Police officer charged in security guard's death

[UtahProtectionForce]

Officer charged in security guard's death


By RHONDA COOK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 07/05/08

Cobb County authorities charged a 36-year-old Atlanta police officer with killing a security guard at a Marietta apartment complex after the guard inexplicably barged into the officer's residential unit early Saturday.

Police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said officers found security guard Xavier Mallet, 37, dead, lying in the parking lot in front of building No. 6 at the Ivy Ridge Apartment just before 4:30 a.m.


Pierce said investigators were told Mallet started banging on APD officer John Kevin Freeman's door and then forced his way inside when Freeman's wife answered.

The woman, who was not identified, ran while Freeman and Mallet confronted each other inside the unit.

Police say Freeman then retrieved a gun from inside the apartment and shot the security guard as he left the scene.

Freeman is being held without bond on charges of murder and aggravated assault.

A spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department said he did not know how the charges would affect Freeman's job with APD.


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2008/07/05/officer_cobb_killed_atlanta.html

[travis061986]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder! Just because he is a LEO he should not be treated differently. LEO's have extensive training in hand to hand combat which is sounds like he engaged in to begin with.

[T202]

There appears to be a more to the story than what was first reported. From this news source the security guard forced his way in, handcuffed the officer, then he pulled his pants off and ran after the wife. Check out the video on this link. This will be interesting to follow.

http://www.cbs46.com/news/16798024/detail.html

[mjw064]

http://www.cbs46.com/video/16801905/index.html

Watch the video ... it's not as it sounds. Apparently the security guard was knocking on a bunch of doors in the apartment complex. Finally he knocked on the door of the APD officer and barged in. He then handcuffed the officer and removed his pants and moved toward the officers wife. Somehow the APD officer got free of the handcuffs, got his weapon and then shot the subject as he was attempting to flee the scene.

To me it sounds like the subject was a fleeing felon in this case and the officer could have a reasonable belief that this subject posed an immediate a real threat to the community as he was fleeing from his apartment. That generally will justify the use of deadly force.

Also, I understand that the officer has been charged, but I doubt that this case ever goes to trial ... and even if it goes to trial, there is not a jury in the world who is going to convict the cop of Murder. His defense attorney will have a field day with that.

Just my 2 cents worth ...

[mjw064]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder! Just because he is a LEO he should not be treated differently. LEO's have extensive training in hand to hand combat which is sounds like he engaged in to begin with.

This isn't always true. There was just a case out of Texas, where the homeowner shot and killed 2 people who were attempting to flee after burglarizing his neighbors home. While on the phone with a 911 dispatcher and saying "I am going to kill them" the homeowner fired about 4 shots, striking and killing 2 of the 3 burglars. A Texas jury agreed that the killing of the 2 fleeing felons was completely justified.

[txinvestigator]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder! That would depend on the laws of each state.
LEO's have extensive training in hand to hand combat which is sounds like he engaged in to begin with. On what planet?

[DeputyJ]

I was just about to ask what department provides extensive training in hand to hand combat. I'm on our version of SWAT (we call it SRT) and I know we don't have extensive training in hand to hand combat.

It sounds like the officer is being sent to the wolves for what ever reason (officers are quite frequently put out as scap goats for poltical reasons). I can't see how this officer is being charged with murder when he was the victim of what appears to be at a minimum false imprisonment.

Of course without having all the details, I will always give the benifit of the doubt to an LEO.

Stay Safe.

[Mr. Security]

What a sick person. :( I advocate psychological screening (MMPI) for guards to TRY and weed out these misfits.

[Black Caesar]

Yep, Still glad I'm in Texas.

[craig333]

Interesting case. While I can't say for sure whether he was justified in shooting him under the law, I can theres little doubt I would have done the same thing.

Break in my residence, assault me, attack my family. Yeah you just might pay for that.

[HotelSecurity]

Also, I understand that the officer has been charged, but I doubt that this case ever goes to trial ... and even if it goes to trial, there is not a jury in the world who is going to convict the cop of Murder. His defense attorney will have a field day with that.

Just my 2 cents worth ...

Even O.J.'s jury?

[Mr. Chaple]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder!

I do not know the laws in Georgia regarding Murder/Manslaughter/Justifiable Homicide. But if you forcibly enter someone's home while they are in it, you're bought and paid for. Or you should be anyway.

[Sgt.Campbell]

Just freaking fantastic. I love it when the world's a-holes are employed in my field. It's no wonder we have such a bad rap.

In any case, more power to the officer. You threaten my family, you will be shot dead. End of story.

[LPGuy]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder!

Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is deadly force authorized by police officers in specific "fleeing felon" situations, there's also a phenomena that is involved in certain shooting situations that involves a lag time between the decision to shoot and the actual shot. I don't recall what the exact name for this is.

It involves the lag time between the time you decide to shoot and the time it takes for you to physically pull the trigger and fire the shot. There have been cases where the suspect has actually turned away from the officer in that lag time and by the time the shot is fired, ends up being shot in the back.

While the media would love to paint these cases as unjustified homicides, there's science behind it that involves bullet trajectories and such. The agency next door to mine had just such a shooting several years ago.

I have no idea if that's what occurred in this situation, but my point is that not everyone that appears to have been shot in the back is a victim.

[mjw064]

Well if you shoot and kill anyone while they are fleeing, it is murder!


HAHA, only in Hollywood.



LEO's have extensive training in hand to hand combat which is sounds like he engaged in to begin with.

Hand to Hand combat? Are you serious ... Atlanta PD is a big city department. Have you seen officers in big city departments? Half of the female cops here in DC (who make up about 25% of the force) have 3 inch manicured nails that they don't want to damage and have never been in a fight. The types of officers employed by big city departments are vastly different than those employed in rural America and a vast majority avoid confrontations altogether and are rarely involved in any sort of use of force incidents.

And, I will tell you, that since I have been employed with DC Government, all the training I have received has completely sucked. I received 80 hrs of Defensive Tactics training in academy ... quite honestly that's about it, other than random refresher courses they sometimes send us to.

[shlsmv]

Yep, Still glad I'm in Texas.

me too......