White DA (GOP) Finds Omaha Cop's Murder of Steven Phipps Justified: Claims a Fleeing Black Man Posed a Threat b/c He "Pointed" a Gun at Cops While Upside Down, in Mid-Air and Jumping Over a Fence
/From [HERE] The officer who fired his gun at Steven Phipps Jr. eight times in less than three seconds won’t face charges.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said in a release Monday that the actions of Omaha Police Officer Noah Zendejas during the Sept. 28 traffic stop and subsequent foot pursuit were justified.
“After careful review of the video evidence and statements made, the actions of Mr. Phipps in producing a firearm at a traffic stop, not complying with the officer’s commands and Mr. Phipp’s gun barrel being pointed toward the officer during the incident justified the officer’s decision to use deadly force.”
Statement from Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine
OPD Chief Todd Schmaderer said during a news conference last week that Phipps, 22, died after he was shot by Officer Zendejas while scaling a fence after he fled from officers during a traffic stop at about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, just south of 31st Street and Ames Avenue.
Police maintain that most of the 8 shots were fired while Phipps was in midair
Nevertheless, the video speaks for itself. Police claim that somehow while Phipps jumped head first over a high fence and was upside down and in mid air while falling to the ground, he managed to point a gun at police. Said narrative appears to be contradicted by the video.
First of all the incident happened in less than 2 seconds. That is, Phipps was running at a high speed when he jumped head first over the fence. He did not “point” or aim the gun at police while he was upside down in mid air. The jump happened so fast it would have been impracticable for Phipps to “aim” a gun and impossible for the cop to see a gun aimed at him. It is quite obvious that police 1) obtained the surveillance video 2) watch it super slow motion over and over again and 3) then created a false narrative to justify the murder. White media believed it.
Contrary to media myth-information that “video showed Phipps still had the gun in his hand as he jumped the fence and only dropped it after being shot,” stills from video show that the gun falls out of his hand before he hits the ground. Regardless, to justify the use of deadly force the threat must be an imminent one. As such, without more facts, mere possession of the gun does not constitute an imminent threat. The Black man was fleeing. There are no facts that tend to show he posed a threat.
His aunt, Angela Phipps, said after seeing the police footage, she heard Phipps repeatedly say "don't shoot me" after he hit the ground while holding his hands and one leg up in a defensive position.