As you know, BCT is not normally a place where bad shoots by police are featured. I think I’ve shown one just because it was so egregious. The whole reason I started doing this series is because all we ever see on the lamestream are the questionable shoots. We never see the legitimate shoots I show here. This pro-BLM selectivity by the major news outlets only serves to create a biased and negative view of law enforcement officers. BCT was meant to counter that. For every bad shoot that occurs there are countless legitimate ones that never see the light of day.
However, I’m showing this one because an expert on the subject I interviewed about it has called it a “gray area,” and even though the officer involved has been fired (or forced to resign) and the DA is currently reviewing the case, it’s still not enough to please one of the kings of the liberal media, the Washington Post.
In a nutshell, here’s what happened.
San Bernardino police officer is off the force after killing man who had his hands up
A San Bernardino police officer is off the force after shooting to death a man who had put down a gun and had his hands up but refused orders to stop walking toward police.
Interim Police Chief Eric McBride released details and body-worn camera footage Friday, Oct. 25, in a video posted on YouTube. The shooting took place Sept. 28, 2018.
“Upon completion of our internal investigation and review process, we’ve concluded that one of our officer’s decision-making did not meet the standards held by our department or the community we serve,” McBride said in the video. “As a result he no longer works for the San Bernardino Police Department.”
McBride did not say whether Officer Brandon Gaddie was fired or resigned.
Gaddie and Officer John Baltas responded to a call involving a man who was threatening family members with a handgun. Uniform-worn camera footage from Gaddie shows the officers arriving at a residence on the 3100 block of North Cactus Circle. The video initially shows Richard John Sanchez with a gun in his right hand and his back to the officers just inside the front door.
Gaddie and Baltas told the man to drop the gun.
Sanchez turned around and moved the gun from his right hand to his left hand. After more instruction to put the gun down, Sanchez lay the gun on the arm of a couch.
Both officers told Sanchez to put his hands up. He placed his hands up and walked toward officers. As he did so, at least one of the two officers shouted at him to stop. He didn’t stop, and Gaddie shot him five times, McBride said.
Sanchez died that night at a hospital.
Baltas has returned to full duty.
The shooting is under review by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office to determine if a crime was committed.
“Our administrative review process does not make a determination about whether the officer’s actions were lawful,” McBride said in the video. “The determination of the lawfulness of the shooting will be made by the District Attorney’s Office, which is currently reviewing the incident.”
The District Attorney’s Office received the case in December and is reviewing it.
“We will do a thorough review regarding whether or not the shooting was legally justified,” said a statement issued Friday by the DA’s Office.
The review “will not address whether the tactics or actions of any involved officer fall within the police agency’s use of force guidelines or whether civil liability should follow from these events,” it said.
That’s a pretty accurate description of what happened, but here’s the footage so you can see it for yourselves.
You and I can form our own opinions on this shooting, but what does an expert say? I asked one. He’s a veteran cop in a large city and former member of an elite military force. Of course he wishes to remain anonymous so I won’t say anything more than that other than he knows his shit. His thoughts . . .
“Very gray on this one… he was armed but put the weapon down. He did however continue to advance on them, was too close and easily could have gone for one of their weapons. They were in a bad tactical position. No need to rush immediately in and could have waited for more units to arrive, arming one of them with a taser to take him down in a case like this. Still have a designated shooter or two to smoke him if he does not put down the gun. But have other options open. I see it more as a tactics and training issue. My guess is the younger guy/shooter was a rookie still on probation. So he is easily canned to shut up the rabble. Otherwise he likely would not have been fired if he had time on and could fight for his job thru the process.
Again I’ll call this one a suicide by cop scenario, where [a] shitbird puts them in a bad position to make a split second decision.”
I know many of you here are former LEOs, so please also give your thoughts.
But one thing my expert said is not arguable, Sanchez was indeed a shitbird. I know this because you normally don’t get free photographs taken by law enforcement agencies like this one if you aren’t:
You also don’t do things like those described in excerpts from LAist.com.
The shooting of Richard John Sanchez on September 28, 2018, occurred after a member of his family called 911 to report Sanchez was threatening family members with a gun. That initial call was made at 10:14 p.m. Before the officers arrived, a woman police identified as Sanchez’s sister-in-law called again in tears and said she had escaped the home with children, but that he remained inside and was threatening family members with a gun in the kitchen.
According to police, family members and witnesses said that Sanchez was intoxicated and making irrational statements such as he had everyone under his control because he was God.
Further, they don’t often issue things like this without reason:
Authorities also said Sanchez, who was 27, had a felony arrest warrant that responding officers knew about at the time of the incident.
I point these things out not to justify this shooting, only to say that I’m not going to lose any sleep over his demise.
Members of Sanchez’s family released a statement expressing grief and anguish over his death, but also praise for the police department’s handling of the investigation.
“While Richard’s sudden passing has left a void that cannot be filled in the lives of his family members,” the statement said, “the family is honored and encouraged by the swift acceptance of responsibility by the leadership of the San Bernardino Police Department — whose investigation into this tragic incident was aimed at uncovering the truth, even when this meant acknowledging the mistakes of a fellow officer.”
Although Sanchez’s family is praising the actions of the SBPD, of course the Washington Post has taken matters into its own hands
to fan the flames of anti-police sentiment and the myth that these types of shootings happen far more than legitimate ones. Stating that,
The alarming video was released as fatal shootings by police continue to stoke outrage around the country and leave communities skeptical that they will receive justice.
The recent conviction of a former Dallas officer who shot her neighbor in his home, as well as murder charges against a Fort Worth officer who killed a woman playing video games in her house, were hailed by some as encouraging signs of law enforcement being held accountable for unjustified deadly force. But years of cases that did not lead to firings or charges have sown distrust.
“Years of cases that did not lead to firings” because they were justified. And no one has sown more distrust of police than the Washington Post and news outlets of their ilk. I’ve seen footage of the two shootings mentioned above. Who hasn’t? The media wastes no time in pouncing chances to perpetuate the myth of racist cops out to kill every black man they see. And a lot, if not most of the time, the shootings turn out to be justified. In these two cases I feel the former cops are getting what they deserve. But it will never be enough for the liberal media.
You’re getting justice where justice is deserved, but you will not and should not get it where it isn’t.
Now, what do you guys think about this one?
