Cop Under Fire for Shooting 'Unarmed Black Man,' Bodycam Spells Out Entirely Different Story
Jumping to conclusions to fit a narrative before the facts are out is never smart.
Neither is pointing blame at America’s police officers, without bothering to review their body camera footage.
Anti-law enforcement leftists just got a dose of reality after trying to spin a police shooting in Minneapolis as racially motivated.
That incident happened on June 23, after a black male named Thurman Blevin was shot and killed by pursuing officers. In an example of political theater that is becoming far too predictable, liberal activists took to the streets in protest, claiming either that Blevin was unarmed or was only shot because of his skin color.
Now, key facts are coming out about the case, and they strongly exonerate the police officers.
Contrary to the narrative of an “unarmed black man” being gunned down in the street, it appears that the suspect — Blevin — was the one shooting first.
Warning: Video Contains Strong Language and Violence
There’s also bodycam video to back this up. The footage — some of which has been released to the public — clearly shows a pistol in the hand of the suspect as he ignores police commands to stop.
Officers Justin Schmidt and Ryan Kelly “were forced to fire at the suspect only after he pointed a gun and fired at the officers,” stated Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll on Monday.
“The videos also show Blevins was carrying a firearm at the time of his death,” reported KMSP TV. Additionally, a fired cartridge matching Blevin’s gun was found at the scene.
A semi-automatic handgun seen in the video and found with him after the shooting had a round in the chamber, and another 11 rounds in the magazine ready to be fired at officers.
Protesters mobbed a media conference held by the county attorney, yelling and demonstrating about what they saw as a racially-triggered injustice … despite the stack of evidence to the contrary.
“Black people are tired of being hunted down like deer!” one protester shouted, according to ABC News. That sentence summarized the anger and absurdity of the anti-police position.
Short of being a model citizen, Blevin was a known criminal with a long felony record. “By the age of 31, Blevins racked up six felony convictions. Among them, fleeing police, assaulting an officer, narcotics possession, and felon in possession of a pistol,” pointed out Knoll.
The entire reason that police were in the area was because two different witnesses reported a criminal with a gun. They gave descriptions that almost perfectly matched the suspect and his pistol.
“The officers did exactly what the public expects them to do,” Kroll explained. “They responded to a 911 call of someone shooting a gun. They located the suspect, gave numerous orders for him to comply, pursued the suspect as he fled.”
That brings up a very good question: What, exactly, would the left and the protesters in the case like police to do?
They demand “gun control,” yet refuse to support officers who are literally trying to control a known criminal who was illegally armed and shooting a gun in a neighborhood.
They demand “justice,” yet apparently believe that a violent man with a handgun should be allowed to terrorize a community, without consequences.
Once again, the narrative has become more important than facts or reason. That’s a troubling trend throughout America … but at least bodycam footage doesn’t lie.
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