The coroner's inquest into the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by a Las Vegas Metro police officer has ruled the shooting justified.
Authorities said Det. Bryan Yant, 34, shot and killed Cole when he made a sudden move during a search of Cole’s apartment the night of June 11. Yant and other officers suspected Cole was dealing marijuana from the residence.Cole was unarmed and his family has argued that he was not a threat, and wasn't the major drug dealer police were after.
Yant, who joined Metro police in 2000, has been involved in two other officer-involved shootings.The coroner's inquest was made up of a jury of seven who could reach three conclusions -- the death was justified, excusable or criminal.
In 34 years, only one case was ruled criminal in a coroner's inquest in the county.
That's bad. Those are some dangerous cops. They don't even dress it up as "lunging with an object in his hand." For these guys a "sudden move" is enough. And their superiors and the coroner's jury, everybody condones it.
Maybe this goes back to the days when Vegas was young and ruled by criminal mobs. Justice was swift and unquestioned. Perhaps that's evolved into what we have today with the police. Based on their record, it sounds like the Vegas Law Enforcement people have a license to kill.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Let's assume you are 100% correct about what happened here.
ReplyDeleteLet's further assume, for the sake of argument, that the individual in question was murdered at the hands of the police, and that this happens a lot.
Do you now begin to understand why we insist on not being disarmed? If we are disarmed, who will still be armed, but criminals (who do not care that they are breaking the law and do not think they will be caught) and the police who (under our assumption above) are no better than a pack of criminals, just more organized and with the ability to call for back-up, and with the ready-made approval of a review board that doesn't question their actions?
We the people in the middle are left to choose whether we want to die at the hands of muggers, rapists and other violent scum, or the police who show up afterwards to take the report.
The war on drugs is probably the only other war that has killed more people than the war on guns.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, it's pretty smart to do your best statue imitation when the police are around.
Unless, like the recent situation in Denver, the cop decides that you are ignoring him, then writes up a report that says you swung at him minutes earlier, which is why he threw you to the ground even though you weren't doing anything.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you can't win for losing.
Could you be a little more grandiose, AztecRed?
ReplyDelete"The war on drugs is probably the only other war that has killed more people than the war on guns."
If you think he's being grandiose, you have research to do.
ReplyDeleteThe ATF has killed people for not paying a $200 tax.