| Once
again thanks for your loyal support. Your invaluable assistance
has enabled us take on another significant case, that of Officers David
Zigan and James Freeman, charged with manslaughter in Baker
County,
Georgia. This case is typical of what we are in business
to do: to defend our men in blue who get in trouble for doing their
job. In this case it is clear that Officer Freeman saved the
life of
his fellow
Officer, David Zigan, who was under fire by Herschel Bullard.
The details are outlined in our lead article on page one.
We are gearing up for Officer Ray Bunn’s two trials next year: his
murder trial and the civil trial by the estate of the deceased.
We have hired two experts to assist in both cases. Urey Patrick, a former
FBI agent
and instructor, is an expert in self-defense. His book In Defense
of Self and Others: Issues, Facts & Fallacies — The Realities
of Law Enforcement’s
Use of Deadly Force is an excellent practical treatment of
police officer liability in both civil and criminal trials. Mr. Patrick
takes the reader
through the various scenarios in which use of “deadly force” is
authorized. One of two conditions must be present:
1. It must be necessary to protect the officer or others from imminent
death or serious injury.
2. It may be used to prevent the escape of a dangerous individual.
It is a fact that police officers when confronted with dangerous
and deadly force need not consider alternatives to force. As
Mr. Patrick explains: “In the face of immediate threats of death or serious injury,
use of deadly force is not a last resort . . . it is a first response” by
the officer.
Our second expert, Geoffrey Taylor, is assembling a computerized
re-creation of the incident to demonstrate the appropriateness
of Officer Bunn’s response. Officers Bunn and Mulkey were placed in a tense,
quickly evolving situation and were forced to act. The question for the
court and the jury will be: Were Officer Bunn’s actions reasonable
and justifiable based on what he faced at that split instant in time? As
Mr. Patrick concludes when an officer decides to use deadly force, “it
is to be expected and accepted that the decision will be closely
scrutinized at various levels. At the same time the officers
who bear the burden of
making such grave decisions have the right to expect that their
actions will be judged fairly and objectively.”
It is a sad day, indeed, when a police officer uses deadly
force (as in the cases of Officers Bunn, Zigan, and Freeman),
and subsequently does not receive fair
and objective judgement but actually faces indictment for performing his duty.
This is the reason LELDF exists — to balance the scales for these heroes
who face dangerous, violent situations and death and then are charged, instead
of awarded a medal for valor in the line of duty.
Thanks for your support of these valiant officers who, along with their families,
suffer many injustices and spend countless hours preparing for trials that affect
their lives forever. We will continue to defend these and other policemen as
long as there are people like you who care.
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