Some ppl say he is 17 or 18. Witnesses said he was shot 16 times. His aunt said all he had was a sandwich.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-officer-fatally-shoots-pedestrian-who-fired-at-him-in/article_2d5a8c2a-97db-5cec-a477-1130d7d26f7e.html

Police officer fatally shoots pedestrian who fired at him in south St. Louis

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1 hour ago • FROM STAFF REPORTS29
ST. LOUIS • An off-duty city officer fatally shot a man who opened fire on him Wednesday night, police said.

Police said the uniformed officer was working a secondary job for a private security company when he encountered four pedestrians in the Shaw neighborhood and stopped to talk with them at about 7:30 p.m.

The four fled and the officer chased one, a man believed to be in his 20s, Assistant Chief Alfred Atkins said.

The man the officer was chasing jumped from some bushes and struggled with the officer, Atkins said. The man then pulled a gun and fired at the officer, Atkins said. The officer returned fire and fatally shot the man.

The officer was not injured and a gun was recovered from the scene, police said.

The officer, 32, is a six-year veteran of the police department, Atkins said.

The scene is just east of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

A crowd of dozens of people — including several who said they were relatives of the man who was shot — gathered at the scene. Some shouted at police, and some were in tears.

They said other family members who witnessed the shooting told them their relative was unarmed.

Teyonna Myers, 23, of Florissant, said the victim was her cousin, Vonderrick Myers, 18. He had a new job at a factory in Bridgeton.

“He was unarmed,” Teyonna Myers said. “He had a sandwich in his hand, and they thought it was a gun. It’s like Michael Brown all over again.”

Some of the relatives said Myers had been hit with a Taser before he was shot.

Several neighbors also gathered at the scene. Some said they were surprised by the shooting.

“This is not normal,” Dorenda Townsend, 42, who lives in the Shaw neighborhood. “I’ve lived here over 20 years.”

Some also expressed concern that the shooting involved police.

“I pray this is not another Mike Brown situation,” said Sharon Norman, 50, referring to a shooting in August in Ferguson in which a police officer fatally shot a teenager, which has prompted many protests.

Not going to jump to any conclusions

recovered a gun at the scene ... let's see ballistics, forensics, etc. tough to lump this one in with other incidents just yet

he been there since like 03
been going THROUGH IT with the young boys on the block since he moved there
but the hood has been turning around and things died down a bit

i got cousin in-laws that stay on the other side of the park as well

neighborhood is like as far as being populated

i.e., is it residential or commercial, etc...

out here, 730PM isn't even all the way dark yet

I'm hoping there could at least be some witnesses

or at least somebody who heard the shots

the cops story of the kid firing and his gun jamming

and then returning fire...17 F'N SHOTS!!!

ehh, it's not sitting right with me

.

a woman in the stream screamed out HER son's name and so I looked it up:

http://newsone.com/2511226/cary-ball-jr-st-louis

4 guys confonted by SECURITY GUARD who is a police officer who is off duty.

4 guys are walking. security guard confronts them.

4 guys take off running. security guard chases them.

now...stop RIGHT there.

whatever they did? hes not presenting as an officer he has no right to expect them to...i dunno what yall want @ this point..to prsostrate themselves or whatever. they didnt know he was a cop.

they started running. he CHASED them.

why? seems like he should have called other officers to do THEIR job while he goes back to his current job of being a security guard.

1 jumped out the bushes attacked him, somehow pulled out HIS gun, fired 3 times...@ which point the security guard shot him 16 times.

odd, they are in hand to hand combat...but the teenager has the strength, time and mental acuity to pull his gun, aim and fire 3x...which of COURSE forces the security guard to kill him.

this dont even sound right from the gate. yet all i see is WELL DONT SHOOT AT COPS AND YOU WONT GET SHOT

over and over and over and over


does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

<--- Introducing Mr. Khaleed Case.

.
.
.
.
.


***
Instagram - @casethenupe
Twitter - @revjcase

just like for Ferguson...it seems they don't even bother to come up with something credible.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/08/us/st-louis-officer-shooting/index.html

The officer, a six-year veteran of the force, was working a second job for a security company, one that was approved by his department. He was wearing his police uniform.

So now with this and zimmerman we are seeing they have military grade camouflage skills as well. Adapted for suburban bushes and shrubbery.


Or maybe just flat out mutant cloaking & invisibility

And of course they released the kid's past run ins with the law, like that fucking matters

that he was able to find a bush to "lay in wait". If a mofo gets away...he's gonna stay the fuck gone.

Like at all

This stuff is all day every day

Hell I done had my own drama on several occasions wit em

the story in a way that is guaranteed to frame the guy killed in a bad light....

This isn't a "Cop shoots and kills Black man" story at all. And it shouldn't be treated as such in a way to generate some sort of outrage from the Black populace.

Basically what Bin said is spot on......

I'm not getting outraged. Let's see if the police recover the bullet the boy allegedly fired at the cop and the boy's hand tests poz for GSR. If so then I'm not mad @ the cop or the STL Police. If not then I expect a federal civil rights lawsuit if not criminal prosecution.

Too many other legit cases of cops on black violence to vouch for this case that sounds iffy, but I'll be on standby just incase anything iffy does come from this.

Headline should be off duty police officer kill teen


Misleading starts there
Makes me doubt the entire story when it's a security guard chasing and shooting people

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

Am I missing something, but has that been stated somewhere?

Missouri is one of 14 states where cops(even off-duty)can stop, ID, & question you.

This story still sounds suspect. I'm more confused by it, than outraged.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/09/crowds-in-streets-of-st-louis-after-fatal-shooting-by-off-duty-police-officer/

According to police, the officer was working for a private security company at the time, patrolling a specific neighborhood, but was in a St. Louis police uniform when he encountered three men he thought were acting suspiciously about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. When they saw the officer make a U-turn, they fled.

“One of the ran in a way that the officer believed that he was armed with a gun – holding his waist band, not running at full stride,” Conway said, referring to the 18-year old.

He drove through the streets after them and then left his car and chased them on foot. One of the men then turned toward the officer and approached him “in an aggressive manner,” Dotson said. The suspect and the officer got into a physical altercation.

Dotson said the man then ran up a hill and fired three times at the officer before the officer returned fire. Investigators recovered a 9mm Ruger at the scene, which Dotson said was used by the 18-year-old, whom he described as “no stranger to law enforcement.”

“The suspect continued to pull the trigger on the gun … we learned that that gun had malfunctioned and it was jammed,” Dotson said.

The officer returned fire, killing the man.

and i'll be firmly in the "Not Outraged" camp. ....
but I need confirmation first
.

businesses as security and they wear their regular uniforms

like, I get that off duty cops can moonlight as security, that makes sense.

but being able to wear their uniforms while off duty and working for someone other than the city? is that normal?

>like, I get that off duty cops can moonlight as security,
>that makes sense.
>
>but being able to wear their uniforms while off duty and
>working for someone other than the city? is that normal?

I believe that they aren't allowed to "moonlight" on their own as security or hold any other part-time job, they can only do dept approved secondary work on the side.

I don't know all the details why but I think it goes back to when STL was a heavy mob town.

uniform on, police car, etc...i guess it depends on the state you live in

from the scene but the relative of the victim is saying he only had a sandwich

Why would a kid who wasn't in any trouble (from what we know thus far) just fire at an officer? I'm having a hard time understanding that...

a couple of things though....
#1: Why the dude take off running???
#2: Who the fck stands around holding sandwiches??
#3: Who the fck runs from the cops while holding a sandwich???
#4: Who the fck jumps out the bushes, holding a sandwich???
#5: Why was the officer/security guard approaching them in the first place??
.

Dotson said the teen who died "was no stranger to law enforcement" but didn't elaborate.

Court records show that Myers was scheduled to stand trial in November for unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest. This summer, Myers was a passenger in a car involved in a high-speed car chase in St. Louis, officials say. The car crashed just after midnight on June 27 in the 1100 block of South Grand Boulevard. Myers got out of the car, and a police officer yelled at him to stop. Instead, Myers ran off and tossed a gun into a sewage drain. Police caught him nearby and recovered the gun, a loaded .380-caliber pistol.

Myers was jailed for a few days. Then, in early July, Myers was released on bail after posting $1,000 cash bond. His bail originally was set at $30,000 by Judge Rex Burlison but was dropped to $10,000 after Judge Theresa Counts Burke agreed with a defense motion that it was excessive. Burke allowed Myers to post 10 percent of that in cash. A second judge upheld that bond amount later.

On July 8, as a condition of bail, Myers was activated on electronic monitoring for house arrest, court records say. He could leave his home in the 4200 block of Castleman Avenue for work, school, court appearances, meetings with attorneys and meetings with the private monitoring firm.

That firm, Eastern Missouri Alternative Sentencing Services, Inc., was supposed to monitor Myers' movements and contact the court if he violated the rules. Nothing in the court file indicates any violations. Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis circuit attorney's office, said prosecutors weren't told of any violations.

Myers' attorney, Peter Cohen, said going out to get a sandwich would have been OK under the conditions of the electronic monitoring. He said the ankle monitor is standard in most cases for anyone facing a gun charge in the city who is allowed out on bail.

Myers' trial was set for Nov. 17.

http://youtu.be/iiFtBuIBcwg

>

non believable ass story is cooked up to make the officer look justfied in his actions, which would have happened with alot of these other situations recently had they not had video evidence. this whole shit sounds crazy as hell.

with Mike Brown, they outright said he was unarmed, but say Wilson thought he might have had a gun. you can't prove that Wilson didn't think that, unless he confesses otherwise.

with Sean Bell, they said they thought he had a gun. you can't verify what people think.

in this case, they said he had a gun that they recovered on the scene, and that he fired three shots at the officer. both of those things can be tested and verified, which leaves far less wiggle room.

they say they recovered the gun at the scene. they say he fired THREE shots, which is a specific number (rather than just vaguely saying "shots were fired"), so they might have already verified that.

with people already out protesting on the street as soon as it happened, they can't just sit back while they wait on the results of a GSR test, they have to report those first two pieces of information before people's minds get set that this was another Mike Brown.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-officer-fatally-shoots-pedestrian-who-fired-at-him-in/article_2d5a8c2a-97db-5cec-a477-1130d7d26f7e.html

Dotson said a physical confrontation escalated into gunfire. This is how Dotson described the confrontation:

At one point the officer got out of his car and followed the suspect through a gangway. "When the officer went through the gangway, he saw the three gentlemen had come back together," Dotson said. "One of the gentleman started to approach the officer in an aggressive manner. The officer was giving verbal commands, telling them to stop, telling them how to surrender, telling them that they were under arrest. The suspect continued to come towards the officer until they got into a physical altercation. The suspect and the officer were hands on with each other. At that time, the suspect's gray hooded sweatshirt comes off and the suspect starts to run up a hill at the address on Shaw."

The officer clearly saw the suspect had a gun, Dotson said.

The officer said he "wanted to be certain that it was a gun and did not fire at that point," Dotson said. >>"The suspect pointed the gun at the officer and fired at least three rounds at the police officer. We believe this to be true because there are three projectiles that we recovered with trajectories going towards the officer, down the hill, and one piece of ballistic evidence located behind the officer.<< At that point, the officer returned fire. As the officer moved towards the suspect, the suspect continued to pull the trigger on his gun."

That is when the teen's gun jammed, Dotson said. He said he is unaware of any video that captured Wednesday night's shooting.

>Wilson thought he might have had a gun. you can't prove that
>Wilson didn't think that,
>
>with Sean Bell, they said they thought he had a gun. you can't
>verify what people think.

I know a STL IAD cop who investigates officer involved shootings and he basically said the same thing. If the officer "thinks" his life is in danger then he is justified to use lethal force.

which is what ppl in Ferguson are preparing to happen w/this grand jury taking this long to decide if this case should go to trial

The "I thought he had a gun" defense wouldn't seem very plausible given the fact that several witnesses' story corroborate w/one another that Mike Brown was fleeing the scene and stopped and turned around w/his hands up to surrender once Wilson fired shots at him...

I don't see how a defense attorney can argue Wilson thought his life was threatened in any kind of way when Brown was running AWAY from him...


>>Wilson thought he might have had a gun. you can't prove
>that
>>Wilson didn't think that,
>>
>>with Sean Bell, they said they thought he had a gun. you
>can't
>>verify what people think.
>
>I know a STL IAD cop who investigates officer involved
>shootings and he basically said the same thing. If the officer
>"thinks" his life is in danger then he is justified to use
>lethal force.

>which is what ppl in Ferguson are preparing to happen w/this
>grand jury taking this long to decide if this case should go
>to trial
>
>The "I thought he had a gun" defense wouldn't seem very
>plausible given the fact that several witnesses' story
>corroborate w/one another that Mike Brown was fleeing the
>scene and stopped and turned around w/his hands up to
>surrender once Wilson fired shots at him...
>
>I don't see how a defense attorney can argue Wilson thought
>his life was threatened in any kind of way when Brown was
>running AWAY from him...

He can say a 6'4" 300lb black man was charging towards him and he feared for his life.

was running away from a policeman all of a sudden turns back around to charge this police officer who had already pulled his gun out and fired shots?

Also, how do you get around the fact that several witnesses (including the two white guys who were doing landscaping in the area that day) said Mike Brown had his *hands up* which is recognized as a universal sign of surrender.

Sometimes these cases try to get ppl to suspend common sense.


>someone who was running away to begin with
>He can say a 6'4" 300lb black man was charging towards him and
>he feared for his life.

premise problematic to say the least

turned around to surrender AFTER shots were fired at him as he was running away...but Wilson continued to shoot




>premise problematic to say the least

on the officer's behalf, whereas if there is video evidence it might be obvious that the vic had no gun and that the cop had no justifiable reasons to believe so. i mean, i know its stating the obvious that video evidence is always beneficial, but im just venting. there is too much of this shit goin on seems like every week theres a new incident smh. i wish there was a nationwide campaign for ppl to automatically pull out their cellys when they see a cop. like operation film-a-cop. u see a cop talkn to somebody, AUTOMATICALLY film that shit. somebody. anybody. nationwide. put that shit on billboards, commercials, side of buses, wherever u can fit the slogan. im watchin you watchin me, nigga.

operation film-a-cop



>with Mike Brown, they outright said he was unarmed, but say
>Wilson thought he might have had a gun. you can't prove that
>Wilson didn't think that, unless he confesses otherwise.
>
>with Sean Bell, they said they thought he had a gun. you can't
>verify what people think.
>
>in this case, they said he had a gun that they recovered on
>the scene, and that he fired three shots at the officer. both
>of those things can be tested and verified, which leaves far
>less wiggle room.

and after he chased after Brown, sure he can claim he felt he was in danger

>with Mike Brown, they outright said he was unarmed, but say
>Wilson thought he might have had a gun. you can't prove that
>Wilson didn't think that, unless he confesses otherwise.
>
>with Sean Bell, they said they thought he had a gun. you can't
>verify what people think.
>
>in this case, they said he had a gun that they recovered on
>the scene, and that he fired three shots at the officer. both
>of those things can be tested and verified, which leaves far
>less wiggle room.

says that Myers (victim), pictured in black had no gun and purchased a sandwich

https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/520254406902956032?s=09

aw shit

man o man if thats true shit is finna get hella hectic

is a 9mm small enough to be tucked in clothing where a cashier wouldn't see it during a transaction?

*edit* and I'm not saying couldn't have had one in a car or something but they gave some very specific details and that pic is like hm....

>

"He had a new job in a factory in Bridgeton"

I almost feel like that needed to be thrown in there to combat all the "if they just pulled up their pants and got a job" bullshit

What with all these stealth attacks and all.

Four dudes RAN from him…………….. Only for one to lie in wait in some bushes to jump out and shoot him?

This is the same shit they said in the Mike Brown shooting and that didn’t make a lick of sense either.

One minute he’s running scared, the next minute he pops out with guns blazing. I guess Young Black males are on some ninja/mutant/covert ops level of stealth these days

In the end, 10 minutes on youtoube and you’ll come across plenty of cases where cops present such a blatantly one sided story of aggression only for videotaped evidence to later come out and prove everything they said was a fucking lie. There are too many situations where cops get caught lying that I’ll never believe a single word any of them say.

If you ask me, these guys seem to be creating scenarios that escalate their “suspects” into minor states of irritation in order to justify their premeditated use of force by saying the person became “aggressive”.

You are a threat?

Why does that same logic not apply to me?

Why is the police officers life immd not just considered but flat out codified as more valuable to society...then mine?

In other words if an officer and I are in a confrontation...he may kill me because he is "in fear of his life" yet if I killed him with that exam same logic, I would be arrested for murder and prolly wouldn't make it back to the precinct for booking?

What laws are these that codified this as how it is?

I want this shit off the books. For real. Whatever laws that give this cover? I want any politician who wants my vote to pledge to strip them shits out his first day in office otherwise fuck him

>
>I want this shit off the books. For real. Whatever laws that
>give this cover? I want any politician who wants my vote to
>pledge to strip them shits out his first day in office
>otherwise fuck him
>
>


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
instagram:
http://instagram.com/0kayndc

"There is much temptation to use what has worked before,
even when it may exceed its effective scope."

"Roll me further bitch"

until you ask the question why would it be?

i dont get yall, its like you dont have any grasp of history

nothings impossible

the jews literally carved a country out of other peoples country

we have been on the moon

we have split the atom

somebody WROTE the law...we can erase that law is all im saying

jews feel like support for isreal is their red line if you for it, we will @ LEAST listen to you...if youre not? idgaf if your name is Ira Rothstein...we aint with you

we dont have any kind of lines like that. this is a CLEAR line we can & should advocate for yet...yall dont. why?

>until you ask the question why would it be?
>
>i dont get yall, its like you dont have any grasp of history
>
>nothings impossible

>until you ask the question why would it be?
>
>i dont get yall, its like you dont have any grasp of history
>
>nothings impossible

>You are a threat?
>
>Why does that same logic not apply to me?

it does.

you may defend yourself against the use of excessive force. your action may be found by a court to be justified.

I have represented a client charged with resisting arrest for kicking a cop. We claimed excessive force and self defense. We lost. We are appealing bc the judge refused to instruct the jury about self defense in response to excessive force.

>Why is the police officers life immd not just considered but
>flat out codified as more valuable to society...then mine?

that's not the case.

>In other words if an officer and I are in a confrontation...he
>may kill me because he is "in fear of his life" yet if I
>killed him with that exam same logic, I would be arrested for
>murder and prolly wouldn't make it back to the precinct for
>booking?

a police shooting is assumed justified if the cop is on duty. it is investigated. if found to be un-justified then a criminal charge will follow.

police have been prosecuted for shooting civilians w/o justification.

>What laws are these that codified this as how it is?

you have convinced yourself of an untruth.

>I want this shit off the books. For real. Whatever laws that
>give this cover?

again. you made this up.

And in fact I defend myself from what I deem excessive force?

Very interesting.

Then that's what needs to be publicized.

There's no law that says the cops can kill you at will bc the isn't as hyperbolic as you wish it were. Thankfully. Lol

I'm only looking at tweets from people on the ground but they say it's much stronger than what was used in Ferguson (which I believe was tear gas)

https://vine.co/v/OAO2QMZgHd9

.

he said all of a sudden ppl just swarmed the aera
more folks kept coming
then shit just popped off

nigga cant even go walk his two pit bulls
he got them white ppl non-violent pitts

im waitin to see his house on the news

Now he possibly fell to the ground and started shooting. no scuffle with officer is being mentioned


http://images.dailykos.com/images/110376/large/NoBushes.png?1412961457


6minutes from store video clip to
shooting, so no word yet on where mysterious gray hoodie came from/disappeared to


http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/10/1335651/-Why-does-the-St-Louis-PD-keep-changing-their-story-about-the-murder-of-VonDerrit-Myers

does it really matter?

for all my fans who keep my name in their mouth: http://i.imgur.com/v2xNOpS.jpg

"Furthermore, it is worth noting that the spokesperson for the St. Louis police union, Jeff Roorda, already chiming in on this case, was himself fired as a police officer for falsifying reports and has admitted that he is behind the fundraiser for Darren Wilson."

~~~~
When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

“@KoranAddo: Young Nigel waits for the rest of the #FergusonOctober marchers to catch up. http://twitter.com/KoranAddo/status/520978665900109824/photo/1”

A lot of people went to the city to protest. That pic is from one of the marches. Police have been using tear gas to disperse crowds, even used them on a sit-in yesterday. This was planned pre Vonderrit Myers btw.

Seems real quiet but just know there are people still working in St Louis.

http://fox2now.com/2014/10/14/vonderrit-myers-tests-positive-for-gunshot-residue/


Vonderrit Myers, Jr. tests positive for gunshot residue
Posted 2:05 pm, October 14, 2014, by Joe Millitzer, Updated at 02:22pm, October 14, 2014


Vonderrit Deondre Myers

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) – Gunshot residue lab results have just been released in the fatal shooting of Vonderrit Myers Jr. An off duty police officer says the teen shot first. The teen was killed when he returned fire in the October 8th shooting in the Shaw neighborhood.

A gunshot residue kit results, released by police, reveal that Myers recently shot a gun. Analysis samples from his hands indicates the presence of gunshot residue. But, according to the release, “The presence of gunshot residue on a person’s hands could mean the individual discharged a firearm, was near a firearm when it was discharged, or touched an object with gunshot residue on it. Individuals shot at close range can have gunshot residue deposited onto their hands.”

Myers also tested positive for residue on his jeans, belt and t-shirt.

The suspect’s family claimed publicly that Myers did not have a gun. But, FOX 2 has learned the suspect, shot and killed last week by police, showed off his stolen gun to anyone who would look. We obtained pictures of Vonderrit Myers Jr. showing off his handguns on social media.

Protests broke out shortly after a prayer vigil for Myers on October 9th. The area where the 18-year-old was shot has been a focal point of demonstrators involved in Ferguson October’s “Weekend of Resistance.”

http://fox2now.com/2014/10/23/live-family-of-vonderitt-myers-to-release-new-autopsy-results/

Autopsy says the head shot would have head have come last...smh

Who is this officer bruh. Where are the twitterers that can find out who somebody slept with in 7th grade but can't find out this cops name. Come back to us Anonymous!

Not just to protect themselves. Considering this guy was raving and brandishing a knife and there were bystanders, the police may claim the officer used deadly force to protect the public from the 'knife-wielding maniac' who had disobeyed their commands and was a danger to the ppl standing around.

you're mixing up your murders lol

Ah yes.

The kid with the GP residue, gun recovered, bullets recovered, who was on house arrest in a gun case, who had shown ppl a gun recently.

Now I remember. I'm not outraged about this one. Not yet, at least.

I'm not really sure how you shoot somebody in the back of the legs if they aren't running away from you

= the cop's story doesn't hold up to the evidence

AGAIN!

The lawyers met with the police department’s medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham, who said Myers’ DNA does not appear on the gun that Myers was allegedly carrying.

“If he had been carrying the gun, it would have had his DNA,” Wooten said.

http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_aaaa0b5c-5b11-11e4-8b2c-ffa5bf7c7d4b.html?mode=jqm

–showing almost all shots from behind – contradict the story of the police officer, who has not been identified.

There is obviously a pattern with these 2 incidents, Brown and Myers

the officer involved conjurs up a story in an effort to justify the shooting

and as the evidence and witness testimony contradicts those stories

the narrative shifts

and the victim is villified

I can't say that the idea of an officer planting a gun hadn't crossed my mind

alot of holes in this story.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! like for real....get on the ground and show me how he was shot from behind while still pointing a gun at a cop

------------------------

Millikan said Myers was shot in the back of the legs while lying on his side with a gun in his hand.

"He was propped up on his left elbow, and his legs were facing out at the policeman as he went down, but he was still holding the gun and pointing it at the policeman," the lawyer said

http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/b6f175b9d4604bacb2cb2a131f8ffafe/autopsy-st-louis-officer-shot-myers-behind

Autopsy: St. Louis officer shot Myers from behind
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Oct. 23, 2014 9:08 PM EDT
1
1
5 photos

Indepedent autosy findings of Vonderrit Myers Jr.

Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, a pathologist, indicates with a marker where he says Vonderrit D. Myers, Jr.,... Read more

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An 18-year-old killed earlier this month by an off-duty St. Louis police officer was shot eight times, including six times from behind, said a forensic pathologist who performed an independent autopsy Thursday.

Dr. Cyril Wecht, who has investigated the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley and JonBenet Ramsey, conducted the autopsy at the request of Vonderrit Myers Jr.'s family and outlined the findings during a news conference at the funeral home that will handle Myers' burial. The family's attorneys said the autopsy suggests Myers was running away from the officer. Myers' parents attended the autopsy announcement but did not comment.

"The evidence shows that the story we've been given by the Police Department does not match up," one of the attorneys, Jerryl Christmas, said. "There's no evidence that there was a gun battle going on."

Wecht said it's likely that Myers was initially shot six times in the back of both legs. He said another shot hit the side of the left leg, shattering his femur.

The fatal wound was to the side of Myers' face, Wecht said.

Police have said Myers shot first at the officer. They released details of lab tests by the Missouri State Highway Patrol that showed gunshot residue on Myers' hand, waistband and shirt. Police union leaders said the finding dispelled claims by Myers' family that he didn't fire at the officer, whose name hasn't been released.

The officer's attorney, Brian Millikan, said the results from the independent autopsy support the police account as well.

"It's absolutely consistent with what the officer told the investigators from early on," said Millikan, a former St. Louis police officer. "There were no shots fired when (Myers) was running away. That's simply not true."

Police Chief Sam Dotson has said Myers fired three shots before his gun jammed.

Millikan said Myers was shot in the back of the legs while lying on his side with a gun in his hand.

"He was propped up on his left elbow, and his legs were facing out at the policeman as he went down, but he was still holding the gun and pointing it at the policeman," the lawyer said.

The incident spurred a round of protests similar to ones in nearby Ferguson after the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Both Brown and Myers were black. The officers who shot them are white. A grand jury is expected to decide by mid-November whether criminal charges will be filed against Darren Wilson, the Ferguson officer who killed the unarmed Brown.

The officer in the Myers shooting is on administrative leave.

He was on patrol as a private security guard, but wearing his police uniform and carrying his department-issued gun when the shooting occurred on Oct. 8.

Dotson has said the officer became suspicious when Myers and the men with him started to run. A chase ensued and the officer and Myers got into a physical confrontation. After Myers pulled away, Dotson said, he went up a hill and started shooting at the officer.

Police investigators attended Wecht's news conference and served him with a subpoena to turn over his autopsy report to a grand jury reviewing the case. A police spokeswoman in response to the autopsy said any information and evidence that comes up will be included in the investigation, which local and federal prosecutors will review.

A preliminary autopsy by St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham found that Myers was shot six to seven times in the lower extremities, with the fatal shot entering the right cheek. The final autopsy report hasn't been released.

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Associated Press writer Jim Salter contributed to this report.

My thinking on the rules of engagement is that if two people begin shooting at each out, somebody's got to die. Either that or one party runs away or throws the gun away to surrender. There is no giving up with the gun still in your hand. At that point you are still a very serious threat.

I also think that you are underestimating how fast these incidents happen and severely overestimating the speed of human decision making. And thus you are expecting way too much out of the cop.

I'd be willing to bet that all these shots occured in a span of no more than 10 seconds. In that time span, you expect the cop (who is being shot at and in the heat of the moment), to recogize that the guy who was just shooting at him is no longer a threat to him.

I'm just reading the lawyers words. Logistically, how is that possible?

then turn your back and run, that doesn't suddenly make you "unshootable", if the facts ARE indeed what has been reported, that Myers had a gun and shot at the officer, then its justified.

Now that's without getting into things like why an off-duty cop was pursuing him in the first place when he hadn't done anything, did he really have a gun, and where the gun really came from.

support the initial claims

i dont have colors
my mmsic:
www.soundclick.com/sylana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brb8g8f18xE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NgNuVHrEKI

It's sometimes good to wait until more of the story is learned before reporting and/or before deciding your level of outrage.