A South Florida cop who shot a man he had pulled over, then claimed the man kept his hands in his waistband, was proven to be a liar by a surveillance camera.
But Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle Fernandez refused to prosecute South Miami police officer Aryo Rezaie because she would rather not break her 23-year streak of not prosecuting a single police officer for shooting unarmed citizens.
However, charges of possession of marijuana and resisting arrest were dropped against Michael Gavins, allowing him to file a lawsuit against the police department on Friday, according to NBC Miami.
Nevertheless, Gavins lost his job as a security officer as a result of the shooting and arrest. And Rezaie, who has previous complaints of racial profiling, was not even disciplined by his department.
Rezaie pulled Gavins over on November 15, 2015, claiming he was driving at a “high rate of speed,” according to his police report.
When Gavins pulled over into a gas station, the cop claimed he smelled marijuana and saw a bag of weed in the center console of Gavins’ car, which is when he ordered him to step out of the car.
“‘You can check me. You can check the car, you can do whatever you want. Please don’t shoot me,” Gavins told the officer according to a news report from last year.
But that was when the cop began fearing for his life, claiming Gavins kept both hands down the front of his waistband – which is standard Police 101 bullshit to justify shooting unarmed citizens.
But a surveillance video shows Gavins holding one arm up high in the air. The other arm is obstructed by a column, so it’s not clear where that arm is at that moment.
However, Rezaie’s police report state that “Gavins continued to keep his hands inside of his waistband and began to act in a nervous manner by turning his back towards officer.”
Claiming a citizen is acting in a “nervous manner” is also standard Police 101 bullshit to justify shooting unarmed citizens.
Besides, who wouldn’t be nervous around a trigger-happy cop?
Despite the video evidence, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said that “a reasonable officer could believe that Mr. Gavins was about the retrieve some firearm or weapon.”
Perhaps a reasonable officer who is both paranoid and delusional, which seem to make up the ranks of officers, especially in South Florida.
Watch the NBC Miami news reporter below, which includes the surveillance video from the traffic stop. And read Gavins’ lawsuit here.
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