A Florida cop shot a pot suspect in cold blood on March 4th. Multiple witnesses say Derek Cruice was gunned down by a Voluisa County SWAT team as he was trying to get to the door to let them in. The Official Story (TM) was that he was a clear and present danger to the cops and that he was resisting arrest. But people who actually witnessed the incident say otherwise:
One of the men inside the home, 24-year-old Matthew Grady, contradicted deputies' claims that Cruice had resisted arrest.
"There's a couple of seconds between opening the door, walking out, getting to my knee and halfway out there's gunfire," Grady told My News 13. "I look back as the guy's grabbing me, and my friend is dead or dying."
When asked if Cruice resisted, Grady said: "No."
Roommate Steven Cochran said Cruice wasn't wearing a shirt at the time of the shooting, and didn't pose a threat of carrying a concealed weapon.
"It's kind of hard to conceal anything or hide anything when this is all you have on," said Cochran. "They entered the house and fired."
The Orlando paper has picked up the story and one of the comments showcases how much each one of these shootings is undermining public confidence in law enforcement:
Accidentally kill a police officer and see if you get a paid vacation while the murder is being investigated.
The Official Story (TM) tried to make it sound like Cruice was somehow responsible:
Investigators who searched the house found 217 grams of marijuana, a scale, a drug ledger, marijuana smoking pipes, plastic bags and about $3,000 in cash, Davidson said.
But it turns out that
217 grams converts to 7.5 ounces. And I guess it's only OK to make a living in Florida if you're a Republican. Otherwise, you're supposed to be drowning in debt from mortgages and/or student loans and/or medical bills.
The local FOX News affiliate reports that the shooting has triggered protests.
Friends and family of Derek Cruice showed up at the Thomas Kelly Administration Center in DeLand on Friday to protest his death. Cruice was unarmed when he was shot on Wednesday morning during a raid at his house.
Marchers chanted for the 26-year-old Cruice, taking their protest inside as their anger echoes within the Volusia County Administration Center's main floor. The marchers called on Sheriff Ben Johnson who spoke to a smaller crowd earlier in the morning.
Johnson said that all the facts were not out yet. So, if the police didn't know all the facts, then why did they raid Cruice's home without knocking in the first place?
Today's New York Times notes that a UN Report shows an alarmingly high rate of violence against women. Part of the reason as far as this country is concerned is that our officers continue to spend an inordinate amount of resources on people who have a tiny amount of pot as opposed to real criminals who think that women are somehow their property to do with as they see fit. And these police actions are creating a climate of fear in Florida which contributed to that state's people voting for medical marijuana with 58% of the vote back in 2014, two percent short of the 60% required for passage.