Welcome To aBlackWeb

Register

Only a few bad apples huh?...Bad Cops Thread

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-police-officer-dui-20181004-story.html

Baltimore Police: Officer found drunk in patrol car 'embarrassed the agency, yet again'


A Baltimore Police spokesman acknowledged on Thursday that the discovery of an officer drunk in his patrol car is “something that embarrassed the agency, yet again.”

Officer Aaron Heilman, working and in full uniform, was found slumped over behind the wheel of his marked patrol vehicle near Pigtown on Tuesday afternoon, police said. A Breathalyzer revealed his blood alcohol level was 0.22.

Heilman, who could not be reached for comment, was fired the following day and charged with a DUI.

Police spokesman TJ Smith answered reporters’ questions about the incident towards the end of a news conference called to announce two arrests made in the Riverside killing of Timothy Moriconi.

“I saw officers walking around disgusted because they saw what happened,” Smith said, but added that the officer’s firing showed the department’s capacity to deal with such events.

Smith said he didn’t know whether the officer was drunk when he showed up for his shift.

Asked by a reporter whether Heilman would have had to check in with a supervisor before receiving the keys to his vehicle, Smith responded: “I’m not sniffing your breath when you come in.”
Click to expand...
 
https://www.freep.com/story/news/lo...body-cam-footage-officers-charged/1579232002/

Detroit police: Body cam footage led to charges against 2 officers

DETROIT — A random review of body camera footage has led to home invasion and other criminal charges against two Detroit police officers accused of entering a house without a search warrant and arresting a man.

Assistant Chief James White told reporters Tuesday that the investigation started in January and stemmed from a police department policy requiring supervisors to conduct the reviews.

Officer Bradley Clark and Sgt. Paul Glaza were arraigned last week and are suspended with pay.

A Detroit man has said two officers came to the west side home on Jan. 22 looking for another man who wasn't there.

The man said the door was kicked in and he was arrested after he told the officers they had no right to be there without a search warrant.
Click to expand...

There sure are a lot of those “few bad apples” in Detroit...
 
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local...cle_60c9294e-2318-5cd7-a335-a061b67e77e7.html

St. Louis cop faces assault charges for punishing prisoners with 'rough ride' in transport van


ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis police officer was charged with assault Thursday for allegedly punishing two prisoners she was transporting in August for making rude comments.

Officer Lori Wozniak, 47, faces two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault in St. Louis Circuit Court.

The men, ages 21 and 19, were arrested about 8 p.m. on Aug. 2 when officers were called to the Kingshighway Baptist Church at 5401 South Kingshighway. They were reportedly breaking glass on the church marquee, police said.

Wozniak was assigned to transport them in a van to the South Patrol Division, at 3157 Sublette Avenue.

Charging documents claim the two arrestees “said rude things to each other” about Wozniak. She told her sergeant about it, and said she wanted to drop them off at Riverview Boulevard and Interstate 270 and “make them walk home,” the charges claim. “She also said she was going to stop hard at every stop sign between the scene and the station,” the charges say.

Wozniak “jammed on the brakes of the cruiser causing both victims to slide forward on the metal benches of the cruiser,” and causing one prisoner to suffer a cut above his eye, the charging documents say. Wozniak later
claimed “she stopped for a dog crossing the road,” but in-car cameras contradicted that claim, the charges say

Police took both prisoners to the hospital to be evaluated.

A sergeant filed a misconduct report that night, saying Wozniak operated a transport vehicle “in a careless manner, resulting in physical injury to a prisoner,” according to a copy of the report obtained by the Post-Dispatch last month via an open records request.

Wozniak was transferred the next day to administrative duty in the Communications Division. Wozniak has served as a community liaison officer during her 16 years on the force and was known for raising money for Special Olympics.

The Ethical Society of Police, which represents primarily black officers, tweeted about the incident Aug. 14, saying, “She needs to be charged with a crime and placed on forced leave now.”

A summons has been issued for Wozniak to appear in court Nov. 7. Her union lawyer did not immediately comment on the charge.

The term “rough ride,” as it’s known in some departments, refers to the practice of intentionally harming prisoners by driving erratically while they are handcuffed in police vehicles.

The practice gained notoriety in April 2015 when officers in Baltimore were accused, but not convicted, of giving a prisoner, Freddie Gray, a “rough ride” that resulted in his death.
Click to expand...

 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...l-chicago-police-shooting-20181010-story.html

Chicago Police Board clears cop in controversial fatal shooting of 15-year-old boy

Bucking the recommendation of police oversight officials who called the shooting “unprovoked and unwarranted,” a divided Chicago Police Board voted 5-3 Thursday night to clear an officer of all wrongdoing in fatally shooting a teen in the back of the head during a foot chase nearly six years ago.

The decision comes a little more than a year after the city’s police watchdog agency had taken the rare step of finding the officer at fault and recommending he be fired for using excessive force in shooting Dakota Bright. The 15-year-old was unarmed when he was shot, but officers recovered a .22-caliber revolver in a front yard near where the chase began, authorities said.

While the Independent Police Review Authority had found inconsistencies in Officer Brandon Ternand’s account of the November 2012 shooting, the police board credited his testimony as “credible and persuasive” and praised him as “a highly decorated and respected tactical officer with years of experience.”

The board majority said it also relied heavily on “his reputation for honesty,” based on the character witness testimony of his partner, other officers on the scene that afternoon, his wife and Deputy Chief Kevin Johnson, who called Ternand among the 10 best officers he has ever supervised.

The Chicago Tribune has previously reported that 23 complaints lodged against Ternand between mid-December 2010 and mid-December 2014 put him among the top dozen officers for the most complaints within the 12,000-strong police force over that period. Ternand was not disciplined for any of those allegations, ranging from excessive force to illegal searches, according to records.

The 11-year department veteran, who has worked in violence-plagued parts of the South and West sides throughout his career, has also been named in half a dozen lawsuits, including one by Bright’s mother, that have cost city taxpayers about a combined $1.1 million.

Records also show that he opened fire while on duty on at least two occasions in addition to Bright’s shooting — all within an approximately two-year period.

A 21-page decision issued Thursday night by the board showed sharp divisions among its members over the case.

In clearing Ternand of wrongdoing, five of the board members found the officer justified in shooting Bright from about 50 feet away.

In testifying earlier this year at his disciplinary hearing, Ternand said he opened fire when he saw Bright turn his head to the right — in the officer’s direction — and reach his hand toward his left side as if he were going to pull a gun.

However, in a written dissent, the three board members who voted for Ternand’s firing questioned how Bright could have turned his head in the moment before he was shot because his autopsy found the bullet struck him “in the midline of the back of his head.”

Citing the testimony of an expert in use of force by police, the three dissenters also questioned why Bright would have been reaching for his left side since authorities found nothing in that pocket.

The decision means that Ternand won’t be fired or face any discipline for the shooting. He will be allowed to return to active duty and be given back pay for the nearly year he was suspended without pay. City payroll records show he is paid about $87,000 a year.

Reached by telephone Thursday night, Ternand declined to talk to a Tribune reporter.

Bright’s mother, Panzy Edwards, said she was unaware of the board’s decision to clear the officer of wrongdoing in her son’s death.

“There’s nothing I can do about it?” she asked.

IPRA’s decision last year to find Ternand at fault marked a rare rebuke for an agency much criticized for going easy on officers and taking far too long to complete its investigations — nearly five years in Ternand’s case.

The landscape appeared to change, though, after the court-ordered release in late 2015 of video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke shoot teen Laquan McDonald 16 times, sparking heated protests, political turmoil, promises of systemic change, and Van Dyke’s conviction last week for second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery.

When IPRA handed down its decision on Ternand in August 2017, that marked the fifth time in the previous two years that it found officers had been unjustified in shootings. By contrast, in the eight years before that, the agency — since replaced by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability — investigated hundreds of shootings but found only two to be unjustified.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson disagreed, however, that Ternand should be fired, finding that his actions were justified, according to records.

When IPRA and Johnson could not agree on how to resolve the case, Steve Flores, a police board member who was randomly selected to review the case, rejected Johnson’s recommendation and ordered an evidentiary hearing be held to decide if Ternand should be disciplined. Under police board rules, Flores, a partner at the Winston & Strawn law firm, had to recuse himself from the final vote since he previously reviewed the case.

Ternand and his partner, Officer Victor Razo, responded to a call of a burglary in the South Side’s Park Manor neighborhood on the afternoon of Nov. 8, 2012. After concluding it was a false call, the officers saw a young man, later identified as Bright, step into an alley with a gun in his hand, according to records.

As Bright took off running, Ternand exited the police vehicle and chased after the teen on foot while Razo remained in the vehicle during the pursuit. Bright scaled a series of fences in the backyard of residences in the 6700 block of South Indiana Avenue.

Ternand, who is white, fired a single gunshot from about 50 feet away, striking the black teen in the back of his head.

The five board members who cleared Ternand clashed with the three others over a host of issues, including whether Ternand saw Bright reaching for his left side, signaling to the officer that the teen was about to pull out a gun. The board members who felt the shooting was unjustified questioned whether Bright had ever possessed the revolver found by police.

The board majority found Ternand’s testimony persuasive and cited case law allowing officers to reasonably use deadly force if they’re forced to make split-second decisions “in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving.”

Patrick McGhee, a Cicero police commander who testified for Ternand as a use-of-force expert, said Ternand had no choice but to pursue a suspect with a gun and that it was “instinctive” for the officer to shoot Bright when he reached for his side.

“It is also undisputed that this shooting was a terrible tragedy, only made more so by the fact Mr. Bright was 15 years old, and that (Ternand) has expressed sincere sympathy for the death of Mr. Bright,” said the opinion by the five — Eva-Dina Delgado, a community relations manager with Peoples Gas; John O’Malley Jr., a former chief deputy U.S. marshal; John Simpson, a partner at an investment bank; Rhoda Sweeney, a retired Cook County judge; and Andrea Zopp, president and CEO of World Business Chicago.

But the three dissenting board members — President Ghian Foreman, a real estate developer; the Rev. Michael Eaddy, pastor of a West Side church; and Paula Wolff, director of a criminal justice project — said they were persuaded by the superintendent’s expert witness who found Ternand’s testimony inconsistent with the evidence.

The use-of-force expert, Michael Gennaco, has reviewed more than 200 police misconduct cases and found deadly force wasn’t justified in only about 1½ percent of them, according to the dissent

Gennaco questioned Ternand’s justification for firing — that Bright had turned his head to the right just before opening fire. The autopsy finding that Bright was shot in the midline of the back of his head shows that he was facing away from Ternand when he was shot, he concluded.

Gennaco also found that Ternand’s admission that he holstered his gun while scaling a fence during the pursuit raised doubts about whether the officer truly feared for his life.

He also questioned why if Ternand and his partner saw Bright holding a gun, neither ever mentioned in their radio calls to a police dispatcher that the teen was armed.

But the board majority found that Bright could have reached for his side not knowing he had dropped the gun at the start of the chase.

The five board members also ripped Gennaco as unqualified to conclude that Bright — based on his head wound — was facing away from Ternand when he opened fire.

“(Gennaco) is not a forensic pathologist, and he is not an expert in reading and interpreting autopsy reports or in firearms and bullet trajectories,” the majority opinion said. “He is a lawyer.”
Click to expand...

SMDH...
 
https://wreg.com/2018/10/16/memphis...or-officers-not-to-talk-to-tbi-investigators/

Memphis police union defends advice for officers not to talk to TBI investigators

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Police Association says it's all for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation looking into officer-involved shootings — they just don't want its officers to talk to TBI agents.

Some say that hurts the overall goal of being more transparent, but the police union says it's just about protecting the rights of officers.

“We don’t want it to appear that the Memphis Police Association doesn’t want to be cooperative or are trying to hinder the process — that’s not it,” said
Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams.

“As the Memphis Police Association, it’s our job to protect the rights of the officers and that’s simply what we’re doing.”

More city and county leaders are pushing for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations to take over all officer-involved shooting investigations in Shelby County.

The police association, however, is advising officers not to do interviews with TBI during investigations. Instead, Williams recommends officers give statements to the union, which are then reviewed by attorneys and possibly submitted to TBI.

There's also a supreme court ruling requiring public workers like police officers to give statements to Internal Affairs or Human Resources but prevents them from being used against them in criminal proceedings.

He says the fear is, some of these officers are inexperienced and cannot take back anything they say in interviews. The union also can’t have representatives there with them.

Officers could face criminal charges in TBI investigations, so Williams says like anyone else, they have Fifth Amendment rights.

Williams' son was involved in an officer-involved shooting last month. His son didn’t pull the trigger but was one of three officers who turned their cameras off at some point during the incident. TBI is investigating.

“This has nothing to do with that particular incident," Williams said. "They already have the statement that my son did, so it’s not that.”

Besides the criminal investigation, the city also conducts its own internal investigation. That’s when employment decisions are often made.

“They are two distinct investigations run by two distinct groups,” Mayor Jim Strickland said.

Officers are required to give statements during these investigations, but those statements can’t be used against them in criminal investigations.

But some argue officers need to be as forthcoming as possible in order to maintain integrity and accuracy.

State Rep. G.A. Hardaway says officers themselves complain when community members won’t engage in investigations, so it hurts trust in the community for them to do the same.

“I don’t want anyone giving up their constitutional rights, but I think you have some responsibilities in terms of your job to make sure investigations that can protect the public safety go forward,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway says he plans on introducing legislation in the next session for TBI to take over all officer-involved shootings. He’s also pushing for TBI to get more resources to do so.

The TBI said the police union's policy makes their investigations more complicated and, in an "unprecedented move," even extends to officers who witness incidents or arrived to the scene later but weren't directly involved.

"We certainly respect the legal rights afforded to officers who are directly involved in use-of-force incidents and understand the caution in respect to those officers," the TBI said in a statement.

"Fundamentally, however, the investigative process relies on independent witness statements. Any delay – from a citizen or a law enforcement witness – has the potential to negatively impact the outcome of an investigation. For this reason, MPA’s guidance to Memphis officers has the unfortunate potential to complicate our future efforts with cases in Memphis.

"The public expects a certain degree of cooperation between local agencies and the TBI in these types of cases, and we would hope – in that same spirit – that the Memphis Police Association, and the individual officers who constitute its membership, would reconsider its position regarding witness officer statements."
Click to expand...
 
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/l...ed-1-injured-in-officer-involved-13313840.php

18-year-old shot and killed by San Antonio police was unarmed, chief says


The 18-year-old shot and killed by San Antonio police early Wednesday on the West Side was unarmed and was struck by a bullet fired at another occupant of the home, officials said.

Charles Roundtree died inside a home in the 200 block of Roberts Street after police responded to a call for an assault around 1:25 a.m., said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.

McManus initially said the officer spotted a weapon in a person's waistband and later "wound up using deadly force on that individual."

Wednesday afternoon, he revised that to say the officer fired at a 24-year-old who was reaching for a gun in his waistband. The bullet went through that person, who has not been identified, and struck Roundtree.

The suspect, who was still recovering in the hospital Wednesday, is someone with an "extensive record with police," McManus said. Officers recovered the pistol the suspect had and also found drugs in the home.

"It's a very, very unfortunate, tragic incident that happened," McManus said. "Unfortunately, that person who was just sitting there was killed by a bullet fired at someone who was attempting to use deadly force against police."

Despite the outcome, McManus still credited the officer for his handling of the situation.

"The approach was very professional," he said. "It was simply an inquiry. There was nothing hostile about it and unfortunately the reaction from the individual with the gun was something he should not have done."

The officer, who has been with San Antonio police for five years, has not been identified and was put on administrative duty. McManus did not say how many shots he fired.

The home was also one police were familiar with, the police chief said. Officers have responded to that home more than 50 times this year and roughly 100 times the previous year. The house, which McManus said was known for drug activity, was even the subject of a Dangerous Assessment Response Team investigation.

According to police, officers responded to the home because someone was trying to sell something but was attacked by a person inside. When police arrived they found the front door slightly ajar. An officer knocked and the door opened up, McManus said.

Jason Caldwell, Roundtree's cousin and lifelong friend, said he last saw Roundtree hours before the shooting. He said the house where Roundtree was killed was a friend's grandfather's house and that Roundtree had been there several times before.

"I don't know what to believe," he said. "I just want to see the body camera footage. The only people that know what happened would be my cousin, the officer and the people in the house with him."

McManus said body camera footage does not get released until they are finished with their investigation.

Roundtree was the father of a young son, Caldwell said, and spent most of his time with family. He previously attended Lanier High School but dropped out last year.

On Facebook, Caldwell mourned Roundtree's death, saying the two had made plans to grow old together and take care of their family, most of whom are based in San Antonio.

"I'm hurting," he said.
Click to expand...
 


A white police officer in Connecticut had stopped a group of men, who were mostly black and Hispanic, on suspicion of trespassing when he issued a fairly threatening warning. “If anybody wants to fight or run, I’m a little trigger-happy, guys,”. Two months after the incident, the Hartford police officer involved, Stephen Barone, has been fired.
Click to expand...
 
https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2018/10/cleveland_police_officer_who_f_2.html

Cleveland police officer who killed burglary suspect gets job back


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An arbitrator ruled that Cleveland must reinstate a police officer fired after the fatal shooting of a burglary suspect.

Alan Buford, who killed 18-year-old Brandon Jones in 2015, will receive back pay for the time he's missed since his December 2017 firing and be reinstated immediately, arbitrator Daniel Zieser ruled in a decision late Tuesday.

Buford will undergo training before being assigned to the patrol unit. Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association attorney Henry Hilow, who represented Buford during the arbitration proceeding and Buford's criminal trial, noted that a judge and an arbitrator have now ruled Buford's actions were acceptable.

Buford was acquitted July 27, 2017 during a bench trial of negligent homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor.

"I would hope The city of Cleveland would have been as responsible as the judge and arbitrator," Hilow said. "The city never had a basis to fire him. I hope the city's decision makers are held accountable."

The arbitrator noted that there was speculation that Buford accidentally shot Jones, but that Buford consistently said during interviews and sworn testimony that he purposefully shot Jones because he believe he posed a serious threat to his life.

It was the only time Buford has used deadly force in his 22-year career.

Zieser sided with Buford, who maintained that Jones attacked him and that he feared for his life.

Zieser found that argument more compelling than the city's, who argued that Buford failed to de-escalate the situation or use less-than-deadly force. The city also argued that Buford's partner, Gregory King, did not use lethal force and testified during the criminal trial that he believed it was unnecessary for his partner to fire the gunshot.

The arbitrator said it was reasonable for Buford to fear for his life because of Jones' size and perceived strength, that Jones failed to comply with the officers' orders and that Jones pushed back at the officers before being shot.

Zieser also gave weight to Buford's experience and record of never before using deadly force.

"Something in his experience caused him to see this situation differently, perceive a serious threat of physical harm, and use such force," Zieser wrote. "To the Arbitrator, the Employer's conclusion that Jones was merely "Actively Resistant" and not "Deadly Active" was hindsight."

The shooting happened on March 19, 2015 outside the Parkwood Grocery store in the Glenville neighborhood.

Buford and King first approached Jones as he backed out of the Parkwood Grocery store with a bag of stolen goods.

Each officer grabbed Jones with one hand as they kept their other hands on their guns.

Buford shot Jones moments after officers grabbed him, King testified at trial.

Jones' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. The case is still pending, but the city and Jones' family have told a federal judge that they will try to mediate the case and settle it without a trial.

The family's attorney, Paul Cristallo, said in an emailed statement that Jones' family was shocked and saddened but not surprised.

"What other job can you shoot and kill a young man without provocation and get your job back without any ramifications?" Cristallo's statement said. "Brandon's family did not get justice in the criminal case and now they are denied the satisfaction of knowing that this officer would be held accountable by the Cleveland Police Department. We are left with their last hope for acknowledgment in the civil court. It may ultimately take a jury to objectively judge Officer Bufford for his wrongful actions."

The team monitoring the consent decree between the police department the U.S. Department of Justice said in 2017 that police union wins two of three cases that go to arbitration. The monitoring team said it appeared that the city's internal investigations are "shoddy" and that there are systemic issues within the police department's decision-making when it comes to discipline.

The city at the time said the monitoring team had "no first-hand knowledge" of how many arbitration cases the police department loses.

The city has lost several high-profile arbitration cases. Frank Garmback, the officer who drove his police cruiser up to 12-year-old Tamir Rice, putting his partner Timothy Loehmann nearly face-to-face with Tamir before Loehmann fatally shot the boy, had his discipline halved from 10 to 5 days unpaid suspension.

Loehmann's firing is another arbitration decision that is anticipated to be finalized in the coming months. Hilow, who also represented Loehmann during his arbitration hearing, believes Loehmann will get his job back. Loehmann was fired not for fatally shooting Tamir, but for lying on his application. Hilow and the police union have argued that Loehmann never purposefully lied on the application.
Click to expand...
 
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/cri...name-officer-fatally-shot-driver-traffic-stop

Arlington police release name of officer who fatally shot driver during traffic stop


Arlington police have identified the officer who fatally shot a man who drove away during a traffic stop last month with the cop standing on the running board of the SUV.

The department came under criticism this month during a community meeting organized by the NAACP for not identifying the two officers present when Oshae Terry was shot to death Sept. 1.

Police said Friday that the criminal investigation was completed Wednesday, and that allowed them to name the officer, as well as the cop who made the initial traffic stop.

Officer Julie Herlihy stopped Terry in the 2200 block of California Lane to ask about an expired registration. She went back to the patrol car to run checks while backup Officer Bau Tran stayed near the passenger side of the vehicle, police said.

Terry, of Forest Hill, initially complied with a request to turn the SUV off and roll down the windows, but minutes later, body-cam footage showed him roll the windows up and start to drive away.

Tran can be seen sticking his hand in the window and telling Terry to stop. Tran shoots Terry after he starts to drive away with the officer standing on the running board and his hand still in the window. Terry died at a nearby hospital.

Tran, who did not provide a statement to detectives during the criminal investigation, remains on restricted duty status pending the conclusion of the administrative investigation. Herlihy has been assigned to patrol duties, police said.

In a written statement Friday, police also addressed some of the concerns raised during the Oct. 9 NAACP meeting.

Terry's passenger, Terrance Harmon, said police interviewed him for about 10 minutes on where he was going, among other questions, but haven't spoken to him since the shooting.

He also said police "took my phone, they took everything I had in my pockets. I had no transportation, no keys and they dropped me off at the side of the QT and told me to find myself to Fort Worth," the Fort Worth Star-Telegramreported.

Harmon's attorney, Lee Merritt, said investigators never asked Harmon about the shooting itself.

Police on Friday said Harmon provided witness statements including "an extensive on-scene interview." They added that Harmon was offered the use of a cellphone and that he was taken to "a local destination at his request."

Personnel contacted him again Sept. 2, police said, and Harmon went to the Police Department and "had an opportunity to speak with investigators."

Staff reached out to Harmon again after learning that he claimed that he had not been interviewed, police said, but "Mr. Harmon has not been responsive to our extensive efforts to contact him to supplement his earlier statement."

Arlington police have passed their investigation into the shooting over to the Tarrant County district attorney's office.
Click to expand...
 
https://abc7news.com/alameda-da-will-not-charge-bart-officer-involved-in-oakland-shooting/4542461/

The Alameda County District Attorney's office said they will not charge a BART Officer in a fatal shooting in Oakland last January.
Vic Lee
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) --
The Alameda County District Attorney's office completed its findings into a fatal shooting involving a BART officer last January, and is declining to charge him.
Officer Joseph Mateu shot and killed 28-year-old Sahleem Tindle while responding to gunfire near the station.

Mateu's body cam video captured it all.

He runs out of the West Oakland BART station, responding to shots fired. He sees two men in a scuffle, Shaleem Tindle on his knees, has his back to the officer.

Mateu fires three shots. Tindle rolls over on his back, his empty hands in the air.

"I have been running, looking for answers from the time my son was murdered January third, 2018."

Today Tindle's mother Yolanda Reed Banks got her answers.

It was not what she wanted to hear.

The Alameda DA's office said Officer Mateu would not be criminally charged.

It was ruled self-defense.

Their findings said, "Mr. Tindle was holding the pistol at the time the officer fired."

"A shooting had already taken place. It was not unreasonable for him (officer Mateu) to believe further shooting could be imminent."

"For him to shoot Mr. Shaleem to me is a clear miscarriage of justice," said Attorney John Burris, who has filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Tindle's family.

He says the video shows Mateu could not tell which of the two men had the gun.

"He decided to shoot the one who was on the ground who was closest to him and he shot him the back and looking at the video it looks like Shaleem was trying to comply."

BART declined our request for an interview because of the pending lawsuit.

The DA's office also declined, saying the report is quote "very detailed and complete."

Read BART's full statement about the DA's decision below:

Any fatal shooting involving a BART police officer is a tragedy, regardless of the circumstances. BART continues to extend its sympathies to the family of Shaleem Tindle.

The investigation was completed by the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. The BART Police Department fully cooperated with both agencies but was not involved in the work of this independent investigation.

The District Attorney's Final Report concludes the evidence does not justify criminal charges against Officer Joseph Mateu. Those findings include:

"The evidence, including the analysis of the body camera footage, indicates that Mr. Tindle in fact was holding the pistol in his right hand at the time the officer fired."
"Once officer Mateu realized that a shooting had already taken place, it was not unreasonable for him to believe that further shooting could be imminent. This required officer Mateu to make rapid decisions in a dangerous situation"

"Mr. Tindle was the major donor of the DNA found on the Sig Sauer pistol."

"The credible and admissible evidence shows that officer Mateu acted in what he actually and reasonably believed to be self-defense and defense of others. The examined evidence does not support the contention that the shooting of Mr. Tindle was criminal."

At this point we cannot comment further due to pending litigation.
Click to expand...
 
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/l...ort-on-officer-involved-shooting-13332401.php

SAPD releases report on officer-involved shooting that left unarmed 18-year-old dead


San Antonio police on Wednesday released a report on the shooting in which an unarmed 18-year-old was fatally struck by a bullet an officer fired at an allegedly armed man.

The report provides the first detailed account of the shooting, which has angered friends and family of the victim, Charles Roundtree.


According to the report, Officer Steve Casanova, who has been with San Antonio police for five years, and another officer responded at about 1 a.m. on Oct. 17 to a home in the 200 block of Roberts Street for a report of an assault. The home in question is well known to police. Officers have responded there about 150 times over the last two years.

The victims of the alleged assault told police they were selling menudo in the area when someone inside the home attacked them, the report says.

Casanova saw the door to the home was ajar and that two men were inside. One of the men opened the door and "immediately started being aggressive towards" Casanova, the report says. The officer saw a handgun in the man's waistband and ordered him to show his hands, police said.

"At this point," the report says, "[the suspect] ignored [Casanova's] commands and continued to remove his handgun from his waistband."

The report says Casanova feared for his life and shot the suspect. The bullet pierced the suspect's buttocks and struck Roundtree in the chest, killing him.

At that point, Casanova took cover, and a pit bull started charging him and his partner, who is only identified in the report as Officer Panah. Panah shot and killed the dog. Then, crime scene detectives, paramedics and the medical examiner's office responded to the scene.

Police arrested the suspect who allegedly tried to remove his gun from his waistband and searched the home. Inside, they found a rifle by a window. Roundtree was lying on the floor in a hallway.

Investigators later found a handgun outside the home, which appeared to have been recently tossed there, possibly during or after the officer-involved shooting.

"They killed my son, cold blood," said Patricia Slack, Roundtree's mother, of San Antonio police the day of the shooting.

"It was on purpose, it was no accident. They knew what they were doing," she said. "They got trigger-happy and killed my son."

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the shooting was an accident and that the bullet was meant for a suspect who was allegedly raising a weapon towards an officer.

"It's a very, very unfortunate, tragic incident that happened," McManus said. "Unfortunately, that person who was just sitting there was killed by a bullet fired at someone who was attempting to use deadly force against police."

Paramedics took the wounded suspect to University Hospital for treatment. He was not identified in the report, and has yet to be arrested. McManus said the man has an "extensive record with police" and was out of jail on bond for other charges at the time of the shooting.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top