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Are Police Ever Justified In Using Deadly Force? Deray Won’t Say

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Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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One of the most prominent members of the new civil rights movement refuses to admit that there are ever any instances where police officers are justified in using deadly force.

In an interview with The Daily Beast while in Ferguson, Mo., Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson said that he does not believe that any of the police shootings “that have gained national attention this year” were justified. And asked a hypothetical question of whether a police officer is justified in responding with deadly force if a suspect aims a gun or even opens fire, McKesson avoided answering.

“If someone killed your child, what would it take for you to say it was justified?” he asked.

The cagey response is par for the course for McKesson, whose hallmark is to jump into the fray as a new police-involved case as bits and pieces of evidence trickle in. McKesson uses that information vacuum to his advantage, informing his 200,000 Twitter followers of what he thinks the police did wrong in the particular case.

And while the activist has been showed to be wrong early and often, he has rarely — if ever — admitted being incorrect. His flair for error has also not detracted politicians from seeking his favor. Hillary Clinton invited the 30-year-old former Teach for America staffer to a campaign event of hers in New York City last month. He has also been in contact with her campaign, he’s stated on Twitter. (RELATED: All Evidence Suggests That Sandra Bland Killed Herself, But Deray McKesson Continues To Claim She Was Murdered)

In The Daily Beast interview, McKesson disputed the Ferguson police department’s claim about a shooting that occurred on Sunday, the one-year anniversary of Brown’s death.

Tyrone Harris, Jr., 18, opened fire on undercover police officers as protesters and media roamed around Ferguson. Officers shot back, leaving Harris, Jr. in critical condition.

“I’ll say that I still have more questions than answers,” McKesson told The Daily Beast of the shooting.

While Harris, Jr.’s family has also disputed the official account, he had already amassed a lengthy rap sheet. He’s been arrested for grand theft auto and for stealing a gun. His Facebook page shows him posing with numerous guns and commenting about committing violent acts.

McKesson also told The Daily Beast he doesn’t believe the official account of a shooting that occurred in October in St. Louis. Vonderrit Myers, Jr. was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer who was working as a security guard. Evidence indicated that Myers, Jr. fired a stolen gun at the officer. He had gun shot residue on his hands and clothes. A 272-page report cleared the officer of wrongdoing and found that the shooting was justified.

“He actually didn’t shoot at the police. That’s a lie,” McKesson told the website, adding that gun shot residue may have been found on Myers, Jr.’s body after police patted him down. He’s also previously claimed that Myers, Jr. was holding a sandwich, and not a gun, when he was shot.

McKesson very well could have been asked about disproved claims he’s made in other cases, including Brown’s death. McKesson has downplayed the significance of a strong-armed robbery Brown took part in minutes before his encounter with Ferguson cop Darren Wilson. He’s also downplayed or outright avoided evidence that Brown attacked Wilson while he was inside his police cruiser. On top of that, McKesson has been one of the many activists who have perpetuated the myth that Brown was holding his hands up in a surrender position and yelling “don’t shoot” before Wilson opened fire.

McKesson also circulated demonstrably false claims in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death on April 19 when he asserted that the 25-year-old black man had been beaten by Baltimore police during his arrest the week before.

Though six officers have been charged in that case, prosecutors have not alleged in any way that they beat Gray. An autopsy found that his only injury on the day of his arrest was a head injury he sustained while riding by himself in a police van.

McKesson has also accused the Waller County sheriff’s department of murdering Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old black woman who died in the county jail on July 13. All evidence — including an autopsy — suggests that Bland committed suicide by hanging in her jail cell.

“After being here in Waller County, I’m certain that they killed #SandraBland,” McKesson tweeted on July 24.

He has not commented much on the case since the release of Bland’s autopsy which determined that she died by suicide. County officials also released video from the jail which undermined claims that Bland had been beaten after her arrest.

[h/t Mediaite]

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