Posted on 07/30/2007 11:08:32 AM PDT by Abathar
GARY, Ind. -- A teenager shot to death by an officer as he fled a burglary scene may have tried to pull up his sagging pants, causing the officer to mistake the movement for a reach for a weapon, according to newly filed court documents.
In a motion to dismiss a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Vincent Smith Jr.'s father, the city of Gary suggests the 16-year-old was shot as he was reaching down to hoist up his drooping pants and sprint away from Officer Levi Randolph.
"Police officers have to make a lot of split-second decisions," said city attorney Donald Levinson. "The law does not say you have to wait until someone shoots at you (to act)."
The city's motion includes photographs of Smith's body, his underwear clearly riding above his jean's sagging waist, laying in the alley behind a house he was apparently burglarizing.
Randolph, who was indicted in March for the Jan. 15 shooting, faces up to eight years in prison if convicted in the killing.
The officer claims he thought Smith was reaching to pull a gun as the teen walked out the back door of the house. Randolph said he fired at Smith but missed when the teen reached toward his pants before sprinting through the backyard.
Randolph said that after Smith scaled an 8-foot fence and dropped to the ground, he turned toward the pursuing officer and again reached into his pants. Randolph fired again and struck Smith behind the left ear, killing him instantly.
In both cases, Levinson suggests in his filing that Smith was gathering up his sagging pants in anticipation of sprinting away.
Low-hanging pants that wearers must frequently hoist have become a hip-hop fashion statement popularized by rappers. Sagging pants are said to have their roots in prison culture, where inmates were often issued ill-fitting pants and belts were banned.
Douglas Hobson, an attorney for Vincent Smith Sr., said police training should better prepare officers to make split-second judgments to prevent shooting suspects who pose no threat.
"You've got to know there is a gun or something that is going to hurt someone. If these kinds of excuses justify something like that, then we've got a long way to go," he said.
Oh, don't feel that way, be very, very glad. Except for the part where all your neighbors know all your business, of course... ;)
Like I said, doesn't make a bit of diff to me. They should do that to every perp that pulls off one of the car chases.
That would make great TV. End of chase, perp gets out, perp gets shot in the head...family notified to come pick them up before the dogs or buzzards start to eat him.
LOL!
I agree.
Well at least he looked cool when he got shot.
Just really don't have much pity for the idiot myself.
Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I never thought dressing like a plumber would catch on, but what do I know.
LOL! Thanks, for reminding me.
Someone should throw a rock.
Isn’t that the truth. I watched as a nicely dressed black woman waited for her date to show up at the entrance to a nice classical outdoor concert one night last summer. When her 30-something date arrived his pants were down around his mid-thighs, and all the good liberals attending the concert acted as if nothing unusual was happening. I felt bad for the woman, she didn’t seem too happy about it.
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