Horrifying Moment Caught on Camera When a "Gang" Member Tries to Stab a Witness in Court b
Video has surfaced from the 2014 shooting of 25 year old, alleged "Tongan Crips Gang" member, Siale Angilau that has his family demanding justice.
The video shows Angilau, who was a defendant in a court case for racketeering, grab a pen from his lawyer, rush toward the witness on the stand, leap at the witness (who was able to side-step with the quickness) and then the sounds of several gunshots.
According to reports:
"US District Judge John Dowdell made the video public when he dismissed a lawsuit brought by Angilau's family claiming excessive force. 'The video completely contradicts the plaintiffs' argument that Angilau stopped posing a danger within less than one second of launching himself over the witness stand while making a stabbing motion with a pen in his hand,' Dowdell wrote in a statement obtained by Deseret News.
The entire incident lasts for roughly 24 seconds.
'Angilau was in custody, but he essentially had escaped custodial control for those seconds during which he was executing his plan to assault the witnesses.'His attack was stopped by the shots that Jane Doe rapidly fired, in less than one and one-half seconds.'
"An FBI investigation also found the shooting was justified by law. But Angilau's family thinks a jury should see the video to decide if the marshal used appropriate force, according to the family attorney Robert Sykes. Sykes claims because the witness got out of the way he wasn't in danger when the marshal opened fire. 'Those last three shots were all after he's been shot once down on the ground in the back, and that's the problem I have with this case,' he told the News. 'There was no necessity to use force.'
"The pixelated video was initially ordered to be released by Magistrate Judge Paul Cleary in November, but the Department of Justice at the time objected. Judge Dowdell sided with Cleary's order on Friday, and it was released Monday.
Angilau's family first filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2014 - claiming he shouldn't have been shot because it was 'partially unreasonable, reckless and constitutionally excessive.' They were allowed to view the video but not release it.
After Angilau was shot on April 21, 2014, and rushed to the hospital with at least one chest wound. He later died there from his injuries. He was in court after being one of 17 people named in a 29-count racketeering indictment filed in 2008, which accused gang members of conspiracy, assault, robbery and weapons offenses.
Angilau was also accused of assaulting two federal officers and brandishing a firearm. He was the last defendant in the case to stand trial. Before he died, the incident prompted US District Judge Tena Campbell, who was hearing the case, to declare a mistrial."
I don't know about you but I've got a few questions after seeing the video. Yes, Angilau was in the wrong for trying to shank the witness (who was unharmed by the way) but, in my opinion, a nice healthy taze would have been sufficient.
