Bridgeton NJ Police Shooting

[BGIF]

New Jersey police release video of cop shooting man with hands up | Reuters

BY JONATHAN ALLEN
Thu Jan 22, 2015 8:11pm EST

(Reuters) - A New Jersey police department released a video this week of a man being fatally shot by police as he got out of a car with his hands raised during a traffic stop, heightening calls for an independent investigation into the death.

The footage, recorded on a police dashboard camera, showed a traffic stop escalating into the deadly confrontation in less than two minutes after one of the police officers said he saw a gun in the car's glove compartment.

The death of Jerame Reid on Dec. 30 in Bridgeton has prompted protests in the city, local media has reported. Some protests have been similar to those over cases last year in Missouri and New York City in which white police officers killed unarmed black men.

Reid, who was sitting in the car's front passenger side, was black, as is the car's driver.

The video shows a black police officer, identified in local media reports as Braheme Days, approaching the parked car on Reid's side. "Hey, how are you all doing?" he asks cordially before asking why they had not stopped at a stop sign.

Within a few seconds, Days pulls out his gun and tells his white patrol partner, identified in media reports as Roger Worley, that there is a gun in the glove compartment.

"Don't you fucking move. I'm going to shoot you," Days said. He also shouted at Worley to get the men out of the car.

The video shows Days reaching into the car and removing what appears to be a gun and dropping it to the ground.

Days repeatedly orders the men not to move and show their hands, referring to Reid by his first name at one point.

Moments later, Days shouts: "He's reaching! He's reaching!"

Days steps back from the car, and Reid emerges with his hands up around shoulder height.

Almost instantly, both police officers shoot at him. At least six shots can be heard as Reid falls to the ground.

The Bridgeton Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday the it was opposed to releasing the video but was legally forced to do so after a New Jersey newspaper asked for it under the Open Public Records Act.

The police department did not respond to Reuters requests for further information about the case. The Cumberland County prosecutor's office said it could not release details because the investigation was ongoing.

Local media reported that both officers had been put on leave.

According to John Edward, who works with Conrad Benedetto, a lawyer representing Reid's family, Days knew Reid because he arrested him in 2014 on charges of drug possession that were later dismissed.

Edward confirmed media reports that Reid had spent some 15 years in prison for the non-fatal shooting of three police officers when he was 15.

In an emailed statement, Benedetto said the state's attorney general or another independent law enforcement agency should investigate the killing.

 

[BGIF]

Another shooting of an "unarmed" black man by police. This time with a dashcam video. And this time the primary police officer and the deceased are both black men. the shooting took place on Dec 30, 2014. The video was just released after a FOI request was filed.

All the action takes place in a few seconds.

Car was stopped for a traffic violation. Upon approaching the car passenger side, one cop, Braheme Days, saw a gun. He pulled his gun as did his partner, Roger Worley, and the two detainees were told to show their hands. The driver appears to comply inmmediately. IF the passenger complyed it isn't clear from the video angle.

The cops shouted possibly comflicting messages, "Show me your hands. Don't move." The officer appears to reach into the car and secures the visible gun.

Days yelled at the men to stay in the car. He threatened to shoot if they did not comply. Audio has one of the men saying he was coming out. Then Reid appears to exit the car with hands about chest high (not over his head as some protesters have gestured) in close proximity to Officer Days. By this point Officer Worley has moved up by the front driver's side fender of the car aiming at Reid through the windshield. The car driver continues to comply with the directiive to show his hands.

Days steps back out of camera view as Reid exits the car. Then multiple shots are fired killing Reid. I didn't see muzzle flashes as to which cop shot first as Days was out of view. The shots sounded like they were Reid adn then a muzzle flash is visible from Worley's gun. One of the still photos from the dashcam appears to show a muzzle flash from Worley's gun.

Turns out Reid was known to Days as Days had arrested him in 2014. As a juvenile Reid was imprisoned 13 years for shooting 3 at 3 state troopers.

Local activists want the Cumberland Co NJ prosecutor's office to recuse themselves and turn the case over to the NJ Attorney General's Office.



Dashcam Video:
Dashboard camera video appears to show man killed by NJ police raising his hands | Fox News


Still Photos Link:

Bridgeton, NJ police shooting protesters react to fatal traffic stop (Photos) | masslive.com

 

[BGIF]

Both cops had received compliants of abuse over the past two years of abuse. All complaints were dismissed.

 

[bkess8]

It's too bad you guys got rid of NJNP, I would of really liked to hear his views on this... NOT!

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

Here again is the problem I have with this. The man may have "had his hands up", but what part of "Don't you move, don't you ****** move did he not understand". In the video the cops start shooting almost immediately when the man stands up and exits the car. His hands may have been up, but the officers had already located a weapon in the vehicle glove compartment, and if Im the cop in that situation and that man who I know has a gun in the car starts getting out of the vehicle towards me after I repeatedly tell him not to move, I'm making sure I get the first shots off and not vice versa. The time he makes that decision is literally split seconds, and likely the impulse signal to start shooting occurs as soon as that man disobeys direct instructions and starts exiting the car as his hands start moving up. For all the officer knows he is beginning to reach up into a coat pocket to pull out another weapon. Expecting our officers to sit around and find out the answer to that is unreasonably...if the man of the law tells you don't move...DON'T MOVE.

 

[ClausentoTate]

I don't think the descriptions posted really portray just how fast this happened, or how close the man was from the cop when exiting the vehicle. From just the description I was up in arms but in real time the way he got out of the car was not passive in the least.

I don't really see any parallels with this and Gardner/Brown/Martin. No pre-meditation and the use of force was appropriate in the moment, at least to me.

 

[Monk]

Just the fact they had already found a weapon in the car and the way the passenger forced his way out of the car while repeatedly being told not to move shows a little force against the officers. I do believe this probably could have ended without anyone being hurt, but you cannot expect an officer to go on probably and put themselves in harms way. The passenger was approaching the officer after he forced his way out of the car, who knows what his intent was at the time.