Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who killed Niani Finlayson, 27, previously had killed another civilian under similar circumstances

A Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 27-year-old woman who had called 911 to report that she was under attack by a former boyfriend, police officials and lawyers for the victim’s family said on Thursday. Records show the deputy had killed another person in similar circumstances three years ago.

On 4 December, Niani Finlayson called police and “reported that her boyfriend would not leave her alone and then screaming and sounds of a struggle could be heard”, the LA sheriff’s department (LASD) said in a statement. When deputies arrived at the apartment in Lancaster, a city in the northern region of LA county, they could hear screaming, LASD said.

Finlayson was inside with her nine-year-old daughter and had been injured by her ex-boyfriend and wanted him removed, her family’s attorneys said. The exact circumstances that led to the fatal shooting are unclear and LASD has so far declined to release body-camera footage.

  • Dienervent@kbin.social
    148·
    11 months ago

    I just don’t understand the logic here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of abolishing the Duluth Model and the requirement to incarcerate someone on a domestic violence call.

    But neither this situation, nor the story you linked to seems to have much to do with that policy.

    In both situations, the police acted completely out of bounds. It is a completely different problem.

    The story on the website was written in 2014 about an incident that happened in 1999, that’s almost 25 years ago. It can’t be considered relevant today. If there’s a real systemic problem of this kind, you should have at least a dozen cases like this every single year.

    Hopefully, in this most recent case we’ll get some body cam footage released so we find out what really happened.

    And also hopefully, the body cams is what will put this guy off the force forever. It’s the second time he seems to have done something like this, but I’d bet that the first time, body cams were not standard practice yet.

    Seems to me that the solution to stop this kind of thing from being a common problem is body cams, and that’s what we have.

    • bane_killgrind@lemmy.mlEnglish
      41·
      11 months ago

      History is relevant, especially when there hasn’t been any significant deviation from the historical status quo.

    • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
      31·
      11 months ago

      And also hopefully, the body cams is what will put this guy off the force forever.

      It turns out that doesn’t work when the DA’s office and/or the courts are just as corrupt as the cops, which is a majority of the time.

      Also while we’re wishing for things, wish for him to be in prison forever. There is absolutely no reason cops shouldn’t face penalties that are at least as harsh as what ordinary people face when they blatantly commit crimes.