ANOTHER NYPD SHOOTING: Unarmed Alleged Car Thief Shantel Davis Gunned Down
Community members in Brooklyn are once again outraged at yet another questionable police shooting in New York City.
23 year-old unarmed Shantel Davis died of a gunshot to the chest after a struggle with two police officers on a busy street in Brooklyn. Davis was reportedly driving erratically in an allegedly stolen car; running red lights, and eventually crashing into a minivan. As officers approached the car, she opened the passenger’s side door, hitting one of them with it.
She then slide back into the driver’s seat. The NYPD claims she then put the car in reverse, attempting to flee. Simultaneously, the other officer had entered the vehicle with his gun drawn.
“‘He’s attempting with the other hand to shift the gear into park,’ Browne said. ‘When she’s hitting the gas, a single round was discharged from his firearm, striking the woman in the chest’
Cops then asked Davis to step out of the car, which she did, dramatically stumbling onto the street, bleeding profusely as a large crowd looked on in horror.”
A woman from a crowd of about 100 onlookers ‘cradled [Davis] in her arms and rubbed her head,’ said witness Nacole Daniel, 26.
She was fighting, but there was so much blood gushing out,’ said the woman who comforted Davis.”
The NYPD has been quick to defend its officers’ actions, even releasing Shantel Davis’ extensive criminal record (which includes 8 prior arrests). In fact, Davis was due for a court appearance today (June 15th) to face charges of attempted murder, possession of a loaded weapon, burglary and kidnapping.
But witnesses at the scene refute the NYPD’s claim that Davis was attempting to put the car in reverse. And many have taken issue with the use of deadly force in this situation, as well as the decision to release the victims sordid record, and not that of the police officer who pulled the trigger.
“And City Councilman Jumaane Williams, who visited Davis’s family to break the news, also questioned the cop’s use of force. ‘I must call the NYPD to task for the rapid public release of information regarding this victim, which may have taken place before notification of the shooting to her family. They should show greater care in the handling of a sensitive inquiry in its early stages, or at the least provide equity to the balance of facts being released; the record of the shooter, who reportedly has a number of outstanding civil rights complaints himself and carries an unfavorable reputation in the community, should be treated with the same level of consideration as the record of the deceased.'”
Read more at HuffingtonPost.com
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