*PAUL O’NEAL – Shot and killed on July 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois following a vehicle pursuit with O’Neal observed driving a Jaguar convertible reported stolen. He refused to pull over and struck two police vehicles fleeing the scene, narrowly missing the officers who exited their respective vehicles. Both officers fired at O’Neal, 18, while he was driving the stolen Jaguar (which subsequently resulted in departmental disciplinary action taken against them for not following guidelines).
O’Neal, then smashed into a patrol car being driven by Officer Jose Diaz. The perpetrator then exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Diaz then pursued O’Neal on foot through a number of backyards, firing a total of five shots at him and hitting him in the back with the final round. Diaz, who made statements on body camera footage, stated that he believed O’Neal had in fact fired at the other two officers and made a furtive movement towards his waist band when he finally caught up to him. The rounds Diaz heard were actually those of friendly fire being shot at the Jaguar.
All three officers were not charged criminally but faced departmental charges.
POLICE POINT OF VIEW
We were taught in the police academy to not shoot at a moving vehicle unless there were circumstances other than the vehicle itself being a threat of deadly physical force. But when a car nearly hits you (which I have experienced), it is a harrowing experience, indeed. And no one but Diaz can answer the questions why he fired at O’Neal when he did. If he suspected him of possessing a firearm and moments before fired at his colleagues, then he shot at O’Neal looking to stop a potential threat to not only the police, but the public, as well. And shooting someone in the back doesn’t mean that they can’t be reaching for a firearm at the time their hands are not visible.
I honestly must admit that I was surprised that Diaz was not charged criminally due to the shot hitting O’Neal in the back and he was not in possession of a firearm at the time. But O’Neal was in the wrong at the start of this situation (possessing a stolen vehicle) then compounded the problem by not pulling over for the police and trying to run not one, but two officers over and crashing head-on into another police vehicle being driven by another. Those are not actions of an innocent teenager, folks.
O’Neal – black, Diaz- hispanic
@NFLPA I would love the opportunity to discuss the #NFLProtest issue with you, more specifically a case-by-case basis between the police & public: https://t.co/6SrWzUZ6yS
— Joe Pietaro (@MuscleSportMag) August 13, 2018
