Judge: Miami Police Officer who Shot Unarmed Black Man in the Back Violated his Constitutional Rights

From [HERE] Six years after a Miami-Dade police officer shot Rudy Morris in the back, killing the unarmed man after he scuffled with another officer, a judge has ruled that the shooting was unwarranted and that police violated Morris’ constitutional rights.

A five-page decision penned by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge William Thomas last month found that “McKinnon’s actions to kill an unarmed burglary suspect, by shooting him in the back as he was running away on foot, was unreasonable and violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

The initial wrongful death suit filed in 2007 by Mary Williams on behalf of her son, Morris, sought money damages against the county and officer Carol McKinnon. But a civil rights claim was added to the complaint by Williams’ attorneys.

The family will continue to seek monetary damages and plans on moving forward with a civil rights complaint against the county, arguing negligent training practices for police, said Attorney Ray Taseff. But that won’t occur until McKinnon’s appeal is complete, said County Attorney James Allen, who wouldn’t comment further on the ruling.

McKinnon still works for Miami-Dade police, but she now processes burglary scenes for the Crime Scene Investigations unit. Taseff said the State Attorney’s Office closed out the shooting years ago, absolving McKinnon of any criminal wrongdoing. The state attorney was unable to confirm that late Monday.

The incident that sparked the lawsuit happened in June 2005, when McKinnon and her partner, Guipson Balthazar, followed Morris into the 18th Avenue Market in Liberty City after they noticed he was driving a stolen car. The judge’s ruling says the plaintiff and defendant version of events do not differ “in any material way.”

According to the judge, once the officers entered the market they found Morris behind some boxes in the back of the store and ordered him to the ground. As Balthazar stood over him in an attempt to handcuff Morris, Morris, who was unarmed, jerked his back. Balthazar used his foot to force Morris back to the ground.

But the move alarmed McKinnon, who suddenly fired her Taser at Morris – missing him and inadvertently hitting Balthazar in the leg. When Balthazar stumbled backward, Morris got up and ran toward the door, bumping into McKinnon, who fell to the ground. From a seated position on the floor, McKinnon fired twice at Morris before he was able to leave the store, hitting him in the elbow and killing him with a shot to the back.

Thomas called McKinnon’s actions that day “not objectionably reasonable.”