The family of a pregnant woman who was shot and killed by police in Colorado have filed a lawsuit against the police officers who were on the scene.

Destinee Thompson was supposed to be on her way to lunch with her stepmother in August 2021 when Colorado police, mistaking her for a robbery suspect, fatally shot the pregnant mother as she fled in her minivan.

  • YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world
    17·
    1 year ago

    Thompson, sitting in her minivan and surrounded by five officers, locked the doors and refused to get out, repeating, “It wasn’t me,” the district attorney wrote in the 2022 letter explaining their decision not to charge the officers.

    One officer smashed the passenger window with a baton, and Thompson backed the car up, hitting a police vehicle parked behind her. She then drove forward over the curb and onto the road.

    One officer began shooting, according to the district attorney’s letter, because he believed another officer was struck by the car or being dragged under it, and eventually shot and killed Thompson. Her unborn child also died.

    • be_excellent_to_each_other@kbin.social
      19·
      1 year ago

      Right out of the playbook.

      1. Terrify and/or physically attack the suspect.
      2. When the suspect responds as all humans do to being terrified or attacked:
      3. Ramp up the use of force, and if you don’t kill them you at least get to add resisting arrest or assaulting an officer.
      4. No worries if you’ve destroyed someone’s life, permanently decreased their overall health, or killed them. The taxpayers will pay the inevitable settlement, and there’s almost no chance of criminal charges.