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ThirdWheelWanted -> RE: Kajime powells death by cop caught on tape (8/21/2014 12:08:13 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lucylastic
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/kajieme-powell-shooting_n_5696546.html
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released cell phone footage Wednesday of the police shooting of Kajieme Powell, a 25-year-old black man killed on Tuesday in St. Louis, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
A convenience store owner called 911 on Tuesday when he suspected Powell stole drinks and donuts from his shop, according to a recording of the call. Another woman called to report Powell was acting erratically and had a knife in his pocket.
Two officers in a police SUV responded to the calls, the cell phone video shows. When the officers got out of their vehicle, Powell walked in their direction, yelling and telling them to shoot him already.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said Tuesday that both of the officers opened fire on Powell when he came within a three or four feet of them holding a knife "in an overhand grip."
But the newly released cell phone footage undermines the statement, showing Powell approaching the cops, but not coming as close as was reported, with his hands at his side. The officers began shooting within 15 seconds of their arrival, hitting Powell with a barrage of bullets.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released the video and 911 calls, telling St. Louis Public Radio that it plans to act transparently.
The shooting death occurred less than four miles from where Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in the suburb of Ferguson on Aug. 9.
The St. Louis Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Listen to the 911 calls at St. Louis Public Radio, and watch the video below. Note that both contain graphic images and language.
video also at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-P54MZVxMU&bpctr=1408585635
I'll give you that he wasn't holding the knife the way they described, his arms were at his sides, that doesn't mean he wasn't acting aggressively. It's hard to tell his exact distance from the officers when the shooting started, but each of those side-walk squares is between 3 and 4 feet per side. That makes the half squares 1.5 to 2 feet wide. If you back up to where the guy with the camera was first walking past the lamp-post, right about where the officers stopped, it's easier to tell the distance. Powells moved onto the black-top then moved rapidly towards the 2nd officer. It looks to me like he was about 3-5 feet away when the shooting started. Although, from the video, he was close enough and moving fast enough to wind up within inches of the 2nd officers feet when he came to a stop.
When I first read the description of the event, I was more inclined to say they should have gone with pepper spray. Seeing it, they only had a few seconds from when they pulled up to when they were being advanced upon by Powell. Powell also advanced on the officer who was separated from his partner by the hood of the vehicle. As fast as he was approaching, and the angle, would have made it very tough for the 1st officer (the driver) to take a shot if his partner tried pepper spray and it didn't work. The 1st officer was out of position to try to use pepper spray himself.
What I want to know is what the hell Powell was doing? He grabbed two cans, walked a bit down the block, put the cans on the ground and waited for police? Kind of looks like he was trying to commit suicide-by-police.
The man behind the camera kept saying that they should have tased him, does anyone know if these officers even had Tasers?
I think in this instance the officers had more opportunity to use non-lethal means to subdue the suspect, but it's by no means the slam-dunk that others are making it out to be.
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