Cortez, CO Sgt. Murdered
Questionable Las Cruces, NM OIS
Johnny Hollman - Sign the Ticket!
Jawan Dallas - wrong place/wrong time
1. Cortez, CO Sgt. Murdered
On Wednesday (11/29/23) Sergeant Michael Moran of the Cortez, Colorado police department initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle. Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles stated that the traffic stop was initiated after a “reckless driving” complaint had been reported about the vehicle in question.
Sgt. Moran was fired upon by the offender and sustained fatal injuries.
Law enforcement officers with the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and Cortez Police Department located the criminal suspect - soon after the murder at a storage business, less than two miles from the site of the traffic stop where Sgt. Moran was murdered.
According to Chief Knuckles, “The suspect engaged officers, officers fired back and eliminated the suspect at that time.”
Sheriff Steve Nowlin said the offender was located and killed, “within a matter of minutes” of the traffic stop.
“The perpetrator involved in the shooting of Sgt. Moran was located and engaged in a second shooting with a deputy from the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and an officer with the Cortez Police Department,” Nowlin said.
Police officials have not identified the offender or given a motive for the shooting.
Sgt. Moran was a nine year veteran of the department, had previously served two tours in Iraq while in the Marine Corps, and leaves behind two daughters.
Traffic stops are one of the most dangerous activities for police officers.
The officer never knows who is in the car, what crime they just committed, and how desperate they are to get away.
All police officers know that this is a possibility anytime they put on the uniform. They know it and they still go in. This is a blunt reminder that there is a dark reality always lurking.
Rest in peace Sergeant Moran.
2. Las Cruces Questionable OIS
On October 3, 2023 Las Cruces Police Officer Felipe Hernandez detained Theresa Gomez. Officer Hernandez was on bicycle patrol and Ms. Gomez was in the driver’s seat of her vehicle and parked on public housing property.
Officer Hernandez stated that Ms. Gomez and her passenger (Jesus Garcia) were not legally permitted to be on the property.
Ms. Gomez initially gave the officer incorrect personal information and questioned why she was being detained.
Officer Hernandez asked Ms. Gomez to step out of the vehicle and then eventually told her to get back into the driver’s seat of her car.
Officer Hernandez was standing near the driver’s side of the vehicle and the door was open. Ms. Gomez suddenly fled the scene. She initially reversed and struck the officer with the open door. Officer Hernandez was struck but remained on his feet. Ms. Gomez then accelerated forward.
It was at this point - as Ms. Gomez was driving forward and away from Officer Hernandez that he drew his firearm and fired several rounds at the vehicle. Ms. Gomez was struck by the gunfire and sustained fatal injuries.
There are (and should be) a lot of questions about this case. Here are a few of the issues:
Was there reasonable suspicion to detain?
The officer used demeaning and foul language during the contact - did that unnecessarily escalate the situation?
Was the use of deadly force objectively reasonable?
20/20 hindsight indicates that the officer was technically out of danger at the time he fired.
There is a reactionary gap that all humans have between identifying a deadly threat and when a response is initiated.
This case will be the subject of our Officer Involved series this weekend. I will address each of these issues and give my legal and professional opinion on all aspects of this controversial case.
3. Johnny Hollman
On August 10, 2023 sixty-two-year-old Johnny Hollman died while in police custody in Atlanta, Georgia. The body camera footage was just made public and reignited the controversy.
Mr. Hollman was involved in a traffic crash. Officer Kiran Kimbrough (who has since been fired from the Atlanta Police Department) arrived on scene and investigated the crash. Officer Kimbrough determined that Mr. Hollman was at fault and issued him a traffic citation.
Mr. Hollman refused to sign the citation. Even though signing the citation is not an admission of guilt - but merely a promise to appear in court. After a lengthy conversation, Officer Kimbrough informed Mr. Hollman that he would be arrested if he did not sign the citation. Shockingly, still, Mr. Hollman stubbornly refused to sign the citation.
Officer Kimbrough attempted to arrest Mr. Hollman. Mr. Hollman then verbally stated that he would sign the citation and physically/actively resisted arrest. Officer Kimbrough used force (empty hand tactics) and took Mr. Hollman to the ground. Once on the ground, Mr. Hollman continued to actively resist and Officer Kimbrough deployed a Taser in “drive stun” mode. The device made contact with Mr. Hollman’s arm two times.
Mr. Hollman was arrested and died in police custody two hours later.
According to medical experts at Johns Hopkins University, because Mr. Hollman suffered from pre-existing severe heart conditions, they believe that the likely cause of his death was due to exertion from the altercation (Cardiac Dysrhythmia).
The Hollman family wants not only Officer Kimbrough to be charged with murder, but also a tow truck driver who assisted by helping to hold down/subdue Mr. Hollman - so that he could be handcuffed.
Sign the damn ticket. Avoid ALL of this! Fight in court.
Before the handcuffs were on - Officer Kimbrough SHOULD have allowed Mr. Hollman to correct his awful decision and sign the ticket.
Even though Mr. Hollman was an old man - police officers can use less lethal force to effect a legal arrest when a suspect actively resists.
The use of force utilized appears to be within the law and not excessive.
The family is salivating at the thought of suing Axon (the maker of Taser). However, the Taser did not end Mr. Hollman’s life - it was far more likely his unnecessary stubbornness and unhealthy heart.
4. Jawan Dallas - wrong place/wrong time
Reverend Robert Clopton, the president of the Mobile, AL branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said that this case, “was in line with the George Floyd death.”
Well. Sorry to disappoint. It’s not. Here’s why.
On July 2, 2023 Mobile, AL police officers responded to a burglary in progress at a residence. Upon arrival on scene, police spotted Jawan Dallas, who matched the description of a suspect, in the driver’s seat of a car, parked in front of the burglarized home.
This gave officers reasonable suspicion to legally detain Mr. Dallas. Officers did attempt to detain Mr. Dallas and he did not comply with officers and attempted to run.
Mr. Dallas was apprehended after a short foot chase and he resisted arrest. Mr. Dallas tried to bite an officer and a Taser was used on Mr. Dallas. Mr. Dallas attempted to take the Taser from the officer.
It should be pointed out that Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine stated that police had every right to use deadly force at this time - but didn’t.
Eventually, Mr. Dallas was subdued. Two hours later he died of a heart attack while in police custody.
A Grand Jury has declined to prosecute the officers.
Chief Prine stated that the officers did not violate any department policies.
Ben Crump is representing the Dallas family and has unleashed his army of anti-police attack dogs.
One reasonable issue of concern is that Mr. Dallas was not the burglary suspect. Of course police did not know that at the time and did have reasonable suspicion to detain while they investigated. Mr. Dallas just matched the description of the offender and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A later search of his vehicle turned up a gun and methamphetamine - which is likely why he ran from police. More evidence that normal people do not run from police for no reason.
Mobile County DA Keith Blackwood stated, “Mr. Dallas suffered from some serious underlying medical issues. Those issues were exacerbated by drug use.” “When Mr. Dallas initiated the struggle with police, that situation also exacerbated the underlying medical conditions.”
How can we get more DA’s like Keith Blackwood?