I'm a former defense attorney and currently a civil liberties attorney with no political dog in this fight. I watched the video at least 10 times from different angles and at different speeds and waited to offer an opinion, which I still reserve the right to change if additional information changes the calculus.
It is very clear that the officers instigated the confrontation. The woman initially tried to wave them past her.
ICE officers have no authority to search a US citizen or arrest her (unless there's probable cause to believe she's harboring undocumented individuals, not a contention here). A woman surrounded by masked, armed men who have no law enforcement authority over her has every right to try to escape. Video shows her steering wheel is turned to the right, clearly an attempt to leave WITHOUT hitting anyone and steer clear of the officer standing towards the front of her car. That officer had time to step to the side, which is where he was when he shot her.
Even a real police officer would not have the right to shoot at her for trying to flee. This is well-established in the case law; deadly force may not be used simply to prevent someone from getting away. Given that the ICE officers had no law enforcement authority to begin with, AND the video footage shows she was trying to escape a perceived threat, not to kill anyone, the crime is all the more inexcusable.
I'm praying for the victim's family, especially her children. I'm also praying for all the conservatives who are so unprincipled and lost they're excusing this terrible crime, and gloating over a death that will leave three young children motherless, because of the victim's politics.
There's a misperception that law enforcement (or ICE) is permitted to use lethal force any time they feel the slightest bit endangered, or whenever some terrified person with a gun pointed at them does not immediately follow (often unclear) orders perfectly.
That's just not true. Lethal force is allowed ONLY when there is literally no possible alternative to preventing other deaths. In this case, that requires that:
1) An officer would surely have been killed by her continuing to drive 2 mph away from them, and
2) There was NO OTHER WAY to save their lives, such as hopping out of the way of a barely moving car, shooting the tires, firing a warning shot, or shooting to just injure.
No rational person can watch the video and conclude that both standards were met.
And, no, there is no "the ICE officer was panicking and didn't have time to think" exception. The law still applies, and if we're going to judge the panicked response of a woman in a car with a gun pointed at her, then we can absolutely judge the panicked response of a ICE official who had unnecessarily pulled a gun in a situation that did not require it.
There are rules of engagement, even for under-trained ICE officials who just saw their training slashed from 5 months to 47 days (because Trump is #47, how cute).
This ICE official clearly failed to follow those rules, and that means a 6-year old had to be told at school today that his mother is gone forever.
@torchia_j54014@StandUpForTrmp@RightScopee Where did you earn your degree(s) and what do you do for a living that qualifies you to declare him "business smart" and "intelligen[t] in dealing with people"?