President Donald Trump thinks that CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo is too dangerous to have guns and might need to be forcibly disarmed.
Yesterday, video surfaced which showed Cuomo—a frequent Trump critic and brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—berating two men out in public who called him Fredo, a term he alleged was an anti-Italian slur akin to the n-word.
“I’ll fuckin’ ruin your shit. I’ll fucking throw you down these stairs,” Cuomo said at one point during the two-minute video, which was reportedly recorded this past Sunday.
This morning Trump seized on the outburst from one of his prominent media critics by tweeting out a suggestion that “red flag” laws might allow the seizure of Cuomo’s guns.
Would Chris Cuomo be given a Red Flag for his recent rant? Filthy language and a total loss of control. He shouldn’t be allowed to have any weapon. He’s nuts!
These laws have been adopted in 17 states, most of which passed them after the 2018 Parkland shooting. The specifics of these laws vary, but they generally allow family and law enforcement to petition a court to order the temporary confiscation of a person’s guns if they exhibit signs that they will hurt themselves or others.
Following the most recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) said he will introduce a bill that would award grants to states to help them set up their own red flag laws. Graham says Trump supports the bill.
Red flag laws are becoming an increasingly popular piece of legislation among both liberals and conservatives as a way of getting guns out of the hands of potential mass shooters.
As Reason‘s Jacob Sullum has argued, these laws often deprive lawful gun owners of meaningful due process rights.
Depending on the state, a wide number of people are able to petition to take someone’s guns away. These petitions can often be decided in ex parte hearings where the person whose weapons might be seized isn’t present. Even if they are present at one of these hearings, most states do not guarantee them legal representation.
In addition, the lack of truly objective standards for who might be a risk to themselves or others will lead judges to confiscate too many guns, writes Sullum, saying that “when standards are amorphous, judges are especially likely to err on the side of issuing orders, because they imagine that failing to do so could lead to terrible consequences.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s tweet highlights a different risk of red flag laws: that politicians or law enforcement will let their own petty feuds and emotions influence who they decide to disarm. Invoking red flag laws to disarm one’s critics, as Trump has suggested, borders on tyrannical.
A good rule of thumb when evaluating a new law is whether you’d want your worst political enemy to be in charge of its enforcement. In the case of red flag laws, do we want Trump in charge of deciding who’s too crazy to own a gun?
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President Donald Trump thinks that CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo is too dangerous to have guns and might need to be forcibly disarmed.
Yesterday, video surfaced which showed Cuomo—a frequent Trump critic and brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—berating two men out in public who called him Fredo, a term he alleged was an anti-Italian slur akin to the n-word.
“I’ll fuckin’ ruin your shit. I’ll fucking throw you down these stairs,” Cuomo said at one point during the two-minute video, which was reportedly recorded this past Sunday.
This morning Trump seized on the outburst from one of his prominent media critics by tweeting out a suggestion that “red flag” laws might allow the seizure of Cuomo’s guns.
Would Chris Cuomo be given a Red Flag for his recent rant? Filthy language and a total loss of control. He shouldn’t be allowed to have any weapon. He’s nuts!
These laws have been adopted in 17 states, most of which passed them after the 2018 Parkland shooting. The specifics of these laws vary, but they generally allow family and law enforcement to petition a court to order the temporary confiscation of a person’s guns if they exhibit signs that they will hurt themselves or others.
Following the most recent shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.) said he will introduce a bill that would award grants to states to help them set up their own red flag laws. Graham says Trump supports the bill.
Red flag laws are becoming an increasingly popular piece of legislation among both liberals and conservatives as a way of getting guns out of the hands of potential mass shooters.
As Reason‘s Jacob Sullum has argued, these laws often deprive lawful gun owners of meaningful due process rights.
Depending on the state, a wide number of people are able to petition to take someone’s guns away. These petitions can often be decided in ex parte hearings where the person whose weapons might be seized isn’t present. Even if they are present at one of these hearings, most states do not guarantee them legal representation.
In addition, the lack of truly objective standards for who might be a risk to themselves or others will lead judges to confiscate too many guns, writes Sullum, saying that “when standards are amorphous, judges are especially likely to err on the side of issuing orders, because they imagine that failing to do so could lead to terrible consequences.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s tweet highlights a different risk of red flag laws: that politicians or law enforcement will let their own petty feuds and emotions influence who they decide to disarm. Invoking red flag laws to disarm one’s critics, as Trump has suggested, borders on tyrannical.
A good rule of thumb when evaluating a new law is whether you’d want your worst political enemy to be in charge of its enforcement. In the case of red flag laws, do we want Trump in charge of deciding who’s too crazy to own a gun?
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A naked burglary suspect was pulled out of the chimney of a home near Culver City, California on Sunday morning, according to KTLA 5.
The incident started around 7:40 in the morning on Sunday after a woman ran into a “nude intruder” inside of her home. The woman’s husband then confronted the individual, who reportedly ran away after an argument.
Police were notified and were searching for the suspect when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department got a call 40 minutes later about a naked man stuck in a chimney in a neighboring town.
MEANWHILE IN CALIFORNIA: Naked man possibly high on drugs burglarizes a home in Ladera Heights before being chased onto a roof by 2 Rottweilers.
He jumped down a chimney where he got stuck and started screaming for help.
Los Angeles county firefighters then responded to the scene to help the suspect free. He was promptly arrested on suspicion of burglary. The suspect was caught on video claiming that somebody had laced his drink with drugs the night before.
He can be heard saying:
“They laced me last night. They laced my drink. I would never run around in front of everybody buck naked. I’m not crazy!”
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/31ABolx Tyler Durden
Just recently, Tom Lee, head of Fundstrat Global Advisors, published a list of 5-bullish signs for the stock investors which he says you should “ignore at your own peril.” As he notes:
“In short, these signals are saying the S&P 500 is set up for a monster 2H rally. We are not ignoring the negative signal of a plunge in interest rates, nor saying that a full-blown trade war is negative for the World. But, we believe the trifecta of strong US corporates, positive White House (towards biz) and dovish Fed, are major supports for the US equity market.”
His view is that the short-term disruption of the market over “trade” issues is an opportunity for investors to increase equity exposure.
Over the last few weeks, we had discussed the excessive deviation to the market above the 200-dma, which suggested that a reversal of that extension was probable. The question now is whether Tom’s view is correct?
Are the markets set up for “monster second-half rally,” or is this just the continuation of the topping process that began last year.
While these are certainly reasons to be “hopeful” that stocks will continue to rise into the future, “hope”has rarely been a fruitful investment strategy longer term. Therefore, let’s analyze each of the arguments from both perspectives to eliminate “confirmation bias.”
Economic Growth To Improve
No matter where you look as of late, economic growth has been pretty dismal. However, there is always hope for improvement that could support a recovery in asset prices.
“Still, many analysts remain optimistic that the U.S. economy can continue expanding even if growth slows down. The Citigroup Economic Surprise Index for the U.S., which measures broadly whether data points are meeting expectations, has risen sharply in recent weeks.” – WSJ
After a recent slate of feeble economic data points, the improvement should come as no real surprise. The quarterly, or annual comparisons, can certainly show some improvement. However, it should be noted the improvement is still within the context of a very negative environment, or rather, the data is just “less negative,” rather than “positive.”
This can be seen more clearly in our economic composite index, which is a broad measure of the U.S. economy including both the service and manufacturing sectors.
The problem for the bullish case is that 10-years into the current advance, there is little lifting power for monetary policy at this juncture. Yes, lower rates from the Fed could indeed provide a short-term bump to markets based solely on momentum. However, the ability to pull-forward accelerated rates of consumption to increase economic growth is much less likely. Most likely, the short-term increase in “less negative” data will turn lower as we move further into the year.
Volatility Signals A Bottom?
Volatility, as measured by the volatility index, spiked up recently. For the bulls, the spike in volatility has been a “siren’s song,” to “buy the f***ing dip.” This has been a winning strategy for investors over the last 10-years.
Is this time different? Take a look at the chart below. The volatility index is inverted for clarity purposes. The red vertical dashed line is when the monthly sell signal was issued, suggesting a reduction in equity risk in portfolios. The blue vertical dashed line is when the volatility index bottomed with extreme complacency and volatility begin a regime of trending higher.
The change in the trend of the volatility, trending lower to trending higher, is a hallmark of previous bull market peaks.
While the market is short-term oversold, combined with a surge in the VIX, the market will likely bounce short-term. However, with volatility now trending higher, that rally could be short-lived if a larger corrective cycle is beginning to take hold.
Earnings Not That Bad
“For Q2 2019 (with 77% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting actual results), 76% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise and 59% of companies have reported a positive revenue surprise.” – FactSet
On an operating basis, corporate earnings are providing the bulls boost of optimism, as hopefully, the “trade war” impact is limited. Earnings are strong, so prices should be higher.
Here’s the problem with that analysis.
As shown, for 76% of companies to beat estimates, those estimates had to be dramatically lowered. More importantly, as shown in the chart below, if we look at corporate profits for all companies, a more dire picture emerges.(The chart below strips out the profits from the Federal Reserves balance sheet.)
Despite a near 300% increase in the financial markets over the last decade, corporate profits haven’t grown since 2011. Importantly, corporate profits, have turned lower in the first quarter and that slide is continuing into the second. I have compared corporate profits, less Federal Reserve, to the Wilshire 5000 for a more comparative index.
The slide in corporate profits suggests weaker asset prices in the future as the economy, and ultimately corporate profits, continue to slow.
Sentiment Is Bearish
As Tom Lee noted in his “plea” for investors to “buy equities,” investor sentiment, very short-term is indeed negative. As shown in the chart below, the spread between bullish and bearish investors (according to AAII) is currently at -26. This is indeed a pretty bearish tilt and does suggest a short-term bottom is likely.
While that statement is true, it is a VERY short-term indicator more useful for trading rather than investing.
However, on a longer-term basis, we see that investor confidence is just about as bullish as it can get with investors outlook for stock price increases over the next 12-months near the highest levels on record.
The same is true when we look at the Commitment of Traders (COT) report which shows that speculators are just about as long as they can be in the markets.
While short-term the market could indeed rally over the next couple of weeks, investor sentiment suggests that the topping process for the markets is set to continue for a while longer.
The Fed Is Cutting Rates
Another one of Tom Lee’s points is that when the Fed cuts rates, it has previously led to a positive return over the next 6-months.
That is a true statement.
The problem is that Tom Lee isn’t going to tell you to “sell” in 6-months. There will find another reason to tell you to be bullish. This is the problem with the mainstream media, the market is “always a buy” in order to keep you buying the “products” Wall Street is selling.
For investors, the outcome of the Fed cutting rates is not a function of stronger economic growth, but a response to weaker growth, declining profitability, and lower asset prices. As I wrote last week:
“This suggests that the Fed’s ability to stem the decline of the next recession, or offset a financial shock to the economy from falling asset prices, may be much more limited than the Fed, and most investors, currently believe.
The Fed has a long history of making policy mistakes which has led to negative outcomes, crisis, bear markets, and recessions.”
It is becomingly increasingly clear from a variety of inputs that deflationary pressures are mounting in the economy. Recent declines in manufacturing, and production reports, along with the collapse in commodity prices, all suggest that something is amiss in the production side of the economy.
The Fed is going to cut rates further. Unfortunately, those rate cuts are not going to lead to higher asset prices.
What Should You Do Next
With the current bull market already up more than 300% of the 2009 lows, valuations elevated, and signs of economic weakness on the rise, investors should be questioning the potential “reward” for accelerating “risk” exposure currently. \
Ultimately, stocks are not magical pieces of paper that provide double-digit returns, every single year, over long-term time frames. Just five periods in history account for almost all the returns of the markets over the last 120 years. The other periods wiped out a bulk of the previous advance.
Too often it is forgotten during that “thrill of the chase” that stocks are ownership units of businesses. While that seems banal, future equity returns are simply a function of the value you pay today for a share of future profits.
The chart below shows that rolling 20-year real total returns from current valuation levels have been substantially less optimistic.
What is important for investors is to understand each argument and its relation to longer-term investment periods. In the short-term, Tom’s view may well be validated as current momentum and bullish “biases”persist in the markets.
However, for longer-term investors, it is worth considering the historical outcomes of the dynamics behind the financial markets currently. The is a huge difference between a short-term bullish prediction and longer-term bearish dynamics.
As Howard Ruff once stated:
“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2yXqOJe Tyler Durden
The morning of Jeffrey Epstein’s death, “shouting and shrieking” could be heard from his jail cell, according to CBS News – while guards attempting to revive him were saying “breathe, Epstein, breathe.”
Epstein, who was reportedly in ‘good spirits’ recently – meeting with his lawyers for up to 12 hours a day to discuss his case – was found hanging in his Lower Manhattan jail cell with a bedsheet around his neck, which was reportedly secured to the top of a bunk bed, according to the New York Post.
On Monday, Attorney General William Barr said that the Epstein case “was personally important to him,” and that the prison had “serious irregularities.”
Notably, the staff at MCC reportedly violated prison protocol by failing to check on the high-profile inmate every 30 minutes, according to the Washington Post. Epstein, whose defense attorneys successfully lobbied for him to be taken off suicide watch about a week before he was found dead, was also supposed to have had a cellmate.
…he also should have had a cellmate, according to the person familiar with the matter and union officials representing facility employees.
But a person who had been assigned to share a cell with Epstein was transferred on Friday, and — for reasons that investigators are still exploring — he did not receive a new cellmate. –Washington Post
In a rare show of bipartisanship, the House Judiciary Committee has sent a letter to the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons, Hugh Hurwitz, demanding answers – and stating that Epstein’s reported death by hanging “demonstrates severe miscarriages of or deficiencies in inmate protocol and has allowed the deceased to ultimately evade facing justice,” according to the Miami Herald.
On Monday, the FBI raided Little St. James – Epstein’s so-called ‘orgy island,’ according to the Daily Mail, which captured footage of a dozen officers docking speedboats on the island before exploring the property on golf carts. Some agents were spotted on top of Epstein’s luxury home. All officials wore jackets with the letters ‘FBI’ in clear view.
Potential co-conspirators?
With Epstein dead, four women accused of recruiting underage girls for sex with the pedophile financier are coming into focus, including British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell – who has denied all claims. On Monday, AG Barr said that Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators “should not rest easy” just because Epstein won’t have his day in court.
“Let me assure you that case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein,” said Barr in remarks to a New Orleans law enforcement group, “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy. Victims deserve justice and will get it.”
Maxwell is said to be Epstein’s ex-girlfriend turned business associate. Her current location is unknown.
“She was more of a partner in his obsession, really,” said Miami Herald reporter Julie Brown, who spent more than two years looking into Epstein’s controversial 2008 plea deal. “And there are allegations that she was involved in having sex with some of these girls as well.”
Court documents from 2011 reveal Epstein controlled several apartments in a building just blocks from his $77 million New York townhouse and allegedly housed “underage girls from all over the world.” –CBS News
According to CBS News, Epstein’s estranged brother Mark has identified the body. Meanwhile, the autopsy reports are still pending.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2KGEAFu Tyler Durden
It may be hard to believe after watching Monday’s market dramatics, but there is good news as well as bad. You just have to decide what dip location offers advantageous risk reward in a downdraft episode. And those levels are all over the place.
The danger is that there are also mounting opportunities for policy mistakes in how we respond, and don’t respond, to what is going on. It would be pure folly to be blase about the risks. If asset prices can reflect emotions and animal spirits as much as economics, the headlong dash by the world’s central banks to prove they can each out-dove the next one may be a strategy that is well past its sell-by date.
And, selling is precisely the way to think and worry about it. Forward guidance worked great in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Lower for longer was very much the intended message they needed people to internalize. Debates about normalizing policy anytime soon were meant to be understood as academic exercises. With little practical effect any time in the foreseeable future. And investors acted as they were expected to. But they were important discussions, nevertheless.
They gave people hope that there was an end-game here. Once they no longer believe that to be the case it becomes almost impossible to maintain the notion that the world can afford to have monetary policy as the sole support for the global economy.
It’s a reality that everyone seems to realize except the people responsible for fiscal policy and legislation.
They seem to think they can just let the help clean up the mess.
Three things remain very real perils.
People listen to the central bank messaging, become scared, and don’t spend. But they do vote. There is a legitimate reason that so many big-ticket items are going unsold. And that won’t change by going back to the zero bound. Forget the nonsense that negative rates will cause anyone to run out and buy something to get rid of what savings they have left. I’m convinced you have to have tenure to actually believe that.
And then you have the uncomfortable coexistence of businesses hesitant to make capital commitments with investors forced to keep leveraging up and buying more. Sometimes through sheer lack of better ideas involving products they don’t know sufficiently well. That’s how you get the kind of panic that we saw yesterday.
Add that to increasing government debt burdens and you eventually become permanently stuck because the pain of the unwind is just too great for the politicians to contemplate. It may well be the case that a quiet period of lower growth is what is really needed. A time cure. But, at this point that is an argument most of the world doesn’t want to hear. And it would take a brave policy maker to suggest it.
Incidentally, some well chosen and market soothing words out of Argentina and you will start to read arguments that short-dated paper is looking pretty tasty. Someone will take a stab at accumulating some two-year paper. And off we’ll go again. It’s tempting to say traders never learn. But that’s the point. They aren’t meant to.
Keep an eye on the MSCI Emerging Market Index as it approaches its support zone that begins just below 950. It’s also where we took off from at the beginning of this year.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2KNX1YO Tyler Durden
After being tied to Ku Klux Klan memorabilia, a Muskegon, Michigan police officer may have a fatal shooting incident reviewed.
When Rob Mathis, a black man, toured a house for sale, he and his wife found a Confederate flag and a framed application to the KKK on the wall. Mathis posted a picture of the KKK document online, writing that he would not be making an offer on the home and promising to look “at resources to expose your prejudice.” Though he did not name the owner of the house, Mathis did reveal that the owner was a police officer in the community.
“I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I walk to the home of one of the most racist people in Muskegon hiding behind his uniform and possibly harassing people of color and different nationalities,” Mathis wrote in the post, which is no longer available.
The owner of the house is Charles Anderson, a white police officer who has served the Muskegon community for over 20 years. Anderson has since been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the memorabilia.
Since Mathis’ post went viral, the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office will use a probe to determine whether or not a fatal September 2009 shooting involving Anderson and a black suspect, which was cleared by Tony Tague, the city’s former prosecutor, will be reviewed.
According to Tague’s report, Julius Johnson was sitting in the front seat of a car that was pulled over for making an improper turn. The officer who pulled the car over asked for backup after saying he smelled marijuana.
Anderson, who was one of the responding officers, checked Johnson for paraphernalia in a pat-down. When a bag believed to be full of crack cocaine fell from Johnson’s person, he ran. Anderson pursued and a physical confrontation ensued when he caught up:
At that point, a bag of suspected crack cocaine fell from Johnson, Johnson fled and Anderson pursued him on foot, the report states. When Anderson caught up with Johnson, they both fell and Anderson wound up on his back with Johnson on top of him, according to the report.
As Anderson called for help, Johnson grabbed his police radio and began beating Anderson in the face and head, later using a different blunt object, the report states. Anderson tried spraying pepper spray at Johnson, but Johnson took it and sprayed it on the officer, the report states. Likewise, Anderson tried using his baton on Johnson, but Johnson snatched that away too.
With blood and pepper spray in his eyes and the beating continuing, Anderson grabbed his gun, warned Johnson he would shoot and then shot him point blank in the left arm with the bullet traveling into Johnson’s chest, killing him, the report states. Anderson later underwent surgery for broken facial bones.
Tague concluded that Anderson’s actions were justified to save his life.
The Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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The Liberty and Law Center is an academic center within Scalia Law School. Its mission is to provide a forum to learn about the role of law in protecting and promoting liberty, challenge government encroachment upon liberty, and lead the discussion of the law’s role in protecting and promoting liberty.
Purpose of the Position:
The Liberty and Law Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School is looking for a Free Speech Clinic Fellow to run its Free Speech Clinic for law students, which was launched in Fall of 2018. The Free Speech Clinic Fellow will collaborate with the Clinic Director to manage, instruct, and support the activities of the Free Speech Clinic. It is anticipated that the Clinic will focus on two core First Amendment objectives: (1) litigating and supporting cases and other legal proceedings that further the cause of free speech; and (2) training a group of future lawyers who want to advance their knowledge of the status of freedom of speech in the United States, and seek practical training in protecting freedom of speech.
Duties:
At the direction of the Clinic Director and the Center’s leadership, the Fellow’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Serve as the day-to-day manager of the Clinic.
Provide supervision and instruction to students in the Clinic, including feedback, mentoring, and training.
Solicit and manage ongoing cases, ensuring that the work is done in a timely and professional manner.
Assist with the organization and teaching of the Clinic, focusing on substantive knowledge of First Amendment doctrine and the litigation process, as well as effective legal writing, advocacy, and client relations skills.
Develop the focus of cases the Clinic will work on, including developing and maintaining relationships with public interest law firms with which the Clinic expects to collaborate.
Assist in managing the marketing and promotion of the Clinic.
Initiate Clinic and free speech focused events for Clinic students and the larger community.
Desired qualifications and skills:
· A strong interest in freedom of speech and the First Amendment;
· 2 or more years of relevant experience;
· Demonstrated ability to collaborate with others and execute projects;
The Pentagon’s Inspector General has launched a probe into key aspects of the DoD’s forthcoming $10 billion JEDI cloud-computing program, and has vowed to “expeditiously” review whether there was any malfeasance in the bid process – including conflicts of interest, according to Bloomberg.
“We are reviewing the DoD’s handing of the JEDI cloud acquisition, including the development of requirements and the request for proposal process,” said Pentagon IG spokeswoman Dwrena Allen in a statement, adding that a “multidisciplinary team” of auditors, attorneys and investigators are investigating JEDI matters “referred to us by Members of Congress and through the DoD Hotline.”
“In addition, we are investigating whether current or former DoD officials committed misconduct relating to the JEDI acquisition, such as whether any had any conflicts of interest related to their involvement in the acquisition process.”
Allen said the review “is ongoing and our team is making substantial progress. We recognize the importance and time sensitive nature of the issues, and we intend to complete our review as expeditiously as possible.”
The OG intends to write a report and notify Defense Secretary Mark Esper and DoD leaders of the findings, as well as inform Congress, according to standard protocols, she said. “We will also consider publicly releasing the results, consistent with our standard processes. –Bloomberg
On August 1st, Defense Secretary Esper ordered a separate review of the Pentagon’s JEDI cloud contract after President Trump supported critics saying that Amazon was given an unfair advantage.
In July, the WSJ publicized new evidence showing that senior Amazon executives met with senior DoD officials, including then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, to discuss the project before the bidding even began, while the decision over the program was expected this month.
Meanwhile, Oracle lost out on the project after losing a critical court case against the Pentagon and Amazon, allowing the DoD to move forward with either Amazon or Microsoft.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2TsNGcU Tyler Durden
After being tied to Ku Klux Klan memorabilia, a Muskegon, Michigan police officer may have a fatal shooting incident reviewed.
When Rob Mathis, a black man, toured a house for sale, he and his wife found a Confederate flag and a framed application to the KKK on the wall. Mathis posted a picture of the KKK document online, writing that he would not be making an offer on the home and promising to look “at resources to expose your prejudice.” Though he did not name the owner of the house, Mathis did reveal that the owner was a police officer in the community.
“I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I walk to the home of one of the most racist people in Muskegon hiding behind his uniform and possibly harassing people of color and different nationalities,” Mathis wrote in the post, which is no longer available.
The owner of the house is Charles Anderson, a white police officer who has served the Muskegon community for over 20 years. Anderson has since been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the memorabilia.
Since Mathis’ post went viral, the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office will use a probe to determine whether or not a fatal September 2009 shooting involving Anderson and a black suspect, which was cleared by Tony Tague, the city’s former prosecutor, will be reviewed.
According to Tague’s report, Julius Johnson was sitting in the front seat of a car that was pulled over for making an improper turn. The officer who pulled the car over asked for backup after saying he smelled marijuana.
Anderson, who was one of the responding officers, checked Johnson for paraphernalia in a pat-down. When a bag believed to be full of crack cocaine fell from Johnson’s person, he ran. Anderson pursued and a physical confrontation ensued when he caught up:
At that point, a bag of suspected crack cocaine fell from Johnson, Johnson fled and Anderson pursued him on foot, the report states. When Anderson caught up with Johnson, they both fell and Anderson wound up on his back with Johnson on top of him, according to the report.
As Anderson called for help, Johnson grabbed his police radio and began beating Anderson in the face and head, later using a different blunt object, the report states. Anderson tried spraying pepper spray at Johnson, but Johnson took it and sprayed it on the officer, the report states. Likewise, Anderson tried using his baton on Johnson, but Johnson snatched that away too.
With blood and pepper spray in his eyes and the beating continuing, Anderson grabbed his gun, warned Johnson he would shoot and then shot him point blank in the left arm with the bullet traveling into Johnson’s chest, killing him, the report states. Anderson later underwent surgery for broken facial bones.
Tague concluded that Anderson’s actions were justified to save his life.
The Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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