First, the officer has had 7 previous shooting incidents reviewed. For a city the size and population of Bakersfield, CA.. that is quite high in my humble opinion. My uncle, a 30 year veteran of the LAPD, the last 10 in the gang detail, didn't have that many his entire career. This last one didn't pass muster, however, unlike the previous 7 for Sergeant Scott.
He fired his weapon in an apartment complex and one of the bullets went through an exterior wall and wounded someone in an apartment. If that wasn't bad enough, they also busted his nads about the methods he used to corral and stop the vehicle: "Police also said Scott violated the department's Emergency Vehicle Operations Policy by using unapproved blocking and ramming techniques".
The police report on the issue does state he passed all state and federal laws with respect to guidelines for using deadly force. That's comforting...He still fired his weapon in an apartment complex. It was one of three bullets he fired at the fleeing suspect. There were four suspects total. According to the writeup in the local rag, The Bakersfield Californian: "Police said Scott "used poor judgment in the discharge of his firearm within close proximity of an occupied residential complex."
They don't say if they recovered a weapon from any of the subjects. The subject, who was 16, was later found at his home. This article from one of the local tv stations states the kid was not involved in the alleged armed robbery for which Sergeant Scott was chasing him.
Shoot first and ask questions later.. The suspect was fleeing, the other 3 did not resist. It wasn't as if he confronted the cop or burnished a weapon.
