Montana police officer breaks down

[Jazzy]

A dash cam video showing a Montana police officer breaking into tears after fatally shooting an unarmed man who was high on methamphetamine was released this week after it was reviewed by a jury.

In the footage, Billings Police Officer Grant Morrison can be seen sobbing on the hood of a police cruiser after shooting 38-year-old Richard Ramirez three times during a traffic stop.

“I thought he was going to pull a gun on me," Morrison can be heard telling a fellow officer.

“Maybe he was, maybe he was,” the other officer replied, attempting to console Morrison. “Jesus, Grant. You survived.”

Morrison, who had pulled over the car with Ramirez and three other passengers inside around 11 p.m. on April 14, ordered them to put their hands up. But Ramirez, who was seated in the back, would not comply and reached for his waistband, police say.

"What are you doing? Why are you moving your hands so much?" Morrison can be heard saying earlier in dashcam footage taken just before the shooting. "Get your hands up. I will shoot you. I will shoot you. Hands up!"

Morrison, a five-year veteran of the force, then fired into the car. The actions of Ramirez could not be seen in the video.

An autopsy later showed Ramirez was high on methamphetamine and "had enough in his system at the time that it may have been lethal to someone not accustomed to the drug," a forensic pathologist testified. Fellow officers told jurors that Morrison recognized Ramirez as a suspect in a recent drug-involved shooting.

Last week, a seven-person coroner's jury concluded that the shooting was justified. No criminal charges are expected to be filed, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said.

"The videos speak for themselves," Twito told the Associated Press after the jury's verdict.

During his testimony, Morrison said, "It’s the hardest decision I've ever had to make," according to the Billings Gazette. "I wish I didn't have to make it. I wish I just knew he didn't have a gun, but I couldn't take the risk."

The Billings case comes after a pair of grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the fatal killings of unarmed men in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City sparked protests nationwide.

Ramirez's mother, Betty Ramirez, told the paper that her family disagrees with the jury's decision.

"Richard Ramirez was my son," she said. "Officer Morrison is the one that killed him. He was just a good person, and they didn't have to do that to him."

Morrison was placed on paid administrative leave immediately after the shooting and has since been assigned to a task force investigating prescription drug crimes.

According to the AP, Morrison shot and killed another man during a traffic stop after the man "reached for something that was later determined to be a BB gun." He was cleared of any wrongdoing in that case.

The dash cam video

Do you agree or disagree that the shooting was justified? Please explain your choice.

 

[seasidemike]

Although it was emotional and very touching, and I am very spathetic to the very hard job of the police, she shot an unarmed man.
There is too much trigger craziness over there

 

[Jazzy]

Drugs killed this man that and not complying to a lawful order of a police officer. I feel for the family of the man who was shot, it must be hard to watch a family member go down this road of self destruction. I feel for the police officer who has to live with the pain of taking a mans life. Split life and death decisions are difficult to make. But this police officer did the correct thing. What was the police officer to do wait for a gun to be drawn on him first? Wait until the shooter starts to fire? I don't think so.

 

[seasidemike]

So shoot first and ask questions later???
Kill if you think that have a gun? Look I don't have a lot of sympathy for the idiot that was shot, and I do feel for the cop... But they do not get to be judge jury and executioner

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

But all cops are just trigger happy people that can't wait to shoot someone. Well thats what the cop haters chanting I want all cops dead would have you believe. Anyways this cop should be sleeping solid in bed at night and not letting this druggie who picked his own path that led to this shooting.

 

[+paradox]

this video doesn't prove that the cop was in the right for shooting this unarmed man...

and it seems to me that this cop knew he fucked up so he went to his own car to play the crying game in front of his car dash... no one can speak against the man that got shot and died because you don't know what actually happened...

why didn't we get to see all of what happened instead of the cop crying in front of his car dash?

seems to me that it's the cop's fault for being trigger happy and killing this person when he could have done other things, other non-lethal things to deal with it...

it's been proven time and time again that cops lied to try to get out of things, this looks like one of the examples to me...
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sHF_w2Oyzw

http://revolution-news.com/officer-cleared-in-fatal-shooting-of-unarmed-richard-ramirez-graphic-video-evidence/

this was murder, plain and simple...

firstly, the cop broke the law by going straight to the right back door and opening the door when the cop should have went straight to the driver...