The bullets that went into his buttocks went travelled the length of his body indicating that they were fired when he was already lying on the ground.
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UC, thanks for the tip to listen to the press conference. You were right; it was 8 minutes but worth it. I had read that one witness said that Gelhaus continued to shoot at Andy while he was on the ground, but I thought it was probably hyperbole. However, the ballistics tell the story. One bullet went into his buttock and through the length of his body, clearly indicating that he was shot while already on the ground. Gelhaus just unloaded into him, without thought for whether it was really necessary to use SO much firepower to subdue this terribly dangerous subject. (BTW, I read somewhere else, can’t remember where or I’d link it, that the family’s attorney said that the family’s private autopsy shows that the ballistics indicate that Andy did NOT “start to raise his gun” as the deputy had said. I was always suspicious of that statement from Gelhaus as it smacked of CYA on his part.)
Feel like crying now. Or throwing up. I’m raising two kids a mile from where this happened. Sure feel good and protected by our Sheriff’s dept. right now....
Three things, Hetty:
First: The family attorney paid for a private autopsy by a former Sonoma County ME that he was holding up in the presser. If you can find it please post it.
Second: That autopsy showed that it was impossible for Andy to have been raising the barrel or in the process of pointing the barrel toward the deputy. Among other things it is reported that he was found laying on the ground on top of the rifle — the body and the rifle pointing away from the deputies.
And the police department has the audacity to put Gelhaus’s BS statement out there as if it is true when they know otherwise.
Three: The attorney called the claim that Gelhaus fired before the other deputy could stop the car BS — the BS story put out there to explain why only Gelhaus felt threatened and fired and not his 11 year experienced partner. His partner being closer should have yelled at the kid but he didn’t. He was the one closest to the line of fire but he held his fire — why??? And Gelhaus had the whole front of the car to take cover behind not just the car door.
They are smart not to wait for the police investigation because all it is turning out to be is a police white wash.