Private autopsy claims Vonderrit Myers shot while fleeing

[branford]

219. Let's talk about the witness.

The family claims they have a witness to their son's execution. They do not have to reveal the witness to the public, but until the witness goes to the authorities, they are effectively meaningless. If the witness does not trust the local police, they can approach the state police, district attorney or even the FBI. They can also retain counsel (likely pro bono) to protect their interests.

I also don't really care about the name of the witness. I do care, however, if they actually exist, what they allegedly witnessed, if they can identify anything that could possibly forensically confirm their claim of an execution, and if anything about them is a serious impediment to their credibility. I would assume that you, too, would want this information.

We've also repeatedly discussed the officers employment in this thread and others. It is commonplace for officers to work certain security jobs while not officially on-duty, and nothing appears to indicate the officer's employment was in any way improper or nefarious. Not only do police officers generally maintain all their powers, duties and obligations while not officially on-the-clock, in this instance, the officer was in his police uniform and driving a marked security vehicle. Numerous articles explain these simple and uncontested circumstances. You may not like these facts, but they are generally uncontested.

The officer was fully entitled to approach Myers and talk to him. He only needed probable cause for a physical search or arrest. The forensic evidence appears to conclusively prove that Myers had a gun and fired it at the officer. Since Myers was subject to bail conditions, the gun was definitely illegal (and Myers apparently should have been home under house arrest). If Myers ran when approached by the officer, particularly if he had any other suspicions of criminal activity (such as possession of a handgun), he was well within his authority to pursue. That would most certainly not entitle Myers to fire on the officer. If the officer was fired upon, however, he could shoot at Myers, now a proven and dangerous threat, even if he was fleeing.

I'm also somewhat confused by your tone. Despite the forensic evidence, prior criminal charges and social media postings, do you still subscribe to the family's claim that Myers was only armed with a sandwich?