No Charges For LAPD Officer Who Fatally Shot Man After Car Chase
Source: Los Angeles Times
Prosecutors have decided not to pursue criminal charges against the Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man after a 2015 car chase that ended in Burbank, a shooting that the city’s Police Commission concluded was unjustified.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office determined there was “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Officer Brian Van Gorden unlawfully used deadly force when he fatally shot Sergio Navas, according to a seven-page memo made public Tuesday.
Although Van Gorden may have had “other reasonable options,” it was also reasonable for the officer to determine that Navas posed a deadly and immediate threat, prosecutors wrote.
Citing “tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances,” prosecutors noted that Navas had suddenly stopped the car, exited and stood “face to face” with Van Gorden. The officer’s partner, they added, told investigators he thought Navas was going to shoot them.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-burbank-shooting-20170307-story.html
Pretty much the outcome to be expected. Someday, perhaps in the next century, cops will be held accountable for killing. Oh I know, this guy was no good, led the police on a car chase. Therefore, it's really his fault. It's certainly NEVER the cop's fault.
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