A Louisiana jury convicted a deputy marshal of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter on Friday in the killing of a 6-year-old boy during a volley of gunfire after chasing his father’s car in 2015.
Derrick Stafford, 33, was found guilty by 10-2 jury vote in a Marksville, Louisiana, courtroom, more than a year after he and another deputy opened fire on Chris Few’s Kia SUV after a two-mile pursuit. Few’s son, Jeremy Mardis, 6, who was inside the vehicle, was shot and killed and Few was wounded.
Prosecutors argued that Stafford stood a safe distance from Few’s vehicle and opened fire out of anger during the Nov. 3, 2015 incident.
Stafford “had enough and made a decision to kill a man,” prosecutor John Sinquefield told jurors during closing arguments, “and in the process he killed a 6-year-old autistic boy.”
Stafford is scheduled for sentencing next Friday when he faces up 60 years in prison
The second deputy, Norris Greenhouse Jr., also faces charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting and is scheduled to go on trial in June.
The two deputies fired at least 18 times at Few’s car. Jeremy, who was hit at least four times, died still wearing his seatbelt in the front passenger seat. Three bullets recovered from his body matched Stafford’s .40-caliber Glock pistol, state police have said.
Stafford’s attorney Jonathan Goins said he plans to appeal.
“One day, Mr. Stafford will see daylight again. We are happy about that,” Goins said after the verdict as Stafford’s cried nearby.
Stafford told jurors from the witness stand on Friday that he never saw the young child in the car and fired only in self-defense after Few, who’d turned into a dead-end, put his car in reverse.
“I felt I had no choice. That’s the only reason I fired my weapon,” said Stafford, who cried on the stand while viewing photos of the boy’s body. “I had no idea a child was in the vehicle.”
The jury viewed footage of the shooting and its grisly aftermath several times during the trial. The footage was captured on the body camera of a third officer who arrived at the scene. That officer testified that he never perceived a threat.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Robert Birsel)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-louisiana-shooting-idUSKBN16W04O
One pig told the truth. He “perceived no threat”. Is that an improvement in piggyland? The one fact that stands out. Monkeys shouldn’t have badges or guns.
My Fellow Americans:
Don’t grieve for this poor “victim cop”,….
He’ll do just a little time, and then get out early for “good behavior”,… and go get his job back.
JD – US Marines: I know somewhere some people are tempted to think this means cops are starting to be held accountable,…. no they are not,… one out of 10’s of thousands of brutal acts by these mercenaries is not even remotely close, especially since these cops are nothing more than land based mercenaries and are completely illegal to begin with!
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You’re right, of course. The only time a pig is held accountable for his evil is when the System feels the need to throw one of them under the bus for the greater good of the rest of them, often in response to extremely bad publicity.
This “throwing under the bus” situation is very unusual, but it seems more likely to happen when pigs commit crimes that involve personal gain, as opposed to crimes that involve physical abuse against citizens. This case involved the latter situation, so it’s especially rare to see it end with a conviction like this.
And yes, the “accountability” we’re talking about is almost always severely watered down. I expect this pig to get nowhere near the maximum sentence. If he gets any prison time at all, it will be minimal, and the rest will be probation.
As bad as the pigs and the “justice system” are, we’re not QUITE at the point yet where they’re willing to dispense with the whole “protecting and serving” propaganda and openly admit their true attitude. They still understand the need for PR and are still trying to keep up public appearances.
When someone puts a spotlight on the pigs’ sick deeds, the “justice system” goes into damage control mode. They know they can’t afford to truthfully say to the public, “We’re not here to protect you, but to keep you in your place and get paid for it with your money.” No doubt even if they said that, some Americans (if they can even be called that) would continue to worship at their feet, since many Americans are cowards who worship “authority” instead of standing up for justice. But if the pigs make too many enemies among the public, a critical mass of rebellion-minded citizens might form, decide they’ve had enough, and resolve to solve the problem regardless of the costs.