There is an incredible lawsuit pending in Salt Lake City, Utah. Perry Tucker and and his fiancée Brieanne Matson were concerned when Joey Tucker left the house without taking his diabetes medication and may have taken a sleeping pill. They allege that Salt Lake police officers responded by forcing Tucker off the road into a concrete barrier and then shooting him to death. The police insist that Tucker was a danger and reversed his car toward the officers.
The family says that they told police that they were “concerned about his health” and Tucker had not been drinking. A highway patrol officer caught up with him on Interstate 80 and rammed his car. Salt Lake Police Officer Louis “Law” Jones then shot Tucker to death while he “was simply sitting” in his car.
Officers Jones and Lisa Pascaldo and Highway Patrol Trooper Lawrence Hopper had trailed Tucker and Hopper than “attempted a pit maneuver while Joey was traveling below the speed limit.” On a second try, Tucker’s vehicle spinned out of control and hit the barrier. The complaint states that “[i]Immediately after Joey’s vehicle came to a stop with the vehicle in reverse with Joey sitting there with his hands on the steering wheel surrounded by Officer Jones, Officer Pascadlo, and Trooper Hopper, Officer Jones fired three shots, killing Joey.”
The family is now seeking punitive damages for wrongful death, loss of consortium and civil rights violations, and medical and funeral expenses.
The complaint says that a patrol car dash camera captured the incident. The complaint states that the video shows Tucker driving below the speed limit, stopping at lights, and complying with traffic signals.
The district attorney has declined thus far to bring charges, stating that Tucker was veering dangerously and that Jones saw Tucker “repeatedly reaching for something inside of the truck.” According to this article, the officers reportedly also attempted to get him to stop with their public address systems. After forcing the crash, the DA states that “Mr. Tucker reversed, then turned the wheels to drive forward toward officers who were on foot when officer Jones fired three shots into the truck, striking Mr. Tucker in the neck and torso.”
Source: Courthouse News
Kudos: Dave Mattox
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“we don’t make decisions about questions like shooting based on consistency or precedent. We make them based on how we can best advance our interests in the city.”
It’s o.k. when people commit crimes, as long as they do it from a position of authority.
Sounds like more Gonzo-Rambo-stupid-out-of-control cops; just what a country that’s losing its grip on civilized living needs. Show the tape and let the chips fall where they may — just let them fall. I hope there will be updates from this story.
Or, take away their toys (guns, tasers, nightsticks).
Then we will see how brave they are.
Defund your local police. They have gone loco.
When I lived in Milwaukee, to my knowledge, at least three African-American men (several of whom were doing nothing wrong)were shot to death while allegedly attempting to attack police with their cars. Surprisingly, this type of attack was peculiar to African-American men.
The only corroboration were the statements of other police officers.
Apparently, getting out of the way of an alleged moving vehicle never occurred to these officers.
I know, I forgot the question mark again. Sh^^*! Y’all know what I mean. This story has my head all messed up. Parent’s worst nightmare.
Let’s try that again. . .
“Trigger happy policin'”–Marvin Gaye, What’s Goin’ On.
Trigger happy policing–Marvin Gaye “What Going On”