Last May, a 72-year-old man in the Fort
Worth, Texas, area was
shot to death by police investigating a burglar alarm across
the street from his home. They were on his property, unaware they
were at the wrong address, there was some sort of confrontation,
and the man, Jerry Waller, was armed, possibly thinking there were
intruders. Police shot him seven times.
Yesterday, a grand jury
declined to charge the officer responsible for the innocent
man’s death. Courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
The decision not to indict R.A. “Alex” Hoeppner in the death of
Jerry Waller came a week after prosecutors began presenting the
case.Waller died May 28 after being shot multiple times by Hoeppner
as the officer and partner Ben Hanlon searched for a possible
suspect after being dispatched to a burglary alarm call across the
street.Hanlon, who did not fire his gun, was dismissed from the
department in October in an unrelated matter.Police Chief Jeff Halstead said the grand jury made the right
decision.“I think it was proven through the autopsy and evidence that a
gun was pointed directly at officer Hoeppner and he was forced to
make his decision …” Halstead said, explaining that the trajectory
of Waller’s wounds shows that the homeowner had his arm
outstretched, as if pointing a gun.
That the police were trespassing is apparently irrelevant. They
claim they identified themselves to Waller before opening fire. The
family, of course, has doubts about the police’s story. Even the
chief of police couldn’t explain why Waller would open fire on the
officers if they had identified themselves. (Oh, and the unrelated
matter that Officer Hanlon was dismissed for was for allegedly
providing false information about an arrest at a traffic stop.)
Here’s an invitation to visualize the opposite happening. What
if Waller had killed Hoeppner, thinking the officer was an
intruder, instead of the other way around? Would the grand jury
have let Waller go?
(Hat tip to CharlesWT)
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