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A Billings, Montana cop has been cleared in the shooting death of an unarmed robbery suspect. Officer Grant Morrison shot Richard Ramirez three times as he sat in the back seat of a vehicle during a traffic stop on April 14, 2014.
Richard Ramirez
According to the Billings Gazette, Ramirez was wanted for a robbery and shooting involving a 61-year old male victim the night before. When Morrison pulled over the car Ramirez was riding in he immediately recognized the suspect as one of four people in the vehicle.
All four people complied with instructions to put their hands up, but Ramirez later repeatedly dropped his left hand and appeared to try to open the right rear passenger door. Morrison says he warned that he would shoot and reached into the vehicle trying to get Ramirez, who was reportedly high on meth at the time, to comply.
"I was getting very scared," Morrison said. "He pulled away from me, and he again did the exact same thing. He shoved his hand down to his side and started jiggling it up and down. I told him I was going to shoot him if he didn't listen to me and put his hands up."
Officer Grant Morrison
A seven-person coroner's jury ruled Wednesday,January 7, 2015, that the shooting was a noncriminal, justifiable homicide
Ramirez's family isn't buying it.
"Richard Ramirez was my son," Betty Ramirez said. "He was 38 years old, and Officer Morrison is the one that killed him. He was just a good person, and they didn't have to do that to him."
Dashcam footage was just released that shows Morrison's reaction immediately following the shooting. He had to be consoled by fellow officers as he cried uncontrollably.
“I thought he was going to pull a gun on me.” Morrison says.
“There are no winners,” Billings Police Chief Rich St. John, told the Billings Gazette. “The Ramirez family lost a son, and our officer’s life will be changed forever. The verdict of justified homicide reaffirms that our policy procedure and training is properly aligned with state and federal law."
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