Gang member accused of provoking police to shoot innocent, escaping bystanders

[alp227]

The LA Times just released this in-depth piece "When the shooter may not be the killer" regarding the case of Michael Byoune, a young adult in Inglewood, California who was shot dead by the police after Byoune and friends tried escaping by auto from gunshots:

There's no dispute over who fired the shots that instantly killed 19-year-old Michael Byoune.

The question is, who is to blame.

It was 1:30 a.m. on a Sunday in May 2008. Byoune and a few friends were at a Rally's hamburger stand, talking to some girls, when gunshots rang out nearby. Terrified, the teenagers jumped into their dark gray Honda and tried to flee.

In the frantic few minutes that followed, two Inglewood police officers, believing the teens were shooting at them, fired 29 rounds into the Honda. Byoune, shot five times, died at the scene. A second 19-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to his leg.

Authorities now say that Byoune and his friends were innocent, unarmed victims and that police should not have shot at them. The real culprit, authorities say, was Tramond Winzer, an alleged Crip gang member who fired off a series of shots with a handgun, seeking to hit rival gang members at Rally's.

Even though police bullets killed Byoune, Winzer is the one authorities want to hold legally responsible for his death.

Prosecutors earlier this year determined that the two officers who shot Byoune reasonably acted in self-defense even though they were mistaken about who posed the threat.

Next month, Winzer, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, is expected to stand trial for Byoune's murder under a legal theory known as the "provocative act murder" doctrine. Under that theory, Winzer would be responsible if he fired the initial shots that led to Byoune's slaying by police.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. Why shoot at the people in the Honda if they aren't shooting at you?

Unless you see them holding a gun and aiming at you, don't fire at them. How hard is that?

The police officers are the ones that should be booked for murder.

The gang member should be booked for attempted murder.

[Chulanowa]

2. 'Cause who can blame the police for putting 29 rounds into a car of unarmed people?

Two officers? 29 rounds? Self-defense? Fucker say what??

[era veteran]

4. 29 rounds indicate poor training/ nt

[Merchant Marine]

5. Seconded, that's almost two full handgun magazines

Which makes me think the officers just pulled the triggers until their guns stopped firing.

[Radical Activist]

10. No kidding.

When you keep seeing similar stories from the same department it's an indication of mismanagement by those in charge. Those at the top need to be held responsible.

[DeSwiss]

3. We are living in a police state. n/t

[era veteran]

7. Some are,some aren't living in a police state & there's the

rub. True democracy surely has been subverted. I am mostly ashamed that the collective IQ of the working folks has dropped since Rayguns' dismantling of the NEW DEAL. The question is will we have to go to the barricades? CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM NOW / excuse the Caps, Peace

[DeSwiss]

11. +1000 n/t

[coti]

6. Normally this would be covered by the felony murder rule, which

is used in California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_murder_rule_(California)

Would likely be 2nd-degree murder.

It sounds like, since they're just trying to make the police look better anyway, they don't want to play out the proximate cause issue in court, so they're trying to go with another theory that will allow them to skip those facts.

[Lilith Velkor]

8. Well, this is a new one.

Let's run it up the flagpole and see how many authoritarian shitheads salute, shall we?

[Radical Activist]

9. "When in doubt, shoot the nearest black or brown person getting away."

That appears to be the mindset. Unfuckingbelievable.