for 55 officers involved in fatal shootings this year, it wasn’t their first time

7/23/2019 For 55 Officers Involved in Fatal Shootings This Year, It Wasn’t Their First Time

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For 55 officers involved in fatal shootings thisyear, it wasn’t their first time

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More than 50 police officers involved in fatal shootings this year had previously fired

their guns in deadly on-duty shootings, according to a Washington Post investigation.

For a handful of officers, it was their third fatal shooting. For one officer, it was hisfourth.

he findings concerned many law enforcement e!perts, who said most officers neverfire their weapons on the "o#. he analysis also e!posed another gap in the federalgovernment’s oversight of fatal police shootings nationwide$ the a#sence of a system

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/wesley-lowery


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for trac%ing multiple shootings #y individual officers.

he 55 officers were identified as part of a Post pro"ect trac%ing all fatal shootings #ypolice in the line of duty in &0'5. (t is the first nationwide attempt to determine whetherfatal police shootings are isolated events in an officer’s career or whether someofficers repeatedly fire their weapons in deadly encounters.

he Post also found that another )5 officers had previously #een involved in non-fatalshootings.

“(t’s a national em#arrassment. We don’t even %now how many times cops pull theirtriggers,* said +eoffrey lpert, a criminologist at the niversity of outh /arolina.

(n most cases, the person %illed was armed and the shootings were found to #e "ustified #y authorities or were still under investigation. he shootings cut acrossdepartments of all sies, involved officers on a range of assignments and grew out of

circumstances such as routine patrols, undercover police operations and standoffswith W teams that spanned hours.

(n 1roward /ounty, Fla., a sheriff’s deputy on a W team was involved in three fatalshootings from &002 to &0''. 3is fourth came in 4une when officers shot and %illed asuspected #an% ro##er.

(n an 1ernardino, /alif., five officers opened fire in Fe#ruary, %illing a man who ledpolice on a high-speed chase and then tried to ram their cars. For two of the officers, itwas their third fatal shooting with the department and for another, his second.

nd in 6ew Me!ico, five state police officers who were involved in fatal shootings in&0'5 also fired their weapons in earlier encounters in which police %illed someone.7ne of those officers too% part in two fatal shootings this year 8 si! wee%s apart. 1othinvolved standoffs with armed individuals.



Many departments withheld officers’ names from the pu#lic or released only vaguedetails, ma%ing it impossi#le to precisely determine how many officers have #eeninvolved in multiple shootings.[ More than 950 people fatally shot by police this year ]

Policing e!perts said the phenomenon has not #een deeply studied nationwide, and adeeper review of the cases could root out officers who resort too often to deadly forceand help officials develop strategies for officers to defuse 8 or avoid 8 volatilesituations.

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(n Pasco, Wash., officers fired '9 rounds that %illed orchard wor%er ntonio :am#rano-Montes, who was armed

only with roc%s. t the Washington tate /riminal 4ustice raining /ommission, there is an increased focus on

shifting the mentality of police officers from warriors to guardians. ;:oeann Murphy<he Washington Post=

he Post re>uested information on 9)? deadly police shootings it trac%ed from 4anuary through eptem#er.

gencies provided information on officers in a#out half the cases, or ?@9 shootings.

7f those, ' in A shootings involved at least one officer who had ta%en part in aprevious deadly shooting. Many fatal shootings #y police involve multiple officers. (t isoften unclear who fired the fatal shot or shots.

“(f someone is involved in multiple shootings, it doesn’t mean that it was a #ad shoot,*said 4onathan mith, the former chief of the 4ustice Bepartment’s special litigation

section of its civil rights division, who studied the issue in Miami. C1ut it does meanthat you should #e as%ing a lot of >uestions.*

7ne March morning in 1a%ersfield, /alif., drian 3ernande raped a woman and sether house on fire, police said. 3ours later, after a manhunt, officers spotted his car andgave chase.

3ernande e!ited the vehicle and pointed a weapon, later determined to #e a 11 gun,at police, 1a%ersfield authorities said. Five officers opened fire, %illing him.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/police-shootings/



For three of those officers, it was their second deadly shooting.

year earlier, one fired at an unarmed man who appeared to #e reaching for a gun.(n &0'?, another officer shot at a woman who pointed a pellet gun at police.

nd in the same year, a third officer opened fire on two men. 7ne was wanted for

violating parole on an assault charge, the other was a police informant.

(n that incident, police were following the wanted man’s car as the informant, ?)-year-old 4orge Damire, a passenger in the car, was te!ting a contact in the department.he wanted man stopped in a hotel par%ing lot and shot at officers, police said,wounding one. Police fired #ac%, %illing the suspect and Damire.

Police shootings in 1a%ersfield, a department with fewer than )00 officers, show the#road range of situations that officers encounter that can >uic%ly turn volatile. hisyear, police there have shot and %illed si! people.

1a%ersfield police spo%esman +ary /arruesco, who previously wor%ed as aninvestigator in the department’s internal affairs unit, declined to comment on theshootings other than to say each was found #y police to #e "ustified.

“hat spea%s volumes on the training we receive as officers,* /arruesco said. C(’msure any department would love it if they never had a fatal shooting, the negativeattention it draws to the department, and the emotional stress it pro#a#ly #rings to theofficer.*

4orge Damire r., who has filed a lawsuit on #ehalf of his son against the department,>uestions how a department the sie of 1a%ersfield could have so many fatalshootings.

“his isn’t Eos ngeles or 6ew or%. omething is wrong here,* Damire said.

Eos ngeles police have had &0 deadly shootings this year, 6ew or% /ity police havehad eight.

here are many and comple! reasons an officer might #e involved in multipleshootings, e!perts said. he officer’s assignment matters 8 for e!ample, an officer ona gang or drug s>uad in a crime-heavy area might #e more li%ely to end up in agunfight than an officer who patrols a >uiet su#ur#.

When the 4ustice Bepartment investigated the Miami Police Bepartment in &0'' aftera spate of officer-involved shootings, the federal agency found that Ca small num#er ofofficers were involved in a disproportionate num#er of shootings.*

even officers accounted for more than one-third of the department’s ?? total



shootings, #oth fatal and non-fatal incidents, from &00A to &0''. 7ne officer shot and%illed two people in the span of two wee%s, the report said.“his is a pro#lem across the country,* said mith, the former chief of the speciallitigation section of the 4ustice Bepartment’s civil rights division. C(t was not uni>ue toMiami.*

(n many cases, Miami officers returned to patrolling the streets long #efore anyinvestigations had #een completed, mith said. he report raised >uestions a#outpotential corrective actions that could have, or should have, #een put into place.

Miami Police /hief Dodolfo Elanes said the department has made changes, includingusing a state agency to review police shootings. he department, which has ',&5Aofficers, has had two fatal shootings this year.

actical changes also may have led to fewer shootings, Elanes said. he departmenthas reduced the num#er of C"ump-out s>uads,* the undercover units %nown for

#rea%ing up drug deals and going after violent offenders, he said.

“When you discharge a firearm, you shouldn’t automatically feel li%e you didsomething wrong,* Elanes said. C1ut you did ta%e someone’s life. (t’s a matter of #eingaccounta#le to the community. (t’s serious. (t’s a #ig deal. (t’s not the normal course of#usiness.*

Patrol officers account for the ma"ority of the repeat shooters identified #y he Post.hey are often the first to respond to tense situations including domestic disputes andcalls to help someone with mental illness.

hortly #efore '' p.m. one ugust evening, police in Gerrville, e!., got a call from awoman pleading for help. he said her hus#and had #ecome violent, and she and herchildren had fled their home. he warned he had a gun.Minutes later, gt. 4onathan Eam#, a patrol officer, and three colleagues pulled up. sthe officers approached the house, police, said, the man rushed out of his front doorand #egan shooting. Eam# and the other officers returned fire.Eam#’s first deadly shooting had occurred si! years earlier.

(n &002, he and others %illed a hit-and-run suspect who police said lunged at officerswith a %nife as they tried to arrest him.

“( feel ( had no other choice in #oth circumstances,* Eam#, a ')-year veteran with thedepartment, said in an interview with he Post.

hree other times in his career as a police officer, Eam# said, he pulled out his weapon8 in the first two, he was responding to domestic violence calls and the suspectadvanced toward him with a %nife. (n the third, a fugitive who was taller and nearly '00pounds heavier than Eam#, charged him in an attempt to evade arrest.



Hach of those times, the suspect stopped advancing as the officer drew his firearm,and he was a#le to ma%e an arrest without firing a shot.

“( thin% a lot of people, >uite honestly, don’t %now what they don’t %now a#out use offorce,* Eam# said. C(n the aftermath of some of these high-profile shootings that have

made headlines, the pu#lic sometimes has an unrealistic e!pectation of what lawenforcement should #e capa#le of. se of force is never pretty.*

EaMaurice +ardner, a police psychologist who advises the 6ational actical 7fficers ssociation, said officers often develop an!iety, depression and avoid situations thatremind them of the shooting. For officers with multiple shootings, the effect can #ecumulative.

“(’ve had officers literally say, I(s death chasing meJ’ * said +ardner, who also wor%s asa reserve lieutenant for the 7a%land /ounty heriff’s Bepartment in Pontiac, Mich.

Chey don’t want to ris% getting la#eled as a Do#o/op or a %iller. (t #orders onparanoia.*

fter shootings, some officers have ta%en nearly a year to return to full duty, whileothers have returned much sooner, he said. (n his &0 years of wor%, he said a#outeight officers he treated who had #een involved in shootings left their "o#s #ecause ofpost-traumatic stress disorder. 3e said that one officer who had #een involved in '0shootings recently retired #ecause the mental #urden was too much to #ear.

6ot all officers e!perience long-lasting effects after a shooting, however, e!perts said.

Eam# said neither the fatal shooting this year nor the one in &002 left him with an!ietyor second thoughts.

“(n #oth cases, ( felt that ( was protecting my own life and the lives of the other officerson the scene,* Eam# said, Calthough neither was the outcome that we would havepreferred.*

Many of the officers involved in multiple fatal shootings were assigned to specialiedpolice units, including W and narcotics teams, he Post found. 7f eight officerswho opened fire in three or more fatal shootings, si! were on specialied units.

(n 4anuary, /handler Police gt. 4esus Beanda and two other officers were onassignment as part of a special fugitive tas% force in riona. Police said a #urglarysuspect led the officers on a car chase and #egan shooting. Beanda and the officersreturned fire, %illing the man.(t was Beanda’s third fatal shooting.

(n &0'?, he was among si! officers on a .. Marshals tas% force who were trying toarrest a man wanted for assaulting a police officer and drug possession, according to



police.Police said the suspect, sitting in a pic%up truc%, reached for a gun. Beanda and theother officers opened fire, %illing him.

decade earlier, Beanda was involved in another fatal shooting. 3e and his then-partner ntonio Frias %illed a suspected drug dealer they were chasing while wor%ing

on an undercover narcotics unit.Beanda yelled, C3e’s got a gunK* Frias told he Post.

s the man clim#ed a fence, Frias pulled him to the ground. he two wrestled, and theman pointed the gun and fired at Frias.

he #ullet creased the top of Frias’s s%ull. C(t sounded li%e an M-A0 firecrac%er go off atthe head,* Frias told he Post.1oth officers returned fire.

Frias said that he retired in &0'& after #eing diagnosed with PB #ecause of theshooting.

Beanda declined comment through a police spo%esman, who said the shootings wereall "ustified. 3e remains assigned to a special tas% force with /handler Police, adepartment of ?)5 officers.

“gt. Beanda is a decorated professional police officer who continues to perform atthe highest level and has continued on with his career in an e!emplary manner,* saidspo%esman 4oseph Favao.

7ne officer who has %illed twice in the line of duty now faces criminal charges for themost recent fatal shooting. 3e is one of the few officers nationwide to #e prosecutedfor an on-duty shooting in &0'5.



7fficer tephen B. Dan%in leaves the .. Bistrict /ourt #uilding in 6orfol%, La., with his attorneys in &0'&. ;1rian 4.

/lar%<he Lirginian-Pilot=

7n the morning of pril &&, Portsmouth, La., police officer tephen B. Dan%inresponded to a call for a shoplifting at a local Walmart. here he encountered 'A-year-old William E. /hapman (( in the par%ing lot. #out a minute later, Dan%in fatally shot

the unarmed man in his face and chest, according to police records.

Multiple witnesses said that there was a physical struggle #etween Dan%in and/hapman in the moments prior to the shooting, according to statements o#tained #yhe Post.

(n eptem#er, a grand "ury indicted Dan%in on a charge of first-degree murder. Dan%in,?@, was fired from his "o#. he interim Portsmouth police chief declined an interviewre>uest.

Dan%in’s defense attorney 6icole 1elote said the facts did not support a charge of first-degree murder and that she would prepare to Cealously defend* Dan%in at trial.

ttorney 4on 1a#ineau, who represents /hapman’s family, said he was a Csoft-spo%en* man with learning disa#ilities. Wal%ing through Walmart was part of his dailyroutine, 1a#ineau said.

Four years earlier, Dan%in fatally shot another unarmed man, &@-year-old GirillBenya%in, an immigrant from Gaa%hstan.

7n the

evening of pril &?, &0'', Benya%in was drun%and pounding on the glass door of an apartment #uilding, according to court records. neigh#or called 2'' to report a #urglary. Dan%in said that when he arrived he toldBenya%in to stop, according to a statement the officer gave investigators. Benya%inthen turned around, dug into his waist#and and ran toward the officer with a Csteely-eyed loo% in his eyes,* Dan%in stated.

Dan%in said Benya%in reached into his waist#and and ran toward him. Dan%in shot

2irill 4en%akin 9o'r#es% o$ $amil%

illiam L. 9"apman :: 9o'r#es% o$

9"apman $amil% /



him '' times. C( #elieved he was charging at me with a weapon,* he told the "ury in acivil trial.

he "ury found Dan%in not lia#le for Benya%in’s death.

Dan%in spent three years on administrative duty while the case was investigated #y

the 4ustice Bepartment, police spo%eswoman Misty 3olley said. 6o charges werefiled, and Dan%in returned to his patrol "o# in &0'). year later, Dan%in shot /hapmanin the Walmart par%ing lot.

Dan%in is scheduled for trial in Fe#ruary.

Jennifer Jenkins and Julie Tate contributed to this report.

Geith le!ander covers crime, specifically

B./. uperior /ourt cases for he

Washington Post. 3e has covered doens of

crime stories from 1anita 4ac%s, the

Washington woman charged with %illing her

four daughters, to the murder trial of slain

federal intern /handra Eevy.

teven Dich is the data#ase editor forinvestigations at he Washington Post. While

at he Post, he’s wor%ed on investigations

involving ta! liens, civil forfeiture, cartels and

government oversight. 3e was also a

mem#er of the reporting team awarded the

Puliter for 6 revelations. P+P Fingerprint$ @2F 59?0 BBB 5)AA

&)FH @H1& 19&9 B2?0

my 1rittain is a reporter for he Posts

investigative team.






Wesley Eowery is a national reporter covering

law enforcement and "ustice for the

Washington Post. 3e previously covered

/ongress and national politics.

andhya omashe%har is the social change

reporter for the Washington Post.

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for 55 officers involved in fatal shootings this year, it wasn’t their first time

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