Saginaw, MI — The gruesome dashcam video of a summary execution of a mentally ill man by police has been released to the public this week.
The video shows six police officers, in firing squad fashion, execute mentally ill, Milton Hall, in broad daylight in a Saginaw parking lot.
Hall was several meters away from the closest police officer when the shots began. He posed very little threat to the officers as he was armed with a small pocket knife and could have easily been brought down with a taser.
Six Saginaw police officers fired 47 times at the 49-year-old Hall, striking him 11 times. Police claim Hall acted aggressively, according to then-Saginaw County Prosecutor Michael D. Thomas.
The video was obtained by the ACLU from the family of Hall. It provides a more detailed depiction of the incident that day than the original cellphone footage.
The shooting was “not only reckless, but clearly unjust, and also grossly violated Milton Hall’s human right to life,” Fancher said.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the FBI announced their joint decision on Feb. 25.
“After a thorough investigation, federal authorities have determined that this tragic event does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to lead to a federal criminal prosecution of the police officers involved,” a news release stated.
What do you think? Was the force used by Saginaw police in the above video “justifiable”?
Just in case you answered yes to the above question, here is an example of police in the UK handling a man with two very large knives. Amazingly enough, no one was killed.