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.
Darwin’s underpants.
At my school we tell them regularly, doesn’t seem to bother them.
The Beagle is making sounds like a criminal defense atttorney.
just wondering? Otherwise I think he aimed at center of mass and jerked the trigger a little bit.
Maybe some time at the reactive target range might help. One less parasite in society...yawn...back to scanning.
I think he would have been fine with just loose pants. The problem came with the burglary and fleeing from the police.
Good thing this cop wasn’t a border patrol agent. He’d be facing some serious time.
I read somewhere that in prison subculture it demonstrates that your “available”.
The penalty seems harsh but fair.
The penalty seems harsh but fair.
I've always been told that the baggy clothing was to assist in the hiding of firearms.
“Are you one of those guys that pretend that one can only commit suicide with a pistol by using an index finger to pull the trigger, rather than holding it backwards and using your thumb........yes?”
Huh? You think this might be a case of suicide?
your=you’re
“The Beagle is making sounds like a criminal defense atttorney.”
No, but the cop’s story doesn’t make sense and if used in court he will likely lose.
That's exactly why I support a dress code. </taliban>
Of course there is, face a person and turn your head, as if your going to turn around quickly. I could see a bullet hitting someone behind the ear quite easily if their head is turned, no?
Sounds like a good kill to me....
Dress like a gangster, behave like a gangster, be a gangster — die like one should.
And guilty of a fashion faux pas!
Are you a student or staff? What part of the world are you in?
That’s ok, I thought Gary, Indiana was named after the president of U.S. Steel, not Elbert of Judicary fame. My grandfather was named Elbert, for some perverse reason.
Its interesting to note that the officer was indicted on charges, but he is using these photographs and story to try to get a lawsuit dismissed. Makes me wonder what story he told IA and why the GJ didn’t buy his explanation of events(he likely even testified as that courtesy is usually extended to LEO’s). Probably hung up on the fact that it seems more likely he wasn’t facing the officer than he somehow shot him behind the ear from in front(who knows, maybe he yanked his head real quick or the officer hesitated, but he certainly wasn’t facing the officer when the gun was fired).
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