Still not relevant. A cop can’t be expected to identify holster-related trigger-access and the safety was engaged in the split second between being drawn on and being fired at.
SnakeDoc
1 - It is at least as relevant as the DAs suggestion Scott was suicidal and trying to provoke the cops into shooting him.
2 - Someone drawing a holstered gun for handover makes a very different motion than someone drawing to shoot - particularly if the other person has the drop on him
Speaking for myself, if I pulled against someone with a gun already in their hand, it would mean I was desperate, AND I would be moving as fast as I am capable of moving. The very act of gripping the holster and pulling it free is different, and the speed much slower.
Do I expect a cop to notice such things? Darn right I do! If I shot someone whose gun was in its holster, do you think the DA would go to bat for me? Or would I spend at least the first night in jail?
As I’ve posted before, I’ve met a guy who had a cop order him both to not move & to hand over his gun, with a Glock 40 stuffed in his face and the cop’s finger on the trigger. And the guy it happened to was an ex-cop (medically retired).
Sometimes cops WAY overreact, and that can set up a needless shooting. And that is what the inquest is supposed to be about - presenting the plain evidence and letting a jury decide if the cop’s behavior was appropriate.
Really? This is [apparently] a 'gun rug':
I was unfamiliar with the term "gun rug" before this thread, but I do have one of these "zippered holsters" as it was referred to in earlier threads. I think it important to note that you cannot access/operate the trigger while it is closed; the material is too thick/resistive and most of any applied force would be perpendicular to the trigger. This is something that *any* jury should be able to see and consider.