After New York City police shot at but missed an emotionally disturbed man who was throwing himself in front of cars near Times Square, the man is now being charged for assault of the two bystanders who cops shot instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NY Times
The man, Glenn Broadnax, 35, of Brooklyn, created a disturbance on Sept. 14, wading into traffic at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue and throwing himself into the path of oncoming cars.
A curious crowd grew. Police officers arrived and tried to corral Mr. Broadnax, a 250-pound man. When he reached into his pants pocket, two officers, who, the police said, thought he was pulling a gun, opened fire, missing Mr. Broadnax, but hitting two nearby women. Finally, a police sergeant knocked Mr. Broadnax down with a Taser. The shootings once again raised questions about the police use of firearms in crowded areas and drew comparisons to a shooting a year ago, when officers struck nine bystanders in front of the Empire State Building when they killed an armed murder suspect. Initially Mr. Broadnax was arrested on misdemeanor charges of menacing, drug possession and resisting arrest. But the Manhattan district attorney's office persuaded a grand jury to charge Mr. Broadnax with assault, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years. Specifically, the nine-count indictment unsealed on Wednesday said Mr. Broadnax "recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death." "The defendant is the one that created the situation that injured innocent bystanders," said an assistant district attorney, Shannon Lucey.
I'm not a legal expert, but I have a hard time imagining this standing up in court. Is there any legal precedent at all for charging someone with assault over someone else shooting someone? My understanding is that having "created the situation" does not add up to assault.