Cop shoots teen, then sues family for emotional trauma

[DetlefK]

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/a-low-cop-suing-family-teen-killed-caused-stress/

Quintonio LeGrier, 19, had a kind of mental break-down and got in an intense argument with his family. He called 911 several times, how his life is in danger, but the dispatcher didn't believe his rantings. Eventually, police did send an officer.

The officer killed LeGrier, claiming self-defense, and a neighbour who was watching from a distance.

The officer said that LeGrier was 3-4 feet away and was charging at him with a baseball bat. The family says that LeGrier was 20-30 feet away and carrying, not wielding, a baseball bat.



Shooting somebody is certainly emotionally unsettling. That's why the officer is now suing the LeGrier-family for $10 million for emotional trauma.

[hobbit709]

1. PLEASE put me on that jury.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. Isn't it possible to determine how far away a gunshot victim was

at the time of a shooting, or have I been watching too many TV shows on forensics?

[DetlefK]

3. My guess: not with this accuracy.

You can tell whether somebody was really close by finding gunpowder-residue.
You can tell whether somebody was really far away by finding that the bullet didn't really penetrate.

But at this range?

You would need some kind of experiments (data-sheets for each kind of gun and bullets) to compare how deep the bullet penetrates into ballistic flesh-like jelly when fired from which distance.
1. The bullet gets slowed down by air-friction, but I guess the difference in velocity is tiny between 3 feet and 20 feet.
2. I guess, the penetration-depth in real-life depends greatly on where exactly you hit a human body.

[Lee-Lee]

5. You can determine if someone was either really close or not

By really close it means within 2-3 feet or not.

Past about 3 feet, no.

And there are a lot of variables.

It's all about gunpowder residue and burns on skin or clothing. Within a few inches it's always there as there is still burning powder coming out after the bullet that embeds in skin and clothing. Once you get past about 2 feet it isn't always there and if you find it you can say for sure they were close, but absence of it doesn't prove a person was farther away.

3-4 it's possible presence of gunpowder residue could prove the person was close, but they could have been at that distance and not collected any so absence doesn't prove they were not that close.

[mucifer]

4. A picture from the Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/07/chicago-police-officer-lawsuit-teen-fatally-shot#img-1

[avebury]

6. I would love to be on that jury.

This is a man who obviously has no business being a cop in the first place. I am not even talking about whether or not it was a justifiable shooting. He knew what the job was when he became a cop. He knew that when he strapped on a gun that there might come a time when he might have to shoot to wound or kill. You do not get to sue the family. I can't imagine that a 19 year old has much of an estate to sue.

If anybody should be suing anbody it should be the family of Bettie Jones suing the cop. She was a total innocent bystander. Both families should be suing the cop and the Chicaco PD (who is responsible for putting an incompetent cop on the street).

[former9thward]

7. The 19 year old has no estate.

That is not the point. His family (the heirs of his estate) may sue the city for a unjustified shooting. If they are awarded anything then the estate would have assets. That is where the cop would get his money if he wins his case.