Posted on 01/29/2016 1:43:21 PM PST by BenLurkin
Two former Los Angeles police officers who fatally shot an unarmed motorist from behind, on live TV, were fired and now are suing to get their jobs back.
Michael Ayala and Leonardo Ortiz were among about two dozen officers who pulled up behind 51-year-old Brian Beaird’s mangled Corvette after he crashed in downtown Los Angeles in 2013, ending a long, high-speed pursuit.
As TV news helicopters circled overhead and water from a damaged fire hydrant rained down, adding to the chaos of the scene, Beaird stumbled around the back of his car, turned away from officers and appeared to be trying to flee on foot.
That’s when Ayala, Ortiz and a third officer opened fire, killing Beaird.
...
A law enforcement source familiar with the case, who was not authorized to publicly comment on the matter, said the two officers were fired as a result of the shooting.
{LAPD Chief] Beck issued a rare public rebuke of the officers, calling their actions "unjustified."
The City Council, concerned that a civil jury would find the officers had used excessive force, approved a $5-million settlement with Beaird’s father, who said he’d watched his son’s death on live TV. That settlement is the largest paid by the city in a police shooting in more than a decade.
Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey declined to press criminal charges, however, saying a jury might believe the officers legitimately feared for their lives. They claimed they saw Beaird reach for his waistband, possibly for a gun, as he stumbled out of the car. Beaird did not have a gun, but a police shooting is legal as long as the officers believe the suspect poses a direct threat to them, or others.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“Oh my God. He’s coming right at me”
“He was in a high speed chase crashed, how do the police know what he does or does not have. It also depends on the nature and danger of the case. (drugs, pain killers, endangerment of others etc...)”
Congratulations on making the most dumb-ass and stupid post of the day. According to you, any person that a 50-IQ cop PERCEIVES as dangerous should be shot dead. Go iron your Gestapo uniform; it has a wrinkle in the collar.
no police training videos.
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