Jim Jopling, a lawyer with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) representing Flores, said in a statement that the group believes the grand jury cleared Flores because of "the totality of the circumstances, which includes the long sequence of events that came before the shooting itself."
Saenz begins to struggle with the officers in the video after they stand him up. He falls down but attempts to rise, and two officers are on top of him. Saenz kicks, then attempts to turn around and twists, grabbing at Flores, who is behind him. When Saenz pushes off, Flores draws his Glock semi-automatic handgun from his right holster. The guard moves away and Flores fires a single gunshot. Flores then holsters his gun, pulls his yellow Taser and gets atop of Saenz, who is face down, bleeding from a shoulder. Saenz continues to kick for a few seconds, until he stops moving, as blood spreads on the ground. Saenz is eventually turned over. Flores then begins CPR before paramedics arrive. An ambulance takes Saenz to a hospital, where the victim is pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the bullet traveled from Saenz's shoulder and into his chest, as this occurrence is evidenced by YouTube videos and newspaper and online magazine accounts. (See these videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AG_-EXd9Es and www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3obAbbx1HI.)
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* A Honolulu, Hawaii, man was
violently assaulted and killed by a police officer and an off-duty firefighter. The victim's family is suing the City of Honolulu for wrongful death. There has been
an ongoing internal investigation into this tragedy with no result. The lawsuit - filed on Friday, June 20 - alleges Steven Dinnan was killed last June after a Honolulu cop beat him, and the officer was joined by an off-duty firefighter, who choked Dinnan.
Dinnan was stopped by police
officer Eric Matsumoto, who was on the lookout for a stolen truck. An eyewitness
reportedly said Dinnan posed no threat to Matsumoto before he was
severely beaten, choked and killed. The witness also said the officer tried to question Dinnan and Dinnan left the scene. After a brief chase, Dinnan was pinned against a railing by Matsumoto, who said Dinnan resisted
arrest. It was later discovered Dinnan, who had no criminal record, had nothing to do with the theft of the truck.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner originally claimed that Dinnan didn't appear to be assaulted. Some entities close to the case have accused the M.E. of an attempted cover-up because of this statement. It was discovered later that Dinnan died as a result of being choked to death and that he suffered severe neck injuries and abrasions and bruises on his body.
Shardeah Serhant, Dinnan's girlfriend and mother of two of his children, said she hopes the suit will get to the bottom of Dinnan's death. "We need answers to what has happened and we need justice to be served," she said.
The owner of the truck -- off-duty firefighter Nolan Hanohano -- then began to choke Dinnan, before Dinnan briefly escaped, the suit said, adding that Dinnan was soon afterward apprehended and pinned down by Matsumoto, who kneed Dinnan in the back, which resulted in Dinnan becoming unconscious.
The suit said Matsumoto delivered the fatal blow. "Matsumoto put a knee on Dinnan's back between the shoulder blades. He pushed so hard he ended up killing him," said attorney Peter Hsieh, who is representing Dinnan's family in this case.
"I think
this is a tragic situation where Mr. Dinnan died at the hands of some
overzealous men who got out of hand,"
said Hsieh. "Mr.
Hanohano was very, very angry when he strangled Mr. Dinnan. He said, 'This is
what you get when you steal from Hawaiians.'"
According to Hsieh, police didn't have probable cause to arrest or
detain Dinnan. Matsumoto did not lose his job as a police officer, but was assigned desk duties rather than staying on patrol. (See: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/man-beaten-death-cop-firefighter-wrong-place-wrong-time/ and click here.)
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* Police in Norfolk, Va., shot a man suffering from emotional illness nine times June 6. David Latham had two gunshot wounds to his chest, two to his back, and others to his right forearm, right hand, and fingers.According to PilotOnline.com, this was the second mentally ill victim killed by Norfolk police in June. Lawrence H. Faine, 72, of Calvary Towers Apartments, was also shot and killed.
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