15-year-old should not have paid with his life for running from Ceres police officer
Now we know why Ceres:
- Refused to release video of a cop shooting dead a fleeing teen in August 2018, until after settling a lawsuit with the boy’s family
- Agreed to pay his survivors $2.1 million
Both moves appear calculated to minimize damage to the city’s image and pocketbook.
Footage from Officer Ross Bays’ body camera, finally released this week to The Modesto Bee, confirms that the policeman expected 15-year-old Carmen Spencer Mendez to be armed and dangerous as Bays’ patrol car gave chase.
And police knew that someone had brandished a handgun in a Ceres park before the chase began, and that the fleeing Lexus had just been involved in a felony hit-and-run accident.
But the video also supports points made by the boy’s survivors in their lawsuit against Ceres.
For example, Mendez was running away from Bays, not confronting him, when the officer opened fire less than three seconds after stopping his patrol car.
Ceres officer’s reaction was extreme
Also, the boy did not run toward homes or businesses, where he might have found hostages. He was running into an orchard of saplings.
Also, Bays offered no words of warning. He just started shooting, and did not stop until his magazine was empty.
Also, Bays seemed not to consider sending the K-9 in his patrol car after the fleeing teen. Nor did he wait for colleagues to set up a perimeter.
He just started shooting.
Taken together, these factors seem consistent with a “shoot first, ask questions later” philosophy.
The efficiency of that approach is unquestioned. But society these days is less interested in efficiency, and more interested in preserving life when at all possible.
That’s why The Modesto Bee Editorial Board has repeatedly endorsed the aims of recently signed legislation, Assembly Bill 392 and Senate Bill 230. They seek to rewire cops’ thinking by mandating new training in de-escalation and using deadly force as an absolute last resort.
Such training might have prompted Bays to think again before taking the most extreme action possible when Mendez sprinted away.
Stanislaus County Deputy Sheriff Justin Wall also chose the most extreme possible course of action when he shot and killed Modesto’s Evin Olsen Yadegar after a slow-speed chase from Salida to Ripon in February 2017. Wall is scheduled to stand trial in January for voluntary manslaughter.
Stanislaus District Attorney Birgit Fladager was spared the professional discomfort of deciding whether to charge Wall, because the shooting occurred just over the county line. That put the burden on San Joaquin County prosecutors, who made the right call in holding him accountable.
DA decides whether to prosecute cop
Fladager, who has never prosecuted a law enforcement officer for using lethal force on duty since her election in 2006, has no such cover in the Mendez shooting. She must decide whether to charge Bays, who now lives in Idaho, or to call his “shoot first” reaction justified.
The big difference between the deaths of Yadegar and Mendez: the boy had a gun. Is that enough of a reason to shoot him in the back as he fled?
Those curious about “righteous shoots” need look no further than last week, when Modesto police loudly identified themselves before opening fire on 54-year-old Raymond Lee as he reached under a mattress at Motel 6, pulling out what appeared to be a pistol. The fact that it turned out to be a BB gun matters little, and it’s hard to envision his survivors finding any reason to sue. It appears that Lee was prepared to die; they call it suicide by cop.
Such was not the case with Mendez, who appeared to be doing everything in his power to get away, not confront. Anyone doing that should not have to pay with his life.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 3:37 PM.
