A video caught from the dashboard camera in a Bridgeton Police Department cruiser appears to show a NJ cop shooting a black man with his hands up. The media, of course, quickly pounded on the incident that actually occurred on Dec. 30, 2014, during a traffic stop in Bridgeton, NJ, located just south of Philadelphia.
Officer Braheme Days, a black cop, and his white partner, Roger Worley, pulled over a Jaguar that did not stop at a stop sign. In the passenger seat was Jerame Reid, 36, a known quantity to police who spent roughly 13 years in prison for shooting at three state troopers when he was a teenager. Officer Days was also present last year when Reid was charged with several crimes, including drug possession and obstruction. Days is listed as one of the arresting officers.
The driver, Leroy Tutt, who was compliant, went to retrieve his license for the police officer and Officer Days can be heard warning his partner that he could see a gun in the glove compartment.
That’s when things went bad.
“The video speaks for itself – that at no point was Jerame Reid a threat and he possessed no weapon on his person,” Walter Hudson, chairman and founder of the civil rights group the National Awareness Alliance, said Wednesday. “He complied with the officer and the officer shot him.”
But, despite Mr. Hudson’s claims, Reid did not comply.
In the video, you can hear the officer screaming over and over “Don’t you f—ing move!” and “Show me your hands!” The driver, Tutt, raises his hands immediately, but Reid didn’t have the same reaction. In fact, Officer Days repeated the command to Reid 17 times and, on at least five different occasions, told Reid that he would be shot if he did not comply.
“I’m going to shoot you,” Days shouted during one of those five times, even calling Reid by his first name. “You’re going to be f—ing dead. If you reach for something, you’re going to be f—ing dead.”
When Reid swung the door open proclaiming, “I’m getting out” — while Officer Days was still standing in front of it — the officers opened fire, killing him on the spot. According to one officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, media outlets are seemingly unable to put themselves in the shoes of police officers.
“We risk our lives everyday doing a job few have the courage to do, then they judge us from a distance, from a video,” the individual said. “He is a known, violent criminal we know can’t be trusted. He could have had a gun or some other weapon on him Days didn’t see. That’s why when an officer tells you to do something, you do it. You don’t get to set the rules for encounters with the police.”
“Are we allowed to go home to our families?” the individual asked.
Theresa Lockwood / January 26, 2015
Interesting how that is simply not true. The officer was screaming do not move. … but his hands are shown to be up on 2-3 different occasions in the car. Even once the officer reached for Reid hands and grabbed a submitted limp hand up at Reids face level. So Reids hand were up when the officer claimed he was reaching for something. Reid reached for something when the officer told him to reach for something; an ID that he asked for. Its interesting though he knew who he was before he was showed ID even though he got his name wrong. Also Reid did not swing the door open. The officer was yanking on it very hard and Reid unlocked it for him, as he was confused on what to do as there were conflicting messages as Officer Days appeared out of control. As the door was unlocked, the door was opened by the pressure of the officer vigorously tugging on it. If Reid flung the door open the officer would not of moved much from his standing point and the door would of hit the officer.
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