The Palm Beach Deputy in this shooting, Jason Franqui, claimed he feared for his life because 17-year-old Jeremy Hutton who suffered from Down-Syndrome tried to "run him down" with the mini-van he'd taken from his mother, prompting her to call 911. The State Attorney's office cleared Franqui of wrong-doing citing his claim that he "feared for his life" yet video of the incident taken from a traffic camera clearly shows that after Franqui blocked Hutton's van with his vehicle and exited it, Hutton turned the van away from him as he tried to get away.
It was while Hutton was driving away, impacting the front of his cruiser, that Franqui fired into his passenger side, and rear window striking him in the head, shoulder and hands.
In the screen shot above Franqui is in the process of firing as he stands at his drivers side door, Hutton's vehicle has just impacted his front left side panel missing him after Hutton made a hard turn to the left to avoid the Officer and now has a clear path forward and did move forward to the other side of the street as the deputy continued to fire and ultimately crashed.
More details, video and screen shots over the flip.
Video via WPTV.
Via Rawstory.
Officers spotted the mentally disabled teen driving slowly along a boulevard in Palm Beach, with one tire flattened from hitting a curb.
Franqui pulled his patrol car in front of the minivan after the teen stopped at an intersection and got out of his cruiser – but his account veers away from the evidence at that point.
The deputy told investigators he fired the gun after Hutton looked into his eyes, turned the steering wheel, and drove directly toward him.
Cruiser camera footage shows the minivan clip the front of Franqui’s patrol car as the deputy starts shooting – striking the teen in the head, shoulder, and hand, although he survived his wounds.
Then-State Attorney Michael McAuliffe wrote in a memo to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw that physical and video evidence, as well as witness statements, confirmed the deputy was standing in front of the minivan when he opened fire.
However, the traffic camera footage – which investigators mentioned in their report but did not describe its contents – appears to show the opposite.
The fact is that Franqui put himself in harms way by parking his car directly Hutton's path,
it was Hutton who turn the while sharply to the left in order to avoid the deputy.
Ultimately leaving Hutton in this condition.
Yes, that's right. Hutton is not a Black man, but that shouldn't matter although it might, in that there probably won't be demonstrations or riots on his behalf even though there is a l
ong history of police shooting suspects who may be mentally disabled. There
should be outrage that this Officer clearly and deliberately lied about what occurred and simply hoped he wouldn't get caught. And even though he has been caught by this video footage, he probably still won't face any charges for it from the State Attorney's Office because as WPTV reports
no Palm Beach deputy has faced charges for an unjustified shooting since 2000.
In the full video report WPTV interviews former Assistant States Attorney Elizabeth Parker and what she states is fairly chilling.
Really what they do is they just read the reports, they look at what the Sherrifs provide to them. Prosecutors work with Deputes every single day, you can't have a contentious relationship and be productive as a prosecutor.
Which is essentially an admission that States Attorneys Offices can't do an honest and thorough investigation of Police shootings without putting their "relationship" and hence other investigations at risk.
So Violent and Hair-Triggered Officers, Get. A. Pass.
Perhaps it's time that the job of investigating Officer involved shootings fall to some other investigative body other than States Attorneys who have to work hand-in-hand with these Officers every day. Perhaps a Special Prosecutors Office, sort of like a prosecutorial version of Internal Affairs should be established with Prosecutors who don't work with police to close cases but instead are dedicated to investigate and prosecute the police themselves if they get out of hand.
Having the same Office that works with these Officers also be the Office to potentially prosecute them is clearly a near-fatal flaw that only a very few State Attorney have the fortitude to overcome.
Vyan