The officers were within a close range, as they were giving KC verbal commands and attempting to arrest him peacefully out in the open, in a residential area with at least one witness/ child PRESENT within view and earshot.
Theresa Lengyel and her son heard the gunshots and saw the event unfold.
"He ran in the house hysterical like 'mom, mom, there's a guy out there with the cops saying freeze, freeze' and we're like what what's going on and we went outside to look, like we just saw the cops, and they say 'go back in the house.'"
**Note that the LV police had time to tell the suspect to freeze several times, the kid ran in the house, and came back out with his mom. And then police directed them to RETURN inside the home for their safety-- BEFORE the shooting. This was not a spur of the moment, or random, situation. Well-conducted-- they knew they had their suspect and were in the process of apprehending him.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/family-of-unarmed-man-killed-by-police-speaks-out
'The suspect did not listen, quickly began to advance on the officers, concealing his right hand, which the officers believed was holding a firearm,' McCarthy said in a video message that accompanied the police statement.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...an-killed-officers-holding-phone-not-gun.html
Las Vegas police located Childress outside of a home just west of downtown Las Vegas, and were attempting to arrest him on Thursday afternoon. An altercation began with the officers when they ordering Childress to drop what they thought was a gun in his hand, but instead, he began to advance on the officers, concealing his right hand, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Two officers then opened fire on him.
Police captain Matt McCarthy said officers had been provoked to open fire not only because the attempted murder suspect was thought to be holding a deadly weapon, but also because the altercation took place in a residential area. No bystanders or police officers were hurt during the altercation.
http://www.newsweek.com/man-holding-cellphone-mistaken-gun-shot-dead-las-vegas-410999
Two police officers, responding to a request for help from the U.S. Marshals Service, found the suspect outside a house. They repeatedly ordered him to drop what they thought was a firearm in his right hand and to stop moving toward them, police said.
"At one point the officers told the suspect not to advance on the officers. However, the suspect did not listen, concealing his right arm, which the officers believed was holding a firearm," Captain Matt McCarthy of Las Vegas police told reporters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nevada-shooting-idUSKBN0UG0IE20160102
So, let's think this thru. This man, KC, is a convicted felon, with a minimum of 5 violent felonies. He has been arrested and processed thru the criminal justice system. He had a lawyer. He chose to flee. He ignored his attorney, and made no attempts to contact him after the attorney texted him Dec 16-17.
There is NO WAY this convicted felon DIDN'T know that he was being pursued, or that he was being arrested. He speaks English as a native language. He is not reported to be mentally ill, or severely intellectually disabled.
At least 2 officers were arresting him with their service weapons drawn and pointed RIGHT AT HIM. He knew EXACTLY what was going on.
He CHOSE to not cooperate.
He CHOSE to be defiant, and resist arrest.
He CHOSE to hide his hands, and not reveal that he was unarmed.
He could have easily raised his hands, perhaps even dropped to his knees, and surrendered peacefully.
He could have called out "I don't have a gun or a weapon".
He could have said, "Don't shoot me." Or, "I surrender."
He could have said, "I'm reaching for my cell phone to call my lawyer."
But he didn't do any of the things he should have. He
repeatedly defied/ ignored instructions from officers who were POINTING THEIR GUNS AT HIM AND ARRESTING HIM. And reached into his pocket or waistband or whatever.
The officers had no choice. They did what we hired them, trained them, and pay them to do. They kept everyone, including themselves, safe from this violent man.
Imagine if KC
did have a gun (not far fetched with his criminal history of stealing guns and fleeing prosecution), and shot the child in the above quote-- even by accident.
I don't want police "waiting" to see what make and model gun a perp pulls out in a situation like this. There is a time and place when LE needs to react to a definite threat, and shoot to kill. This was a
perfect example of the kind of situation where they needed to be bold enough, and brave enough, to shoot, and not second guess what they needed to do to keep
everyone safe from this violent criminal.
