Why did Mississippi police release two versions of fatal shooting report?
Source: The Guardian
Why did Mississippi police release two versions of fatal shooting report?
Ricky Ball was killed by police in October 2015, but attempts to obtain official
documents have left many unanswered questions and a community outraged
Matt Kessler in Oxford, Mississippi
Tuesday 9 February 2016 12.00 GMT
Since 26-year-old Ricky Ball was shot and killed by police in October, the black community in Columbus, Mississippi, has grappled with questions that dont have clear answers.
Why did police shoot Ball that night? Why did a string of police officials resign in the months that followed? And why did police claim Ball stole a gun from a police officers home only after his death?
Attempts to obtain police documents about the case have raised a new question: why did police release two different versions of events from the shooting?
Documents obtained by the Guardian show police altered a document labeled uniform incident report in Balls death. An initial version published by the Commercial Dispatch said an officer tased Ball before he fled. A new version of the incident report released to the Guardian does not include any mention of Taser use.
One of these two reports is not true, said Philip Broadhead, director of the criminal appeals clinic at the University of Mississippi law school. Broadhead said hes never seen an incident report altered the way the document was in this case. For police officers to offer up this type of information in the form of an incident report as sworn law officers
Its a violation of their oath.
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Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/09/mississippi-fatal-police-shooting-ricky-ball