Quote:
Originally Posted by gnadfly
Do you think the officer was overcharged LL?
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Without reviewing ALL of the video (there is probably more than one), the reports and supplements, and the complete autopsy including toxicology it would be difficult to make a call, but .....
.. for political and social reasons prosecutors have a tendency to "overcharge."
I expressed my "concerns" regarding the cops "state of mind" when he emptied his weapon into the guy and apparently was in the process of "recharging" his weapon when other officers arrived (although that's a habit ... "recharging" with a fresh magazine and "jacking" a round into the chamber when "on empty"! so to CONCLUDE he was reloading to shoot the guy some more might be a stretch to assign that mental state from speculation as to why he was loading up again).
It seems that these media displays always have a "rest of the story" lacking, because the "rest of the story" doesn't play as well to catch everyone's attention.
Why did the guy have a knife out in the presence of a confrontation with an officer .... and what drew the officer's attention in the first place?
There is case law (including SCOTUS) that upholds a shooting (deadly force) by an officer when a person has assaulted the officer with a "deadly weapon" and the person is "fleeing" (TURNING AND WALKING/RUNNING AWAY) from the attempts by the officer to arrest the person for either the previous crime or the assault on the officer ... which is aggravated by not only the deadly weapon but also the FACT that he was an officer. One will see a theme through SCOTUS opinions regarding "officer safety" and "public safety" from an actor armed with a deadly weapon who has used it or threatened to use it.
