That doesn't really look like a sucker-punch. And multiple times you can hear these guys filming say "she already smacked him", seemingly really impressed with how it happened. It must have made an impression.
This will suck for him, but as for the incident that occurred, I think he's got a pretty good statement here for it being self-defense, and I hope he doesn't go to jail for any amount of times, and if he does, the military of the good state in the dystopian near future will be breaking him out, cops on our side.
I'm not saying he's perfect. Or that he did everything with good judgment. He also went to this event with adults, who should have been responsible for him. They brought him into a dangerous situation where they knew violence was going to occur in some form or another. He's legally, technically not an adult. Fuck, when I was 17 I was really a dumb-ass. I drove 100 mph on a backroad because pussy was that way drunk as hell on over a pint of Darkeyes that I pounded. I just recall that as one of my really low stupid points.
But when it came to him being there, as he was already, and how it seems to have happened, from his statement, he seems completely justified:
I see he is ...but paralysed.
Can't believe some posters are saying "he may have been reaching for a gun" etc. He was obviously unarmed. If he had a weapon (IF) it was in the boot of his car. Or perhaps his letterbox.
No excuses are possible.
He did have a knife on him as he wrestled and brawled with police. It can be seen in stills from video as he walks. It’s got a curved blade on it, about 3-4 inches long.
He had an officer in a headlock, just prior to breaking away.
From the time he stood up from wrestling with police, it was 4-6 seconds to the gunshots. The entire time cops told him to drop the knife and cease/obey. He didn’t. He fucked around. Some things have gotta be on him...
He proceeds to get in car. Many things are out of view. This wasn’t murder.
This was self-defense. It's not like he had no part in it, or didn't bring it on himself. Do you know how quickly it can go bad? While I can come over to your side and say I may have waited, having
just witnessed and/or having been involved with this dirt-bag in a physical altercation with a knife on his position (it was, they
found it in the car because he dropped it there when shot), I can also put myself in the rattled cop's shoes, adrenaline and fear right there (and this guy could easily swing back with this knife blade and cause lethal damage, still - he could). The cops had an idea of his history, I'm sure, and just witnessed proof that the behavior was still present.
It may not be perfect, but certain things do depend on our followings directions. We need law and order.
That being said certain laws need to change, to have just laws, not these draconian ones like the drug laws that create unnecessary interactions and power of state that is tantamount to abuse.
But this guy wasn't wanted for drugs. He was wanted on a felony sex crime warrant. He penetrated his ex girlfriend, not sure if this one who called the police on him just prior to his being shot, with his fingers, while she was his ex girlfriend, said "smells like you've been with other men", then took her keys to her car and left, also with her debit card and took out a thousand bucks. The guy has a history of using weapons in threatening manners. He has committed abuse and assault and threatened lives, pointing firearms at patrons through a restaurant window.
Also, what do you do, let this guy leave with these kids in the car? Do we know if he was supposed to have these kids in the car? He wasn't supposed to be there. Were some of those the kids of the woman who just called the police on him? He's acting violent. Do you just let a violent man run off with very young children in the car with him? He might be on drugs, or drunk, or generally out of his mind. Maybe he will put them in danger at some point? What do you do?
And maybe you would get more people killed...