September 3, 2015
Brownsville, TX — On Tuesday, the Brownsville police department released dashcam video of one of their officers killing an unarmed man as he fled.
Officer Rolando Trujillo Jr. pulled over Jose Roman Rodriguez on July 17 for fitting the description of a suspicious vehicle associated with a robbery. Upon stopping the vehicle, Rodriguez’s passenger opened the door and took off running. Shortly after, Rodriguez attempts to flee as well.
As Rodriguez closed the door and began to drive away, he clearly posed no threat whatsoever to Trujillo. The officer was not in the path of the vehicle, and there was no chance of the vehicle magically moving sideways to hurt Trujillo. However, these facts did not stop Trujillo from using deadly force.
Just as the truck began rolling, Trujillo pulled out his gun and fired four shots into the back of a fleeing man. Rodriguez was killed.
As the media pulls up his past and uses resisting arrest charges from 2010, they are attempting to justify the officer’s killing. However, what this man did in 2010 is not relevant. Even if Rodriguez did commit a robbery that night, this officer’s actions were still not justified.
You cannot shoot as people are running away. That is the work of cowards.
With a video showing the officer shooting a fleeing man, how could a grand jury have possibly declined to indict Trujillo? But that is exactly what happened. On Wednesday, a grand jury handed up a no bill in the case, and Trujillo was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Watch the video below and let us know in the comments whether or not you think this police officer is justified for this shooting.