SOMEBODY IS LYING BIG TIME HERE

By Bob Walsh

I have read a LOT of reports. I often told my cops that I didn’t want to see three, or seven, or twelve, identical reports because it was OBVIOUS that the reports had been prepared as a group project (can you say collusion?) rather than truly individual reports of what you saw and what you did. Obviously there will be some room for honest differences in what people said, did and saw.

There was a shooting in Baltimore, MD, Friday night involving an off-duty police officer that is so far “off” in the reporting that clearly somebody is being inventive, presumably for personal or political purposes.

The official story is that the unidentified officer was off-duty and stopped in a liquor store to make an unspecified purchased. At some point a man walked in with a gun in his hand and announced a robbery. The cop pulled his weapon and opened fire, hitting the bad guy. The bad guy died in the hospital. It seems that there were several witnesses in the store, including both clerks and other customers, who saw pretty much the same thing.

However, two other alleged witnesses who were outside the store tell a very different tale. Davon Jones, 24, and Lamont Randall, 23, both assert that the off-duty cop pulled up and started “fussing” with the dead guy while in front of the store. The dead guy cursed at the cop, who drew his weapon and fired. The dead guy then retreated into the store, allegedly for safety, where he collapsed.

This is one of those nice things where there will be not only plenty of independent witnesses but possibly video of the scene. In addition it will be relatively easy for investigators to determine if the shots were fired inside the store or outside.

Right now my bet is on the off-duty cop. I hope Mr. Randall and Mr. Jones made written statements to the cops. That way they can be prosecuted for perjury, if that is appropriate.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If this was a robbery, the off-duty cop deserves praise, not condemnation. But to those who have a bias against, or hate the police, no shooting by a cop can ever be justified. When they witness a police shooting, they see only what they want to see.