A San Leandro police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the officer-involved shooting of a bat-wielding suspect inside a Walmart store.
The incident took place mid-afternoon. The bat-wielding suspect was threatening employees and customers as he attempted to steal merchandise. The man with the bat was black and named Steven Taylor.
Officers were called and a responding officer who shot him, who is white. He first shot Taylor with a taser but it didn’t disable him. Customers and employees had screamed at Taylor to drop the bat. He didn’t and kept coming. As Taylor continued to come at him with the bat, the officer shot him.
The DA has charged the officer, saying Taylor was disabled and didn’t pose a threat.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley announced on Sept. 2 that her office has charged SLPD Officer Jason Fletcher with voluntary manslaughter in connection with Taylor’s death.
“The decision to file the criminal complaint was made after an intensive investigation and thorough analysis of the evidence and the current law,” O’Malley said in a press release. “Charging a police officer with Voluntary Manslaughter is not a decision that is made lightly, nor rashly.”
The family demands murder charges.
Watch — warning, every graphic:
We’ll leave it here:
This is why cops don’t shoot to maim. If they fire their gun, it’s shoot to kill — which the law supports. For good reason.
H/t @MattWalshBlog https://t.co/YJTpqBm9oY— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 6, 2020
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