The problem comes from westerns. For over half of the twentieth century the movie industry made a lot of money filling kids’ heads with nineteenth century morality. The man who can draw his gun fastest is right. A man has the right to kill to protect his property. Clint Eastwood has to take his share of the blame, bringing his Spaghetti Western morality into Dirty Harry’s San Francisco. Over the last few decades this has led to a whole lot of people getting killed through accident, anger, or bullying, often by members of the police.
The Police State: That Was Then
After the 1930s experience of the Italian Black Shirts and the NAZI Gestapo, cooler heads prevailed in the so-called civilized world, and we got a bunch of reasonable laws, the most important one being that the rules apply to officers of the law as well. The rules stated above are specific and apply directly to this case.
Angles of Fire
Many with more expertise than I have will analyze the video, but I note only one bullet hole in the windshield, which means the other two came from the side of the vehicle, perhaps even through the open window. Lining that hole up with the driver’s position also indicates that the officer was not in front of the car when he fired.
This is Now
We have a bunch of poorly trained ICE officers who think they’re Wyatt Earp. The officer who did the shooting was a ten-year member of the Border Patrol. Which means he spent his career in the Texas bush, chasing down people who were obviously law breakers. And where nobody was watching.
City Policing: Different Rules
You don’t reach into a moving vehicle. You don’t stand in front of a vehicle. This officer was out of his depth, screwed up, and reacted in fright and anger. If he shot through the open window, his only excuse was to keep her from getting away…
And another unconstitutional act which seems to happen frequently is officers shooting a fleeing victim. Which is also counter to the Justice Institute’s guidelines.
The Bottom Line
Unless, of course, you have a President willing to pardon you. Because that’s how it works in a Nineteenth Century dictatorship.