No charges for Maryland cops who shot the autistic man who called them for help
Next time anyone thinks about calling the police for help during a crisis, they might want to think twice. In Maryland, the justice system decided that shooting a vulnerable guy 12 times is totally fine.
A 25-year-old autistic man named Alex LaMorie was being blackmailed and harassed. He did what anyone is told to do: he called the police for help. But by the time officers arrived, he was having a severe mental health crisis and holding a knife.
Instead of de-escalating the situation, officers ended up firing 12 shots at him.
The state's attorney general, Anthony G. Brown, announced that the officers won't face any criminal charges. The official reason is that prosecutors wouldn't be able to disprove self-defense in court.
Body-camera footage actually showed that Alex never even lifted the knife toward the officers. He was just moving in their direction and didn't drop it when they yelled at him. Apparently, holding a knife during a panic attack is enough to justify a firing squad.
His mother, Jill Harrington, points out that the state treated a life-threatening behavioral-medical crisis like a violent crime. The tragedy happened at Patuxent Commons, an inclusive housing community for people with disabilities where Alex had moved just days prior.
Calling the people paid to protect citizens shouldn't feel like playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded cylinder.
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