A stupid, cop-baiting maneuver in traffic by a motorcyclist who was
drunk and stoned (according to lab results) resulted in an officer shooting him dead.
No charges in fatal Washington police shooting of black man
Ian Simpson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Washington police officer will face no charges for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorcyclist who rammed his cruiser after a high-speed chase, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday. The September 2016 shooting death of Terrence Sterling, 31, triggered demonstrations in the U.S. capital amid anger over police killings of African-Americans across the United States.
"There is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges" against the officer who shot Sterling, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Hassan Murphy, a lawyer for the Sterling family, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said Washington's Metropolitan Police Department had asked for the resignation of the officer involved, who did not have his body camera on in violation of protocol.
"I do not believe there can be real accountability if the officer remains on the force," she said in a statement. The officer is on administrative leave and faces an internal department review of the shooting.
Sterling, a resident of Fort Washington, Maryland, was on a motorcycle when he pulled in front of a police cruiser at a red light early on Sept. 11, the prosecutors' statement said.
Sterling glanced at the officers, then raced through the red light. The police car pursued Sterling, who reached 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour) as he sped through red lights over a 25-block route, the statement said.
Sterling stopped at an intersection and the cruiser blocked his path. When the officer began to get out of the passenger side, Sterling rammed into the passenger door. The officer fired two rounds, hitting Sterling in the right side and neck. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Sterling had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, about twice the legal limit for the District of Columbia, and tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, the statement said.
The officer was not identified by police, prosecutors or the mayor. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Sterling's family against the department has named him as Officer Brian Trainer and alleges that Sterling posed no threat to him.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-washingtondc-idUSKBN1AP2RN
This is similar in the circumstances and the biker's outcome to what happened to US Marine veteran Arthur Macduffie, who was black, in Miami FL during 1979, after he ran a red light. When cops tried to make a traffic stop, Macduffie chose to flee on his motorcycle, running a series of red lights before he was finally apprehended. The coroner's report said he was beaten to death with a blunt heavy metal object, reportedly a police officer's Kel-Lite flashlight. Officers were accused of driving a police vehicle over the motorcycle to support their story of what happened.
The officers' trial was moved to Tampa from Miami because the defense attorneys claimed the officers wouldn't be able to get a fair trial locally. In Tampa, no black jurors sat in the jury box. The deliberation took less than three hours, and the charges against the officers were dismissed.
In Miami, rioting erupted, and the Liberty City/Overtown area, historically a black housing area, looked more-like a war zone, with groups smashing their way into businesses, stealing anything of value, and setting them afire. The fire departments held back their rigs because it wasn't safe for the firefighters because of the constant gunfire. Several businesses were burned to the ground, including a tire distributor, Norton Tire, with several dozen stores supplied from one massive stocked warehouse. Once ablaze, the black plume of smoke from the ignited tires was visible in the next county. Another large business warehouse, Farrey's, wich was a distributor of kitchen and plumbing fixtures, and cabinets and hardware, was also burned to the ground. Neither rebuilt in their lcations.
In the end, 18 people were killed, and the estimates of the damage reached $80 million ($252 million in 2017 dollars).
None of the officers are still employed in the police jobs they held at the time. The officer accused by other officers of swinging the Kel-Lite against Macduffie's skull was later arrested after leaving the force, for selling protection to a drug dealer who was working with authorities. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/11/us/man-linked-to-riot-is-arrested.html
http://flashbackmiami.com/2014/05/07/mcduffie-riots-1980/
drunk and stoned (according to lab results) resulted in an officer shooting him dead.
No charges in fatal Washington police shooting of black man
Ian Simpson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Washington police officer will face no charges for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorcyclist who rammed his cruiser after a high-speed chase, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday. The September 2016 shooting death of Terrence Sterling, 31, triggered demonstrations in the U.S. capital amid anger over police killings of African-Americans across the United States.
"There is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges" against the officer who shot Sterling, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Hassan Murphy, a lawyer for the Sterling family, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said Washington's Metropolitan Police Department had asked for the resignation of the officer involved, who did not have his body camera on in violation of protocol.
"I do not believe there can be real accountability if the officer remains on the force," she said in a statement. The officer is on administrative leave and faces an internal department review of the shooting.
Sterling, a resident of Fort Washington, Maryland, was on a motorcycle when he pulled in front of a police cruiser at a red light early on Sept. 11, the prosecutors' statement said.
Sterling glanced at the officers, then raced through the red light. The police car pursued Sterling, who reached 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour) as he sped through red lights over a 25-block route, the statement said.
Sterling stopped at an intersection and the cruiser blocked his path. When the officer began to get out of the passenger side, Sterling rammed into the passenger door. The officer fired two rounds, hitting Sterling in the right side and neck. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Sterling had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, about twice the legal limit for the District of Columbia, and tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, the statement said.
The officer was not identified by police, prosecutors or the mayor. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Sterling's family against the department has named him as Officer Brian Trainer and alleges that Sterling posed no threat to him.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-police-washingtondc-idUSKBN1AP2RN
This is similar in the circumstances and the biker's outcome to what happened to US Marine veteran Arthur Macduffie, who was black, in Miami FL during 1979, after he ran a red light. When cops tried to make a traffic stop, Macduffie chose to flee on his motorcycle, running a series of red lights before he was finally apprehended. The coroner's report said he was beaten to death with a blunt heavy metal object, reportedly a police officer's Kel-Lite flashlight. Officers were accused of driving a police vehicle over the motorcycle to support their story of what happened.
The officers' trial was moved to Tampa from Miami because the defense attorneys claimed the officers wouldn't be able to get a fair trial locally. In Tampa, no black jurors sat in the jury box. The deliberation took less than three hours, and the charges against the officers were dismissed.
In Miami, rioting erupted, and the Liberty City/Overtown area, historically a black housing area, looked more-like a war zone, with groups smashing their way into businesses, stealing anything of value, and setting them afire. The fire departments held back their rigs because it wasn't safe for the firefighters because of the constant gunfire. Several businesses were burned to the ground, including a tire distributor, Norton Tire, with several dozen stores supplied from one massive stocked warehouse. Once ablaze, the black plume of smoke from the ignited tires was visible in the next county. Another large business warehouse, Farrey's, wich was a distributor of kitchen and plumbing fixtures, and cabinets and hardware, was also burned to the ground. Neither rebuilt in their lcations.
In the end, 18 people were killed, and the estimates of the damage reached $80 million ($252 million in 2017 dollars).
None of the officers are still employed in the police jobs they held at the time. The officer accused by other officers of swinging the Kel-Lite against Macduffie's skull was later arrested after leaving the force, for selling protection to a drug dealer who was working with authorities. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/11/us/man-linked-to-riot-is-arrested.html
http://flashbackmiami.com/2014/05/07/mcduffie-riots-1980/
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