The New York Police Department released it’s first body cam footage of a fatal police shooting. Intended to show transparency, the life and death decisions that law enforcement officers might be called upon to make at any moment, and that the vast majority of police shootings are entirely justified, it backfired. NYPD, here comes the twisted reality of a lawsuit for a totally justified shooting.
First fatal police shooting captured on NYPD body camera results in lawsuit
NEW YORK — The first fatal police shooting captured on NYPD body cameras and released to the public in an effort to show cops’ “discretion and restraint” has resulted in a lawsuit.
The estate of Miguel Antonio Richards charges that Officers Mark Fleming and Redmond Murphy used excessive force when they fired 16 times, striking him seven times on Sept. 6, 2017. Richards was carrying a toy gun and a knife.
The deadly encounter was captured on the body cameras of four officers at the scene. Police Commissioner James O’Neill released a 16-minute compilation of the footage, telling the rank and file that transparency would help foster trust with the community.
As you know, normally at this point I would direct everyone right to where the action happens. In this case I’m not going to do that because I feel it’s important for everyone to see and hear just how patient these officers are with this dangerous thug.
“The level of discretion and restraint exercised by members of the NYPD is nothing short of exceptional. Releasing footage from critical incidents like this will help firmly establish your restraint in the use of force, and will plainly exhibit to the public your reasonable and judicious use of force when that force becomes necessary,” O’Neill said.
Attorney Daniel McGuinness, who is representing the estate, has a different perception.
“If you watch this video you see a steady escalation and intensity. There’s shouting, profanity and instigation,” he said.
No, I really don’t, you fuckstick. I see and hear officers waiting patiently, begging, PLEADING with a dangerous thug to drop his weapons, but he doesn’t.
“If this situation had been approached with de-escalation and mental health professionals this could have been calmed down and not ratcheted up to where someone died.”
The suit was brought by the administrator of Richards’ estate, Sarekhi Stephens, who is a family friend.
It was only 13 minutes into the tense encounter that a cop said he believed that Richards was holding a gun, according to the lawsuit.
ONLY? He was also holding a knife, which he was repeatedly asked to drop. He didn’t. Now they see he has a gun as well. Do they shoot him then? No. They wait for another officer who has a taser.
“It was apparent, or should have been apparent, to Fleming and Murphy that Mr. Richards was experiencing a mental health crisis and/or was emotionally disturbed,” their suit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court reads.
Richards’ father, Belvett Richards, also said the shooting was unnecessary.
“He was murdered … cold blooded,” he told the Daily News last year.
Gosh, I’m sorry for your loss. And if you believe that I also have a bridge for sale. What’s cold blooded about these officers holding fire on an armed thug until an officer who has balls the size of Mt. Olympus arrives and walks into the room with a taser to take down this idiot by non-lethal means?
The suit cites other high-profile NYPD shootings as evidence that the NYPD fails to train cops how “to de-escalate confrontations with emotionally disturbed persons.”
The police killings of Dwayne Jeune, Deborah Danner and Mohamed Bah were all “unnecessary civilian deaths,” the suit says.
“(The video) shows a very tragic lack of the NYPD’s training and adoption of policies for mentally ill people to be contained and for situations to be deescalated. That’s really the crux of our suit,” attorney McGuinness said.
The city Law Department did not immediately return a request for comment. An NYPD spokesman declined comment.
My guess is that the pasty-faced weasel McGuinness, pictured here,
has never been in any sort of a situation remotely comparable to this one. Let’s put your sissy-ass in those officers shoes and see what happens. My guess is you would have crapped your expensive designer drawers and run off, thereby endangering your fellow officers lives. Being braver than you, they waited and waited and waited for a peaceful resolution. It didn’t happen. That’s on the thug. The ambulance chaser McGuiness will just keep on waiting for the next justified shooting and offer up his business card to make big money, while the cops that did nothing wrong pay with their careers.
Expert commentary on why this shooting was justified can be seen here.
