03-15-2006, 07:42 AM
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#58 (permalink)
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Junkie
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Another update
Deputy changes story after seeing videotape of shooting
Quote:
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - A sheriff's deputy who was videotaped shooting an unarmed man following a high-speed chase changed his version of events after viewing the footage of the incident, according to a confidential sheriff's report.
San Bernardino Sheriff's Deputy Ivory John Webb Jr. has pleaded not guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter charges in the Jan. 29 shooting of Air Force policeman Elio Carrion, 21, who was a passenger in the car Webb was pursuing and is recovering from his wounds.
Minutes after the shooting, Webb, 45, told a sheriff's sergeant and a Chino police officer that he opened fire because Carrion had tried to charge at him, according to the nearly 400-page confidential report.
When he finally agreed to be questioned four days later, Webb had seen the videotape that aired repeatedly on television and claimed he used deadly force because he believed Carrion was reaching for a gun, the report says.
During a tearful two-hour interview with sheriff's investigators, Webb said he "saw what appeared to be (Carrion's) hand inside his jacket" and thought the airman was reaching for a gun and was going to kill him.
Webb said he was thinking, "I'm not going to see my baby, I'm not going to see my wife. I'm not going to see my dad." He then shot Carrion three times.
Webb said he had joined a 120 mph pursuit that was already in progress and didn't know why the men were fleeing. He also said he was struggling to keep an eye on both suspects and believed they were planning to flee or attack him.
Carrion's attorney, Luis Carrillo, said he believed Webb changed his initial story after realizing it didn't mesh with what the videotape showed.
"He falls back on a classic false version of events that police have used over and over again to justify bad shootings," Carrillo said. "When they shoot an unarmed person, they claim that they saw them reach for their waistband or reach inside their jacket, causing them to fear for their lives. Thank God for the videotape. It totally destroys his false stories."
Webb's attorney, Michael D. Schwartz, did not return calls from the Los Angeles Times seeking comment.
Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope, who is prosecuting Webb, declined to comment about the deputy's statements or any other aspect of the case.
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Pretty typical fallback when caught redhanded.
__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."
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