An incident from 2013 in which a sergeant shot at a victim as he ran from a house where he was being held against his will is just one illustration of this problem. 12 “Anthony” 13 was being held against his will inside a house by armed assailants. When officers arrived on scene, they had information that two armed
assailants were holding several people inside the home. After officers surrounded the house,
Anthony escaped from his captors and ran from the house, wearing only boxer shorts. An officer
ordered Anthony to stop, but Anthony continued to run toward the officers. One sergeant fired
two shots at him, missing. According to the sergeant, when Anthony escaped from the house,
the sergeant believed Anthony had a weapon because he elevated his arm and pointed his hand
toward the sergeant. No other officers at the scene reported seeing Anthony point anything at the
sergeant.
The sergeant’s use of deadly force was unreasonable. It is only by fortune that he did not
kill the crime victim in this incident. The sergeant had no reasonable belief that Anthony posed
an immediate danger. The man fleeing the home was wearing only boxer shorts, making it
extremely unlikely that he was one of the hostage takers.
Bookmarks