Shocking new video shows unarmed Utah man was listening to headphones when killed by police

[SlyPokerDog]

On August 11, 2014, Dillon Taylor walked out of a local Salt Lake City, Utah, convenience store minding his own business. He wasn't armed. He wasn't committing a crime. He was listening to music on his headphones, probably in his own world.
Just two days after Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed Mike Brown in Ferguson, Taylor would soon face a similar fate at the hands of a local officer. And on October 1, the district attorney in Salt Lake City, Sim Gill, ruled that the killing of 20-year-old Taylor was justified. Even in his determination, though, he stated that "Taylor's shooting was justified not because he posed an actual threat, but because (Officer) Cruz reasonably perceived a threat."

Now that the full video has been released, it's disturbingly clear that nothing about this police shooting was justified. Nothing at all.

At 0:17, Officer Bron Cruz gets out of his vehicle. You will notice people confused by his presence.

At 0:22, Officer Cruz walks past two men who were friends with Dillon Taylor.

At 0:24, Officer Cruz walks behind Taylor, who has on a white T-shirt and is listening to music.

At 0:33, we see the officer has his gun drawn and is yelling at Taylor, who's holding his sagging pants up and does not appear to hear Cruz.

At 0:36, the officer shoots Taylor. It would be fatal.

Starting at 0:41, you will notice the headphone cord coming out of Taylor's pocket.

At 0:48, you will see that the headphones were clearly going up to Taylor's ears.

At 0:52, the officer asks Dillon to "give me your hands," but Taylor is already near death. His friends begin screaming and crying in the background.

At 1:03, the officer handcuffs Taylor.

At 1:48, the officer turns Taylor over, the headphones are visible, and the officer states "it's clear"—meaning that Taylor was actually unarmed.

At 2:54, the officer turns Taylor completely over, keeping him handcuffed, and begins talking to him and trying to get him to talk. Taylor appears nearly dead and is completely covered in blood.

At 4:56, the officer is rummaging through Taylor's pockets instead of providing any first aid.

View the video below.

Warning this Video is very Graphic showing the Killing of Dillon Taylor by Officer Bron Cruz. This is the body cam footage in its entirety.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/...istening-to-headphones-when-killed-by-police#

 

[barfo]

Another young life, cut short by rock 'n' roll.

When, oh when, will we get rid of this devil music?

barfo

 

[jlprk]

Every city has a secret little devil clique of powerful people who live their lives to hate, called "prosecutors." They are the source of all the hatred in town., the enemies of Jesus' message to love the human race.

 

[MARIS61]

Meet District Attorney Sim Gill

Sim Gill was elected as Salt Lake County District Attorney in November 2010. As a veteran prosecutor, Sim has been a champion on issues of therapeutic justice, criminal prosecution and alternatives to prosecution. He has long been an advocate of taking a systems approach to the issues of criminal and social justice, focusing on collaborative and community oriented approaches to problem solving.

Sim has collaborated on the creation and implementation of various therapeutic justice programs including Mental Health Court, Salt Lake City Domestic Violence Court, Misdemeanor Drug Court and the Salt Lake Area Family Justice Center and the newly implemented Early Case Resolution program. These alternatives seek to transition those offenders out of the criminal justice system who can most benefit from other programs—giving them a much greater chance to not re-offend.

Most recently, Sim has worked cooperatively with numerous community partners to launch the innovative Early Case Resolution program. ECR helps to relieve pressure in the already full court calendars and saves County resources by resolving a case early – within thirty days of filing, and often at the first court appearance. Prompt and efficient resolution of cases allows prosecutors, law enforcement and the judiciary to better focus their efforts and resources on those cases that require more attention.

Sim graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A. degree in History and Philosophy. He received his J. D. degree and certificate of specialization in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

http://slco.org/districtAttorney/html/SimGillBio.html

 

[Sinobas]

The context of this video is important as well. The officer approached him because of reports that he was flashing a gun. It's very abnormal behavior to continue to walk away when a cop is pointing a gun at you. I could totally see how the officer might have tought he was was reaching for a gun.

 

[Bob Dobalina]

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=31772096

Does Dillon say "No Fool" when told to put his hands up? I'm at work so the volume is low. Definitely appears he's defying the officers commands. Who turns, faces a cop with a gun and doesn't put their hands in the air?

 

[crandc]

Sadly, it's not shocking.

 

[dviss1]

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=31772096

Does Dillon say "No Fool" when told to put his hands up? I'm at work so the volume is low. Definitely appears he's defying the officers commands. Who turns, faces a cop with a gun and doesn't put their hands in the air?

So he deserves to get shot? Really? That seems to be what you're insinuating.

I want an officer who will handle situations like this:

 

[dviss1]

Wow... After watching the video.... That cop should go to prison for that....

 

[MarAzul]

Wow... After watching the video.... That cop should go to prison for that....

I disagree. His boss should for training police this is proper procedure. I don't think we should blame police for following procedure, but we do need to demand procedures be changed to be acceptable to the public. Then when an incident like this occurs, either the cop is wrong or the Chief is wrong.

I don't think it matters why the fellow did not put up his hands, one cop should not have the discretion to shooting his ass and have it be considered due process.

 

[Sinobas]

Police absolutely get out of line sometimes, and sometimes they grossly misuse force (even criminally). But also keep in mind that they are walking a tight-rope between life and death every day. The officer was approaching someone they thought had a gun, and the person, instead of putting their hands up, started shuffling his hands underneath his baggy shirt and jeans.

It's very unfortunate that this happened, it was a disgusting scene, but from that video, I can see how the officer might have gotten spooked by his actions.

 

[riverman]

You can shoot the guy in the leg if you have reasonable doubt..this guy shot him point blank with no concern for the after effect then offered no CPR..this is not how cops are trained to respond. This was more like target practice

 

[Sedatedfork]

When cops shoot, they don't shoot to injure. They shoot to incapacitate. They don't aim for the leg.

 

[Sedatedfork]

Boy that's a lot of blood. I have never seen someone get shot before. Must have hit an artery?

I would be livid if I were that kids' family or friends.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

It's very unfortunate that this happened, it was a disgusting scene, but from that video, I can see how the officer might have gotten spooked by his actions.

If the cop is "getting spooked" by circumstances to the point where he's needlessly shooting an unarmed man, he shouldn't be a cop. Or a free man.

 

[oldmangrouch]

When cops shoot, they don't shoot to injure. They shoot to incapacitate. They don't aim for the leg.

Fun fact: in many cities, if a cop wants to carry a taser, bean-bag rounds, etc, they have to pay for the training and certification themselves.

 

[MarAzul]

this is not how cops are trained to respond

I am afraid it is. That is why he has done no wrong in review. Some cops may know better but it is the police policies and training that must change. In a situation like this one, if the cop is not guilty of a crime because he has operated within guidelines, then his boss is guilt of providing the wrong guidance. One of the two, the cop or the chief has committed the crime of manslaughter.

Take the case of a cop shooting a mental ill person for not obeying the officer's commands. It is justified because lawful commands to obey must be complied with and the officers are trained to enforce this policy. Well hell, expecting rational behavior from and irrational person is in it's self irrational. If a bear is loose in town, no cop will expect it to obey a "lawful command", they don't always shoot the bear with a lethal round, sometimes a drug dart is used. That is rational behavior at least for the bear, never happens with men though.

I probably would not obey the cop either unless I could read his lips and to do that, I need to know he is talking to me so I can pay attention. I guess until you guys can bitch enough and get some of these policies change, we have here a strong case for not wearing baggy pants to enhance your defiant look which is apparently frightening for a lone officer. I for one do not think it is correct police policy for the a lone officer to confront anyone with the possibility of using deadly force. That should never occur with only suspicion of danger, only after there is no doubt.

 

[riverman]

Fun fact: in many cities, if a cop wants to carry a taser, bean-bag rounds, etc, they have to pay for the training and certification themselves.

so free guns and ammo trump bean bags and tasers

 

[SlyPokerDog]

we have here a strong case for not wearing baggy pants to enhance your defiant look which is apparently frightening for a lone officer. I for one do not think it is correct police policy for the a lone officer to confront anyone with the possibility of using deadly force. That should never occur on only suspicion of danger, only after there is no doubt.

I guess you didn't bother to watch the video. If you had you would seen that the officer was not alone.

 

[MarAzul]

I guess you didn't bother to watch the video. If you had you would seen that the officer was not alone.

I did watch it Sly. That doesn't change what I said. It might have change the out come in Ferguson though. In this case, I think the police were operation under the wrong guide lines for using deadly force. I don't know if the guy heard commands, I don't think the cops knew either.

Oh! I see what you mean, ok, baggy pants are frightening to cops. Me too really, they remind me a a diaper that needs to be changed.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Looks like he was lifting his shirt up to show the cop he didn't have a gun.

If cops weren't such cowards, he would still be alive, but the pig was too afraid.

 

[Sinobas]

If the cop is "getting spooked" by circumstances to the point where he's needlessly shooting an unarmed man, he shouldn't be a cop. Or a free man.

Well, until we can get robots to arrest people, we'll have to make due with humans that fear for their own life. If you reach into your pants when a cop has gun drawn on you, you'll get shot more often that not.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Humans are supposed to exercise judgment, and when deadly force is involved, that judgment needs to be beyond reproach. Human fallibility is not an excuse for taking another's life unjustifiably.

 

[Sinobas]

Looks like he was lifting his shirt up to show the cop he didn't have a gun.

If cops weren't such cowards, he would still be alive, but the pig was too afraid.

Oh please. There is nothing cowardly about apprehending armed and dangerous criminals. What would have you done if your life was on the line? It's not a video game where you get 3 lives.

 

[Sinobas]

Humans are supposed to exercise judgment, and when deadly force is involved, that judgment needs to be beyond reproach. Human fallibility is not an excuse for taking another's life unjustifiably.

Right. So what if you pull a fake gun on a cop and he shoots you? Are you going to whine about his lack of judgement and fallibility?

 

[Sinobas]

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Right. So what if you pull a fake gun on a cop and he shoots you? Are you going to whine about his lack of judgement and fallibility?

We're not talking about me, or about a person who had a fake gun. We're talking about a person who was adjusting his pants, and about a cop who, in your words, was so spooked that he thought it appropriate to use deadly force in a situation where there was no imminent threat, and no weapon was present. There is nothing in that video indicating any need for deadly force, and no justification for it.

Implicit with the authority to use deadly force when necessary is the restriction to use it ONLY when absolutely necessary. Violation of that implicit understanding should be considered criminal.

 

[Sinobas]

Also, this kid made a FB post the day before saying that he'd rather die than go back to prison. So the fact that he'd defy a police officer who was pointing a gun at him, and reach into his waist band makes me wonder if he was trying to get shot.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

What I was wondering is why after the cop searched him and didn't find a weapon why did he leave him handcuffed? At the point the guy hadn't committed a crime, was bleeding out and was not a threat to the officers.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

What I was wondering is why after the cop searched him and didn't find a weapon why did he leave him handcuffed? At the point the guy hadn't committed a crime, was bleeding out and was not a threat to the officers.

Also it was a little odd that the officer didn't try to stop the bleeding. I doubt it would have done much good but I find it rather cold to watch someone die and not do anything.