Police Misconduct — The Worst Case in January

Over at Cato’s Police Misconduct web site, we have identified the worst case for January. It is the case of a Boiling Springs Lake, NC officer who shot a 90‐​pound, mentally‐​ill teenager while two other officers held the teen down. Keith Vidal’s parents called the police because their son was having a schizophrenic episode and they needed assistance subduing him. Keith had a small screwdriver in his hand when the first police unit arrived. The officers tased Keith and were holding him down when an officer from the second unit, which had arrived about a minute later, shot between the two officers holding Keith down, saying, “We don’t have time for this.” The officer claimed he was defending the life of one of the officers holding Keith down because Keith still had the tiny screwdriver in his hand. The family had recently lost a daughter in a car accident, and now had to watch their son die in front of them, shot by one of the very people they had called for help.


More here.