We’ve been inundated in recent months with stories of police brutality and violence. What we usually don’t see, however, is the raw footage of the officers’ reactions moments after they shoot and kill a?human being. The truth is, these men and women are sworn to “protect and serve” and the majority of police officers?(I firmly believe) take that seriously.
In April 2014, Billings, Montana police officer Grant Morrison pulled over unarmed Richard Ramirez for a traffic stop and ended up shooting and killing the man.?Morrison told?a jury that Ramirez was high on methamphetamines and this caused him to believe that Ramirez might have a weapon. Morrison said that he feared for his life.
?I thought he was gonna pull a gun on me,? says Morrison in the video, at the scene.
The other officer responded:
?Maybe he was, maybe he was,? Ross says as Morrison breaks down into sobs. ?Jesus, Grant. You survived.?
Ramirez wasn’t armed. From The Daily Dot:
?I knew in that moment, which later was determined to be untrue, but I knew in that moment that he was reaching for a gun,? Morrison told a jury that cleared him of any wrongdoing on Wednesday. ?I couldn’t take that risk. … I wanted to see my son grow up.?
Here is a video?via the Billings Gazette. At about the 1:45 mark you can see Morrison being led away from the scene.
A video seen by the jury shows Morrison?shouting at Ramirez and telling him to put his hands up. When Ramirez didn’t comply, Morrison fired three times into the car.?The video shows Morrison?in a state of shock as he cries.
After paid administrative leave, Officer Morrison has returned to active duty. The dash cam video was released after the jury cleared him of wrongdoing. You can watch the video of the actual shooting here.
Morrison shot and killed another man in February 2013 and was also cleared of wrongdoing. The man reached for something that was later determined to be a BB gun.
Below is the dash cam footage of the’shooting incident involving the man with the BB gun, from 2013.
h/t Miles Klee at?The Daily Dot?via?Josh Feldman?at?Mediaite
