was shot after being tased and hit with bean bags, and upon watching the video it seems that he was attempting to surrender.
To make matters worse, the Sheriff made a rather disturbing comment when confronted with the truth about what happened. “I believe even looking at it in those circumstances, if I was a patrol officer and I was forced in that same situation, I would likely have shot him before that deputy shot him,” said Sheriff Paul Babeu. (see below for more info on this Scandalous Sheriff!) “I would likely have shot him before that deputy shot him?” There were several officers there and the only one who felt the need to shoot was the officer who finally fired, but the Sheriff would have killed the guy sooner? It’s an alarming defense of the lie they originally published in their official statement on what happened.
A former police officer who the local news interviewed disagree with the sheriff’s assessment.
“You have multiple police officers on the scene and only one person makes the shot. That tells me that other officers at the scene did not feel there was justification to use deadly physical force,” said Torrez.
Torrez said despite Longoria’s behavior during the chase and initial part of the standoff, the only actions that were central to a decision to shoot, occurred right before the deputy opened fire.
“Officers are taught to look at the hands first and foremost. So if his hands are up in the air, he doesn’t have anything in them. How do they justify using deadly force?” asked Torrez.
It’s a disturbing situation made even more disturbing not only because the fact that the police initially lied about what happened, but also because the officer who shot the suspect was cleared of wrong-doing and back on the job in less than a week.
Our police should be kept to a higher standard than this.
Read more HERE
Related:
Paul Babeu’s Mexican Ex-Lover Says Sheriff’s Attorney Threatened
Gay Republican sheriff Paul Babeu survives scandal, is reelected in Arizona’s Pinal County
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