TTAG reader Vhyrus writes:
I am from this area so this hits close to home. A prisoner was being transported by police when he became aggressive and began struggling. At one point he was on the ground fighting with two cops (while still handcuffed). He got away from the police for a moment and the cop immediately draws and fires on him, killing him. The whole incident was recorded. You can see the shot happen around 18:55. Here’s how news.vice.com describes the incident . . .
Daniel Saenz had been arrested for reportedly assaulting an off-duty officer and staff at a local medical center on March 8, 2013. [Officer] Flores and a prison guard were transporting Saenz — shirtless, handcuffed, and struggling — from the city jail to a hospital to treat a self-inflicted injury. Flores fired the fatal shot with a Glock semiautomatic handgun as he and the prison guard wrestled with Saenz outside of the jail.
The bullet went through Saenz’s left shoulder and into his chest, piercing his heart. The authorities called it an accident. They said that the guard knocked Flores as he pointed his drawn weapon, causing it to fire. They said that Saenz could have moved his cuffs to the front of his body and, with his strength, use them as a weapon. They said a taser would not suffice to subdue him.
Yes, he was struggling, but he was on the ground handcuffed. At what point is he a lethal threat to anyone?
[ED: nydailynews.com reports that a Grand Jury declined to indict Office Jose Flores. FYI “Flores is also the El Paso cop who became the focus of national attention after giving a pair of boots and socks to a homeless man in January 2013.”]