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A WHITE POLICE officer in Chicago plans to sue the estate of a black teenager he shot dead because he was traumatised by the fact that he accidentally killed the teen’s neighbour in the incident, his lawyer has said.
“The damage is my client feels horrible that Bettie Davis is dead because of the actions he was forced to take,” attorney Joe Brodsky told AFP.
It’s affected him greatly. It’s a burden he’s going to have to carry for the rest of his life.
The 26 December shooting came as the US city was reeling from a series of incidents in which police were accused of being too ready to pull the trigger on their service weapons.
The family of Quintonio LeGrier, 19, has repeatedly said there was no reason why police should have opened fire when responding to a domestic disturbance at their home.
They have sued both the city and the officer who shot him: Robert Rialmo, 27.
A wrongful death suit filed by LeGrier’s father, Antonio, argues that the teen “never had possession or control of a weapon” and was not a threat to Rialmo or anyone else at any point.
Shooting
Rialmo was standing outside when he opened fire on LeGrier, who was inside the building, the lawsuit said. Antonio LeGrier is also suing for wrongful arrest after police made him leave his dying son in order to file a statement about the incident.
City officials have apologised for the death of Davis, a 55-year-old mother of five, but have said LeGrier’s shooting was justified.
The city has released few details about the incident except to say that LeGrier was brandishing a baseball bat when he was shot after his father called for help in the small hours of the morning.
LeGrier, an engineering student who was struggling with mental health problems, had called 911 for help several times earlier that evening but the dispatcher did not send an officer to the house until his father called.
Brodsky said that makes the incident a “double tragedy because if my client had advance knowledge he was dealing with a mentally ill person he may have handled this in a different way”.
‘Winning the lottery’
Police tactics and racism have been the subject of a national debate since protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, in mid-2014 over the shooting death of a black teenager, 18-year-old Michael Brown.
The US Justice Department is investigating how Chicago police use force after the death of another black teenager, Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times as he was walking away from officers.
Brodsky insists this case is nothing like that of McDonald, an incident caught on camera which sparked mass protest and led embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel to fire Chicago’s police chief and reform the department.
“He didn’t kill him like he murdered him – he shot to save his own life,” Brodsky said in a telephone interview.
Somebody is swinging a baseball bat and they’re two feet above you, you’re a pumpkin.
Brodsky insists that the outrage which the incident provoked would be muted if people knew the facts of the case.
Former marine
Rialmo, a former marine who has only been on the force for three years, backed away as LeGrier approached and repeatedly ordered him to drop the bat before opening fire, Brodsky said.
“The round that tragically killed Bettie Jones was a through-and-through,” which passed through LeGrier’s body before striking Jones, Brodsky said.
It’s not like he shot a spray of bullets. He couldn’t see through LeGrier… he didn’t know she was there.
Rialmo also showed restraint by only firing six rounds from a gun which has 16 bullets, Brodsky said.
Brodsky said it was also important to note that the lawsuit is in fact a countersuit.
“Something that bothers Officer Rialmo and myself about the way this is going is the family filed the lawsuit before the funeral,” Brodsky said.
It seems like people believe now that if you have a family member killed by a police officer it’s the functional equivalent of winning the lottery… ever since the City of Chicago paid $5 million to the McDonald family that seems to be the attitude and it’s just crazy.
Ireland… The best little country in the world to screw the self employed…
The best country in the world to be a politician
Having Noonan in charge of Finance is like having a fox in charge of a hen house. .
If they do away with usc they will increase lpt dont be so naive the banks were guaranteed.
Having 1000 plus children in hotel rooms B and B ect and having an 85 year old woman pass away after 2 days on a trolley should be addressed first !!
Take the 13 Billion from Apple or whatever the government can get at this stage and put some prosperity back into Ireland.
What a load of useless wasters the above people are. Half a billion for the total budget for Ireland.A fiver for the old age pensioners……
Waffle waffle waffle.
Don’t forget drag the Apple debacle out for another five years while the people of Ireland struggle because of Noonan.
Are you really so naive to think that Apple will just hand over 13 billion to the Irish government and then continue happily employing the thousands of people nationwide?
Cathal how long would it take for apples workforce to pay €13bn in tax? There are I think 6,000 of them.
Let’s not be fooled here. It’s not a billion euro giveaway. It’s a 3 billion euro giveaway. That’s how much government spending is increasing over the past year. Why the difference? Because the other 2 billion is eaten up by government “commitments”, ie increases in public sector pay and more money into the black hole health budget, most likely eaten up by consultants fees. The 1 billion is what is left to “play with”.
Imagine we had not increased public sector pay this year. We could pretty much half the USC in a single year. The government is using and abusing the middle class and private sector who create the wealth by retaining the USC to feed the insatiable public sector, welfare recipients and health consultants.
Yea your right lets knock teachers, nurses and gardai pay down to minimum wage…that will surely attract the best and stop them emigrating to Dubai etc!!
@Eoin McDonnell:
Eoin if we had halved the USC instead of giving pay rises, the nurses, guards and teachers would have benefited too.
@ Fred totally agree
Not too mention the scroungers year after year on the dole
It’s not an increase in public sector pay.. Its a very partial restoration of pay and then only for certain grades !
I don’t know anyone in the public sector who has had a pay rise, I know the younger more vulnerable members have had ONLY A FRACTION of their pay RESTORED but nope no pay rises I am afraid…
@Eoin McDonnell:
“Restore” to what? 2008 levels? Based on tax revenues from an unsustainable property bubble? Have a think about that.
You have no moral right to 2008 levels of pay. We couldn’t afford it then and we can’t afford it now, they use the USC to pay for it.
@Karl: Yes but a cut to USC benefits all workers across all sectors.
Fred yes if the ps didn’t get a pay rise you could cut usc. How much inconvenience do you think the resulting strikes would cause you. Public sector workers are running out of patience as it is. They won’t take much more bs.
Yes Fred but that would not be what we were promised. We agreed to a temporary pay cut to help us get out of a tight spot. We are out of that spot apparently so pay us. Keep the recovery going ;)
@Fred Johnson: Thats short sgihted public private nonsense , it was some wealth created there in the 2010 when the Troika landed to convert private to sovereign debt. The public service shouldered it on the double pay cuts, usc and Fempi as well as no budgets to properly complete jobs. This was right and fair.
Public workers now continue to pay USC , pay reductions and the emergency reductions in FEMPI, so roughly double your USC that’s what comes out of a nurse,garda,firefighter,civil servant pay cheque. You would swear a public servant lives in a different economy or eats a different type of bread and their kids automatically have storks delivering uniforms and football boots. So when Dublin Bus gets 12% Luas workes 18% , these people are completing with public servants among others in the housing market.
Seriously consider inviting Apple/Google/Pfizer here and saying to them unfortunately we have no Gardai working today so the army is on the streets but its not as bad the hospitals were closed last week. No investment. The jobs these people do are real jobs and necessary job roles in a functioning society. We’re all in this little place together and truth is without foreign direct investment we’d still be a basket case economy and without stability you can’t have that.
It’s not a giveaway. It was our money before the government forcibly took it from us. At most, it’s the Mafia boss sending us a wedding present after years of running a protection racket.
@Ben McArthur: Who are the government….a foreign power???
@Get Lost Eircodes: They are the proxy of foreign powers such as the IMF and the EU. They have no loyalty to the Irish people, that’s for sure.
Racketeers who have acquired the veneer of legitimacy by pretending every so often that we have the chance to throw them out. If politics stopped tomorrow, the real government would continue. Look at Belgium, who supposedly had no government for over a year. Does anyone think it really made any difference?
First priority will be the golden circle closely followed by the gombeens, cronies and sleeveens.The only difference the ordinary punter will notice is the increase in government advertising/self promotion in the poddle like media,
Sew up your pockets, Jabba the Hutt wants to remove the contents and turn them inside out .
“incentives will be rolled out to encourage entrepreneurship”. I fell off my chair reading that and I’m sure I’m not the only one. After the way small business has been treated for years anyone with sense will go elsewhere with their energy, brains and passion to start a business. Ireland exports its young qualified people and its potential indigenous businesses. When the multinationals all go to China or somewhere what will there be left here? Just fat politicians on massive pensions who will tell us it’s our own fault.
29,000 sign on Change.org petition for Reform of the daft Irish Motor Tax system … €280 for new Merc … €580 for 10 yr old 1.6L … the most regressive unfair motor tax system in the EU. poor subsidising the rich … a disgusting society to live in.
Pre-budget submission made to Dept of Finance on behalf of 29,000 signatories …. 87,000 visited the Change.org site.
I’d have no problem with self employed receiving more tax credits but they cants prove their income. Can other employees claim expenses and vat back too?
Free the Journal 50
@now-now-now:
Haha. Let the cat out.
Powerabbey
Sep 19th 2016, 10:15 AM # 33 1
Free the Journal 50
@LITTLEONE: You can see Dane’s hand writ large all over the comments section, every now and again he trips himself up. It must be hard for the most profilic profile maker to keep track of them all, especially in between driving lessons, I just hope the haste is not him texting whilst driving..:)
Free the 50 accounts
@now-now-now: Are they that bad at buying a round?
Ah sure Ireland’s a wash with money no other country can afforded to turn down € 13 billion in un-payed taxes. There will be at least a fiver for everyone in the audience.
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