Early Tuesday in Jefferson City, local police shot and killed a man who reportedly had threatened them during a domestic violence incident.
Afterward, a man posted to his Facebook page a video outside the home, lamenting the man's death.
"Black lives matter," the man said in his Facebook video. As it turns out, the man who was killed was John Loaiza Jr., a 40-year-old white man. His life, we would argue, matters too.
Was the use of deadly force justified?
Jefferson City police say they responded to a domestic violence call and identified the suspect as Loaiza, whom they had dealt with before.
According to police reports and court records as recent as June, officers responded to a similar domestic dispute involving Loaiza wielding a knife and baseball bat and charging officers, threatening to shoot them if they returned to his property. In that case, the victim had visible injuries and had been assaulted by Loaiza "at least 45 times" in the past. That instance ended with the Loaiza's arrest for felony charges of domestic violence, resisting arrest and unlawful use of a weapon.
He also was wanted on contempt of court charges, with a caution on the warrant for violent tendencies.
Before officers shot Loaiza, he reportedly threatened them, asking "if they wanted to die." He also told officers to shoot him before he advanced on them, armed with a pipe.
Both officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave pending internal and outside investigations.
Cops aren't trained to shoot to wound. In a life-threatening situation, they need to aim for center mass - the torso. Aiming for anything else would increase the chance of missing or causing minimal injury that wouldn't stop an adrenalin-fueled attacker.
We consider our local police force well-trained and professional.
In this case, like in any such case, unless and until we hear solid evidence suggesting police acted improperly, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
News Tribune