MS - LE at wrong address shoot, kill unarmed man inside home

[silversurvivor]

In 1994 I was 9 months pregnant in our home sitting on the couch with my then husband and our almost 2 yr old sleeping upstairs. Suddenly 4 men in black came bursting thru our front door with guns drawn screaming where is Joe? 2 ran up the stairs. I dialled 911 as they made my husband kneel on floor. Then one from upstairs starts yelling wrong house wrong house...
We were lucky no one was shot or killed. They were police officers of Suffolk county ny whose informant uttered the code word. But the cops went to 1st colonial #8 instead of 2nd colonial #11. It all happened so fast..

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[Betty P]

In 1994 I was 9 months pregnant in our home sitting on the couch with my then husband and our almost 2 yr old sleeping upstairs. Suddenly 4 men in black came bursting thru our front door with guns drawn screaming where is Joe? 2 ran up the stairs. I dialled 911 as they made my husband kneel on floor. Then one from upstairs starts yelling wrong house wrong house...
We were lucky no one was shot or killed. They were police officers of Suffolk county ny whose informant uttered the code word. But the cops went to 1st colonial #8 instead of 2nd colonial #11. It all happened so fast..

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How terrifying! If that happened today, someone likely would have been shot by LE. They're so much more likely to shoot first and ask questions later.

 

[silversurvivor]

How terrifying! If that happened today, someone likely would have been shot by LE. They're so much more likely to shoot first and ask questions later.

We were a mixed race couple where another black man had been beaten unconscious by off duty cops and left with long term deficiencies (to this day) as a result because he was dating a white girl. It was scary I was sure I was going to die

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[Spellbound]

Before killing someone, it's always best to double check the address. The guy they were looking for lived across the street.

Tears. Can you even imagine?

I believe this happens way more than it should. I once got a phone call in the middle of the night from LE demanding I come out .... I had no idea what it was about and there were no police outside. Turns out, they called the wrong number (perhaps the person they wanted had it before me, I don't know). But it was enough to scare the life out of me.

 

[frisson]

It should be easy enough to prove whether or not he was holding a gun. Looking at the images of the door though, to me it looks like it was probably closed or mostly closed when they shot him.

And then they put his wife in cuffs?!

Maybe she took an Ambien and is lucky she is not dead too. This is HORRIFIC . Oooops wrong house. Sorry , lady; we killed your husband and cuffed you for being in your home.

 

[Jennifer17]

So many questions. None of this is making sense.

The victim opened the door and had a gun. Why were there shots through the door?

The victim was shot in the back of the head. How do you have such good aim when you're shooting through a closed door?

Did the victim really have a weapon in his hand?

Were the officers wearing bodycams? If not, they should have.

Any dashcam video?

What are innocent people supposed to do to protect themselves from LE in these situations? If LE comes to your door in the middle of the night, check the windows first, don't open the door and call 911? Maybe call another law enforcement agency? Call the FBI? Call your lawyer? Call Homeland Security?

After these stories, I don't think I would go anywhere near the door if LE came knocking in the middle of the night. What if they break down the door anyway (as it looks like they did in this case)? It's terrifying. Innocent citizens have no protection in these situations. If police make a mistake and crash into your house, some innocent person will end up dead.

SMH.

I believe he either opened the door or had it open a little and his dog ran out, they shot his dog, so I think that he closed the door and turned and tried to run up the hall and they fired through the closed door. MO

 

[Betty P]

I believe he either opened the door or had it open a little and his dog ran out, they shot his dog, so I think that he closed the door and turned and tried to run up the hall and they fired through the closed door. MO

Looking at the photos, it's a mobile home. It's not very wide. He would have had turn to run down a hall. The bullet holes also look to be lower on the door. Unless he was very short or on his knees inside, with his back facing the door, there's no way for them to shoot him in the back of the head.

It doesn't add up. There's more to this story.

ETA: His wife also says his only gun was not on him, but in the bedroom at the time he was killed

Wells said Lopez's wife was in the bedroom with Lopez and insists her husband did not have a gun when he walked towards the door. She says a handgun he normally kept in the bedroom was still there after he was shot.

Lawyers believe Mississippi man shot by police was executed

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-mississippi-shooting-20170729-story.html

 

[Jennifer17]

Looking at the photos, it's a mobile home. It's not very wide. He would have had turn to run down a hall. The bullet holes also look to be lower on the door. Unless he was very short or on his knees inside, with his back facing the door, there's no way for them to shoot him in the back of the head.

It doesn't add up. There's more to this story.

Well, I don't know what happened then. I do believe that they shot his dog though. Maybe they shot his dog through the door and then shouldered the door open.

Do trailers have a back door?

 

[bluesneakers]

Looking at the photos, it's a mobile home. It's not very wide. He would have had turn to run down a hall. The bullet holes also look to be lower on the door. Unless he was very short or on his knees inside, with his back facing the door, there's no way for them to shoot him in the back of the head.

It doesn't add up. There's more to this story.

ETA: His wife also says his only gun was not on him, but in the bedroom at the time he was killed



Lawyers believe Mississippi man shot by police was executed

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-mississippi-shooting-20170729-story.html

If they shot him once and he fell a second (or third) shot could have hit him in the back of the head.

 

[bluesneakers]

Well, I don't know what happened then. I do believe that they shot his dog though. Maybe they shot his dog through the door and then shouldered the door open.

Do trailers have a back door?

Some do. I think there's a law about homes always having two exits.

Oh, here:
§ 3280.105 Exit facilities; exterior doors.
(a)Number and location of exterior doors. Manufactured homes shall have a minimum of two exterior doors located remote from each other.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/24/3280.105

 

[bluesneakers]

Death certificate: Gunshot to head killed man shot by Southaven police

The death certificate does not say where in the head Lopez was shot, but it does confirm a gunshot wound to the head was the cause of death.

Aaron Neglia, one of the attorneys representing the Lopez family, points out that the certificate doesn’t list Lopez’s place of death, but does describe the death as a police shooting.

Coroner: Ismael Lopez killed in Southaven police shooting by 9 mm pistol

The death certificate for Ismael Lopez, fatally shot by Southaven police July 27, shows he died of a gunshot wound to the head by a 9 mm pistol.

Neglia said Thursday information is still being gathered as the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation continues looking in the case, but that further action by the family is likely.

Champion said Thursday he has heard nothing new from MBI and doesn't expect a final report for 6-8 weeks.

Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite issued a statement earlier saying the city would not comment until the MBI investigation is finished.

 

[bluesneakers]

Two months later.

Ismael Lopez Family, Friends Gather Outside Southaven Police Demanding Answers

"It's very frustrating I mean it's been two months and it looks like they are trying to cover up for the officer that did that and I think it is wrong that we have to take it to a federal level and get the FBI involved and everyone else we will," said Jose Salazar, a local activist and a friend of Lopez.

Lopez supporters held signs, family members consoled each other. They continue to seek some sort of closure.

"Yes we are asking for accountability I mean I think hiding it doesn't make it any better and we want justice. I feel like if this cop is free out there he can do this to any other person in Mississippi," Salazar said.

The group did not get a response from Southaven Police Saturday night, however, Salazar says they won't top pressing Southaven Police Department for answers.

 

[Tawny]

Another example of officers not being held to anything resembling the same standards as citizens when it comes to murder/wrongful death/manslaughter/etc.

 

[bluesneakers]

Months later, Southaven refuses to identify officers who shot wrong man

Attorneys for the man killed by Southaven police officers released the names of the two officers they say fired the fatal shots.

"We have a reliable source in Southaven that's identified these officers but we can't confirm it though," said Attorney Aaron Neglia.

He said Southaven police will only say the two officers the source named were on duty the night Ismael Lopez was shot and killed in late July.

"We have never had issues like this identifying officers or parties involved in a homicide,” Neglia said.

Southaven police even removed a large photo that used to hang in the lobby that had photos of all of their officers, including canine officers. No one at the station explained why.

 

[bluesneakers]

Southaven officers who shot man identified, family's lawyer believes

Aaron Neglia, an attorney with the Memphis-based Horne & Wells law firm, said Thursday the firm identified the officers through a "reliable source" in Southaven. Neglia would not identify the source.

Since the identities could not be confirmed independently, The Commercial Appeal is not naming the officers cited by Neglia.

Nick Manley, an attorney for Butler Snow law firm who is representing Southaven, told Neglia in a letter dated Sept. 1 and provided by Neglia that personnel files Neglia requested were exempt from Public Record requests under Mississippi law. Manley did provide a list of all officers on duty the evening of the July 23 shooting. The two officers identified by Neglia are on the list.

 

[Jeremy Bentham]

I came across this article today

Mississippi police officers fatally shot a man in a wrong-door raid. The city says he had no constitutional rights because he was an undocumented immigrant.

Does anyone know what else is happening in this case? I didn't find another thread on Ismael Lopez on WS.

 

[MsFacetious]

THEY WENT TO THE WRONG HOUSE!
So if a drunk driver killed this guy in a crash, it's not a crime? Of course it is!
If a guy kills this guy in a fight, he isn't charged? Of course he is!
IT IS STILL A CRIME EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE COPS.