![]() "She's become the judge, jury and executioner." "She single-handedly has hijacked the whole due process and criminal justice system," Smith said. Smith said he was disheartened that Mitchell did not present the case to a grand jury. ![]() "I think she has further fractured the relationship that we are all so desperately trying to heal between the police and the community." "The prosecutor's office has poured salt in an open wound," Smith said. Osman had used against them and was continuing to use."Īttorney Quacy Smith said the Osman family was crushed by Mitchell's decision. "And that decision was a reasonable one based on the force that Mr. "Osman had a rock in his hand, ready to throw it directly at the officer when the officer made the decision to shoot," Mitchell said. Mitchell said she did not believe the scenario would result in a conviction for even the lowest potential charge: negligent homicide. Police said that as officers approached Osman, he continued throwing rocks at them, and they responded with deadly force. In the civil lawsuit, the Osman family claims he was just standing on a corner. Officers who were patrolling the area near 19th and Glendale avenues said they saw a man, later identified as Osman, throwing rocks at one of the patrol cars. 'Our entire community is devastated': Memorial service held at Tempe mosque for man shot by police Mitchell said the rocks Osman was throwing "posed a serious threat to every motorist and pedestrian in that area." The existing policy on the use of lethal force still reads, "Officers are trained to utilize deadly physical force when it is necessary to prevent serious physical injury or death to self or a third party as defined in state law." The Phoenix police in the past have used a “Response to Resistance” policy that instructed officers, at their discretion, to escalate their response based on a suspect's “resistance." In January, the Police Department asked the public for feedback on a proposed use of force policy that is still shown online in draft form. "Rather, the law requires the state to prove the person's conduct was not justified under the law beyond a reasonable doubt." ![]() "The law does not require a person using deadly physical force to prove their conduct was justified," Mitchell said. Mitchell further explained her reasoning. Bower did not comment on the announcement directly. Bower said Gibson was a witness and was still working as a patrol officer. Brian Bower said Johnson and Olachea each have been assigned to a "non-enforcement position" during an ongoing administrative investigation into the shooting. It added that police "assert entitlement to all immunities applicable under federal or state law including, without limitation, all immunities afforded public entities and/or public employees, absolute or qualified." "Defendants assert they acted lawfully at all times and that all alleged conduct is legally justified and/or privileged under federal law or state law," the city's legal response stated. They cited a legal standard known as qualified immunity, which says police cannot be held liable for reasonable decisions made in the heat of the moment. In their legal response, they claimed, "Mr. The Osman family accuses the Phoenix Police Department of negligence and is seeking compensatory, special and punitive damages, among other remedies, including any unspecified court order to reform the department.Īttorneys for the defendants have denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the case. The complaint alleges that Phoenix's hiring and training policies "have established a police force that acts with blatant disregard for Arizona citizens’ constitutional rights and extreme indifference to the value of human life." In the lawsuit, the Osman family says Phoenix officers acted "maliciously and recklessly," resulting in the wrongful death of Osman. ![]() The family's lawyer, Quacy Smith, filed the notice of claim against Phoenix, the Phoenix Police Department, Chief Michael Sullivan and Officers Jesse Johnson and Brennan Olachea, who are collectively identified as "responsible parties" in the document.Ī lawsuit filed in federal court in February also names Phoenix police Officer Jared Gibson. Osman's family filed a notice of claim after his death in 2022 seeking $85 million in damages for wrongful death. An attorney representing Osman's family previously said preliminary information from a private autopsy indicated Osman had been shot at least three times in the neck, though it was possible a fourth bullet struck Osman in the same place.
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