Anti Federalist
06-08-2011, 09:42 PM
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Unarmed man, shot once by cop and down, is summarily executed by same cop.
City ordered to pay thousands to family for police shooting
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2146001.shtml?cat=516
A judge is ordering the City of Albuquerque to pay out $400,000 to the family of a man killed by an Albuquerque police officer two years ago.
Officer Justin Montgomery shot 19-year-old Andrew Lopez after a chase back in February 2009.
It started after police tried to pull Lopez over for driving without his lights.
Police said Lopez eventually got out of the car and tried running away near Central Avenue and Atrisco Drive before turning back toward officers with something in his hand.
It turned out to be a cell phone.
According to the lawsuit, 0fficer Montgomery fired three shots at him believing he had a gun. Two bullets missed and the third hit Lopez in his right side.
Lopez fell to the ground.
The suit claimed that Montgomery then waited for about 10 seconds, walked over to Lopez who was still alive on the ground and shot him a fourth time, this time in the chest, killing him.
Montgomery testified that he told Lopez to drop his gun before shooting.
Based on testimony, the other officers in the vicinity said they didn't hear him do that.
The city released a statement saying they're disappointed with the ruling and that the police department is developing additional de-escalation and decisional use of force training for officers.
They will also be getting recommendations in two weeks from the police executive research forum which has been analyzing the high number of police involved shootings.
(High number of police involved shootings? The hell you say. - AF)
A grand jury had already ruled the shooting as justified.
(Justified? But the taxpayers are on the hook for almost half a million dollars and probably still employing this psychopath. - AF)
The judge ruled Lopez is partially to blame for his death but said the Albuquerque Police Department was more liable.
Unarmed man, shot once by cop and down, is summarily executed by same cop.
City ordered to pay thousands to family for police shooting
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2146001.shtml?cat=516
A judge is ordering the City of Albuquerque to pay out $400,000 to the family of a man killed by an Albuquerque police officer two years ago.
Officer Justin Montgomery shot 19-year-old Andrew Lopez after a chase back in February 2009.
It started after police tried to pull Lopez over for driving without his lights.
Police said Lopez eventually got out of the car and tried running away near Central Avenue and Atrisco Drive before turning back toward officers with something in his hand.
It turned out to be a cell phone.
According to the lawsuit, 0fficer Montgomery fired three shots at him believing he had a gun. Two bullets missed and the third hit Lopez in his right side.
Lopez fell to the ground.
The suit claimed that Montgomery then waited for about 10 seconds, walked over to Lopez who was still alive on the ground and shot him a fourth time, this time in the chest, killing him.
Montgomery testified that he told Lopez to drop his gun before shooting.
Based on testimony, the other officers in the vicinity said they didn't hear him do that.
The city released a statement saying they're disappointed with the ruling and that the police department is developing additional de-escalation and decisional use of force training for officers.
They will also be getting recommendations in two weeks from the police executive research forum which has been analyzing the high number of police involved shootings.
(High number of police involved shootings? The hell you say. - AF)
A grand jury had already ruled the shooting as justified.
(Justified? But the taxpayers are on the hook for almost half a million dollars and probably still employing this psychopath. - AF)
The judge ruled Lopez is partially to blame for his death but said the Albuquerque Police Department was more liable.