CrimLaw

What a nightmare:

An officer on his fourth day as a policeman shoots and kills someone with stolen plates who initially refused to stop, when stopped got out of his car and came at the police car, then returned to the passenger side of this car and reached in to grab something. The something turned out to be a cologne bottle.

And the prosecutor charges him with criminally negligent homicide.

How in the world did that ever go to trial? Leaving aside the smoke and mirrors about drugs and stolen plates/tags, if an officer has you pulled over and you reach into your car and raise a solid object he has every right to defend himself. No officer in his right mind is going to think you are grabbing a cologne bottle.

Another officer testified: "Wilson said Henderson ignored [the officer's]'s order to stay away from the stopped car and reached in the passenger window.

"Officer Gaynor followed and said 'Stop,' " Wilson said. "He (Henderson) stuck his whole entire body inside the vehicle" before Gaynor fired a shot."

The Medical Examiner: "[T]he angle of the bullet showed that the victim was twisted and leaning down."

The Prosecutor: "The prosecutor said Officer Gaynor should have either jammed Mr. Henderson up against the car or backed away for cover when he felt threatened."

How do either of those options keep someone from firing a gun at the officer? Or firing random shots which could hit other people?

Assistant District Attorney Jason Thomas must be very convincing advocate because I can't even see how he got a hung jury on this one.