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On April 12, last year, 27-year-old Black man Miles Jackson was shot and killed by police officers in a Columbus, Ohio, emergency room. Jackson allegedly had a gun tucked into his sweatpants and the gun reportedly went off, which doesn’t mean he opened fire in the ER, it just means the gun went off. Now, a medical examiner has ruled Jackson’s death a homicide and reported that he was shot 20 times and suffered wounds to his head, chest, and abdomen.
According to the Associated Press, “A standoff ensued after the gun went off, with police eventually opening fire as Jackson appeared to sit up and officers yelled, ‘He shot again!’ and ‘He’s got a gun!’, according to bodycam footage.”
Earlier the same day, Jackson was reportedly taken to the same hospital he was killed in, Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital in Westerville, for some sort of treatment. But Jackson walked away from the hospital and was later found passed out in a nearby parking lot, which is why Westerville police were called.
From AP:
“After a pat-down, where an officer previously cautioned for rushing his duties missed Jackson’s gun, those officers followed medics back to the hospital, where Jackson was met by Columbus police because of city warrants for his arrest. That officer and the Columbus officers who shot Jackson were white.
Both Columbus and St. Ann’s officers fired their weapons.”
The body-cam video shows Jackson being patted down by officers who appeared to be looking for his gun. A struggle ensues as Jackson can be heard repeatedly complaining that officers were “grabbing my balls.” He’s also heard telling officers, “You’re on my arm,” and “I’m going to comply.”
At some point during the struggle, the cops are seen tasing Jackson, who went to the ground just before a gun can be heard going off. Jackson can be heard complaining that his arm had been twisted preventing him from immediately complying with the cops’ demands. As officers shout at him to show his hands, he’s heard repeatedly telling them that he is showing his hands, but at that point, he isn’t visible in the footage. It should be noted that the entire time, Jackson appears to be relatively calm while the cops are shouting frantically at the top of their lungs. Jackson can even be heard requesting that they “calm down” and that he’s “afraid that if I move you’re going to shoot me.”
After Jackson explained over and over that he was afraid of getting shot while the cops continued to shout their demands, a gun is heard going off again, just before a barrage of bullets was fired by police.
You can watch the body-cam footage on the age-restricted link below.
Miles Jackson was shot 20 times. It really seems like there had to be another way.
Of course, “back the blue” advocates are going to immediately argue the shooting was justified and Jackson asked for it—despite him repeatedly asking for the opposite thing. To others, this is a clear case of police brutality, which is why, according to AP, protests in Columbus followed the shooting.
At any rate, “Attorney General’s Office concluded its investigation of the shooting in August and forwarded to the Franklin County prosecutor, who will determine whether to file charges against the officers involved.”
So I guess we’ll just have to see how this one shakes out.
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Black Man Dies After Being Shot 20 Times In Emergency Room By Ohio Police Officers, Medical Examiner Says was originally published on newsone.com
