http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-p...435251273/
http://www.startribune.com/bca-answers-q...435295743/


I have a feeling, based on how this is going and the current state of the investigation, that it's going to be a long time before we get much more clarity on the facts of the circumstance than what is known as of this morning.

There is a great picture in the print edition of the StarTrib that has a summary graphic ... and stupidly it does not show up in the online version. I will try to link to it below, but I doubt it's going to let the board pull it as the address is for the online viewer site. And I'm not going to print-screen or pdf print it and then throw it online, as that's probably a violation of my subscription.




Anyway, based on what is known and that graphic that I tried to link above, here is what I *THINK* happened (this is my wild guess only, these aren't facts):

- Patrol responds to report of possible assault, enters alley from the north without lights on
- As it reaches the end of the alley (on the south), there is a "loud noise" that startled the officers ... this according to an interview with the partner (not the shooter)
- Guessing that caused the officer to pull his firearm
- At the end of the alley (south side), the woman who had called in the report, approaches the patrol car to talk to the officers
- The startled officer simply reacts to the person coming towards the car and fires on instinct
- They immediately realize a mistake has been made and try to save her, calling in for medical help

- Since lights weren't activated, the dash cam wasn't activated, also the dash cam is facing south while the shooting occurred to the side of the car, so it wouldn't be much help anyway
- The body cams have a 30sec "look back", meaning the officers have 30sec to activate the cam in order to capture the event, and in their panic they simply forgot to do so


If correct, the horrible and tragic incident is quite a bit more "benign" in a sense than is being portrayed. There of course will still be investigation, second guessing, and a trial for the officer who fired.

Might be tough for him to get a fair trial in MN, after the Castille verdict. But on the other hand, his defense will fight to get as many Somalis on the jury as they can.