Quote (Santara @ Dec 12 2014 04:38pm)
The officer will not be indicted. He will make the claim, as officers always have, that he FEARED FOR HIS LIFE, crossing a legal threshold that will garner him qualified immunity.
that claim, as in the past has to be verified though. Not saying your are wrong about what will happen, but if the grand jury doesnt buy it he will likely be indicted.
Points for believing the officer "feared for his life":
-age is irrelevant as the video clearly shows Tamir wearing a hoodie obstructing his immature facial features and his height is at least above average for his age making his age ambiguous at best IMO
-reporting officer was never told the gun was "probably fake" as the dispatcher was, also no orange tip
-once again the defense of heightened paranoia due to the surrounding high crime neighborhood (regardless of anyone's opinion about that specific area or the legitimacy of that defense at all) comes into play
Points against:
-any juror with half a brain COULD infer that misconduct is present from past track record, however im not sure if past offenses are admissible in a grand jury setting as they (at least past offenses you were convicted of) are not admissible evidence in regular court
-physical description of Tamir could play a role but im guessing it will not be as its a rather weak argument, however it is viable it could come into play
-it appears in the video that no specific gun was ever seen, nor was the young mans body turned directly towards the officers
-unbelievably short time from exit of car to shots fired
-possible that the fact only one officer fired a shot could come into play, what did one officers perceive as a threat that the other more experienced officer did not
well see how it shakes down but i can only guess this guy, or at least the city of Cleveland, will face repercussions not previously seen in the past 2 above mentioned grand Jury decisions.