Interesting timing. I just finished listening to a Supreme Court podcast episode that defined a “reasonable officer” in the eyes of the court.
But it has had an unintended consequence of protecting police based on singular moments in time.
So, the question that gets posed to a jury is: in the moment where the officer is making the decision to fire, are they acting reasonably based on what they feel is happening at that singular moment? In this case he sees a man putting his hand to his side and feels that is an opportunity to grab a weapon. So he fires.
The problem is the actions of both cops before the moment of fire. That was the unreasonable action, and in my mind, is just cause for conviction.
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/...=1000395462148