A video’s shot on 1st July 2012 has surfaced this week showing police officer in Saginaw, Michigan shooting a homeless man Milton Hall over the alleged theft of a cup of coffee. In the video below you see an unarmed Hall surrounded by police with his hands in the air before being shot repeatedly at the 2 minute mark. A total of 45 shots were fired at him.
The family launched a legal appeal against the execution. Jewel Hall, Milton’s mother, said in a statement:
“It’s been devastating to our family; it was devastating to the community. And justice still has not been served …There needs to be a change in how police deal with situations like the one that ended my son’s life. Our leaders have to address conditions that allow police to use excessive and deadly force with impunity.”
Police get away with Nazi style execution.
In the video description:
Police officers in Saginaw, MI fired more than 45 shots at Jewel Hall’s son Milton. Despite abundant evidence that officers showed a reckless disregard for Milton’s life, the U.S. Justice Department did not charge any of the officers responsible for the killing.
Unedited dash-cam footage of the shooting
Bystander footage of the shooting
As reported on the Aclumich.org website:
In March 2014, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice declined to file federal charges against the Saginaw police officers who shot and killed Milton Hall because they claimed “this tragic event does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to lead to a federal criminal prosecution.” To prosecute the officers, it is necessary to prove not only that Hall’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the use of excessive force, but also that the officers “willfully” set out to deprive him of those rights.
What do you think after watching the above videos? Were the police justified in their actions? Comment below.