Questionable use of deadly force
Examiner Editorial
November 26, 2009
Only minimal details have been released so far regarding the second fatal shooting of an unarmed suspect by Fairfax County police in the last three years. But what little we know about the death of David Masters is troubling in light of the department's own policy forbidding the use of deadly force against nonviolent suspects.
The 52-year-old cabinetmaker from Fredericksburg allegedly stole 10 large flowers from a Mount Vernon landscaper and refused to stop on Route 1 when order to by police. According to the FCPD's own account, Masters' Chevy Blazer was spotted in heavy traffic near Shields Avenue, and the responding officer called for backup before attempting a traffic stop. "During the subsequent stop the suspect was shot in the upper body by an officer" and the Blazer then rolled into the intersection, striking another vehicle.
However, the FCPD refused to say what, if anything, the unarmed former Green Beret did to the as-yet-unidentified officer to warrant shooting him. Masters was suspected of a minor misdemeanor, stuck in heavy traffic, and the police already had his tag number. The officer took a tremendous risk discharging his weapon at a moving vehicle in a crowded area, so presumably Masters posed an even greater danger. But if there were mitigating circumstances, the police aren't saying.
In 2006, Fairfax SWAT Officer Deval Bullock shot and killed Dr. Salvatore Culosi in front of his Fair Lakes town home while the unarmed optometrist was talking to an undercover cop investigating illegal gambling. Bullock claimed the shooting was an accident, and no charges against him were ever filed. The Culosi family's $12 million wrongful-death lawsuit is still being considered in the courts.
In contrast, Examiner columnist Harry Jaffe reported this week that D.C. Detective Kevin McConnell, a 12-year veteran, is fighting to get his job back despite being recently cleared by a federal jury for the fatal shooting of a robbery suspect at a Southeast carryout in 2007. McConnell shot his own thumb trying to apprehend the suspect, whom witnesses saw attack the officer and wrestle him to the floor before attempting to flee the scene.
The appropriate use of deadly force can be found somewhere between these two extremes.
Police officers who literally put their lives on the line to protect the public, and sometimes have to make split-second, life-and-death decisions, deserve the benefit of the doubt in such situations. But precisely because they wield the power to take a life without benefit of judge or jury, their actions and judgment must remain open to public scrutiny.
