(RepublicanDaily.org) – Over the last number of years, there’s been an increasingly vitriolic debate around the question of police brutality, particularly against suspects from minority backgrounds. Many people now seem to think law enforcement officers shouldn’t use any level of force, regardless of the circumstances. However, the courts have not always supported this viewpoint.
On Monday, February 28, a federal judge threw out a wrongful death lawsuit against two police officers who fatally wounded a suspect in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2020. Officers Kevin Fortuna and Neil Iversen shot Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal (22) between 13 and 15 times, with some of these shots coming as he fled from the police. The pair responded to a call in the area after Palacios-Carbajal reportedly threatened several people with a gun. The officers claimed they believed the alleged offender posed a serious threat to them and members of the general public during the chase.
U.S. District Judge David Barlow ruled that the two officers reasonably believed the 22-year-old was an “immediate threat to their safety.” https://t.co/tm91iMUUZs
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) March 4, 2022
In his decision to forgo criminal proceedings in this matter, District Attorney Sim Gill highlighted the fact that Palacios-Carbajal picked up his weapon multiple times after dropping it during the chase.
Palacios-Carbajal’s family was reportedly dissatisfied with the most recent ruling and are weighing the possibility of an appeal.
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