- So she & two friends got together to steal things from Wal Mart, a store she agreed to not enter again due to a previous shoplifting conviction. Two children were either with them or left in the car.
- They get caught by an off-duty police officer who is hired by Wal Mart for additional security...and still operates as a police officer, not typical retail security.
- He identifies himself, tells them to stop, one hits him with his purse and they run to the car.
- He tries to stop them again, opens the door and orders the driver to stop the car and she takes off with him right there.
- He fires a shot into the car and hits the front passenger in the neck, they keep driving to an apartment complex and she dies.
If you steal, that's one thing...happens all of the time. If you get caught and try to run, that's another. If it's a police officer that catches you, you don't obey his orders and you then potentially put him in danger, you're taking a big risk. Whether you're the driver of the car or one of the other shoplifters/accomplices, aren't you responsible for anything that happens?
The only issue to me is video or credible witnesses that can show or say the cop wasn't near the car or in any danger. If that's the case, he was trigger happy and is culpable. If he was in any danger, it was those females own actions and failure to comply that escalated the situation and resulted in the need to shoot. If it's justifiable, is it "better" if he'd shot the shooter? It's all speculation but it seems like he likely tried but the car was moving.
It's most definitely unfortunate and people don't deserve to die over shoplifting...but this wasn't just shoplifting. A different outcome would've been ideal but unless you truly know what went down and protocol, it's kinda tough to say what should've happened, other than the females stopping when they got caught.