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Civil Liberties

Police Shoot and Kill Fleeing Suspect in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Day City Council Was to Discuss Body Cams for Cops

Brian Doherty | 2.29.2016 7:26 PM

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Relatives are claiming details about today's police shooting and killing of 24-year-old father of two Akiel Denkins that are damning to the police, including that Denkins was shot in the back while fleeing.

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As per the account from local TV station WRAL, Denkins had three previous drug convictions and was supposedly wanted on another felony drug charge.

An eyewitness says he started running upon seeing a police officer, and the officer then chased him and "started shooting at him" when Denkins had leaped over a fence the officer could not.

Denkins' mother, Rolanda Byrd, based on accounts she says she got from eyewitnesses, says her son was running, was shot in the back seven times, and had no gun.

The Raleigh News & Observer report, which also finds a named ear-witness, Louis Rodriguez, who says:

"I heard somebody say, 'Stop, stop,' then I heard, like, six shots," Rodriguez said. "Then I heard the screams. Man, it was loud."

The story also states the current outstanding warrant was for not showing up in court on an October cocaine possession with intent to distribute arrest.

The police so far are releasing few details, except that a gun was found "in close proximity to" Denkins' corpse. They have so far said nothing about the gun being aimed or the officer feeling threatened, but then again they've said very little at all.

Somewhat ironically, as per this statement from the state branch of the ACLU, the Raleigh City Council was scheduled to discuss getting their police fitted with body cameras of the sort that can at least help settle the argued facts in situations like that—if not always make things better for police, or aggrieved citizens. According to that ACLU statement, rather than hitting the topic with added vigor, the Council chose to avoid it after the Denkins shooting.

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NEXT: Federal Judge Takes Apple's Side vs. Feds in New York

Brian Doherty is a senior editor at Reason and author of Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired (Broadside Books).

Civil LibertiesWar on DrugsPolice AbuseDrugsCriminal Justice
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  1. Mr Lizard   10 years ago

    I see these stooooopid mammals are stuck in a corner, and they just found another can of paint

    1. MC Guru   10 years ago

      In a just world, that murderous piggy would be stretching a rope before the barrel of his gun had time to cool

  2. 68Whiskey   10 years ago

    I'm sure he was a good boy who didn't do nothing and was turning his life around.

    1. Jerryskids   10 years ago

      You forgot to add "well how else was the cop supposed to apprehend the guy?" - that's always good for a chuckle, too.

      1. some guy   10 years ago

        He was running away. Textbook case of not following lawful orders and presenting a deadly threat to others nearby. Heck he might've even been going to get a weapon or something, who knows. Point is, this guy just kept trying to make discrete, voluntary trades with other consenting adults, so you know he had to die.

        1. Tom Bombadil   10 years ago

          If you don't want to get shot in the back, don't run away with your back pointing straight at the cop, sheesh.

          1. Berserkerscientist   10 years ago

            Does it ever bother you to be in the position of having to defend drug dealing criminals?

            1. gagster   10 years ago

              No, because the rights are what are important, not the specific individuals involved.

  3. SQRLSY One   10 years ago

    I think Denkins may have been conspiring to sell cheap plastic flutes known as "lung flutes" without the buyers having valid medical prescriptions, so that horrible criminal got what he deserved!

  4. Rhywun   10 years ago

    Not much point discussing this until we know what really happened.

    1. Haybob   10 years ago

      Thank you I'm libertarian for the most part when it comes to policing, but sometimes it annoys me when people on this site jump to conclusions before the facts are known.

      1. Agammamon   10 years ago

        A cop shot a guy *through a chain link fence*. The cop was in the wrong. End of story.

        1. Berserkerscientist   10 years ago

          Fleeing felon rule.

          It is not the "end of story".

          1. lovelydestruction   10 years ago

            Under U.S. law the fleeing felon rule was limited in 1985 to non-lethal force in most cases by Tennessee v. Garner. The justices held that deadly force "may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others."

            So, just saying "fleeing felon rule" isn't as magic as you think it is..

  5. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    " he started running upon seeing a police officer, and the officer then chased him and "started shooting at him" when Denkins had leaped over a fence the officer could not."

    Hey, it takes a full weekend of training to become a police office!

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      r

  6. Agammamon   10 years ago

    a gun was found "in close proximity to" Denkins' corpse.

    Look, we'll just tell people the standard 'he pointed a firearm at the officer'.

    But this is 2016, what if someone filmed it with a cellphone.

    Fuck, you're right. What do we do? This is bad, he shot the guy through a fence for Christ's sake.

    OK, I got it - the officers had a gun on them right? Just follow along here. So when the officers came up to him there *was* a gun 'in close proximity', right? So the officer 'notices' he has a gun in his hand. Then we 'found a firearm in close proximity to the body', right? That's what we say. And if anyone comes forward with video we can always pull the 'ol Kenobi' - what we said was true, from a certain point of view.

    FUCKING GENIUS MAN! That's why you're Da' Chief.

  7. buybuydandavis   10 years ago

    The police so far are releasing few details, except that a gun was found "in close proximity to" Denkins' corpse.

    With 7 bullets in his back, he must have had the gun sticking out of his ass to shoot back.

    1. Curt2004   10 years ago

      Doesn't matter. Don't forger the old 'danger to others' excuse because they could obviously read his mind and knew he was due for a killing spree.

  8. frankania   10 years ago

    Golly, Maybe we should legalize drugs, like we did for alcohol and eliminate all this wasteful crap.

  9. colorblindkid   10 years ago

    Shady as this was, and I'm sure the trigger happy cops had no reason to shoot him, any news article that uses a mother as a source of information I instantly ignore. I don't trust cops, but I trust family members' and friends' opinions even less in these situations. There's gotta be video of it somewhere. I'll wait to see.

  10. b1071305   10 years ago

    I'm making over ?5k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. AS Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. For further details

    Check this link http://www.workprospects.com

  11. lovelydestruction   10 years ago

    cop was trying to get a free murder in under the wire.

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