Body Cam Catches Cops Claim Innocent Man’s Cellphone Was a Gun and Shoot Him
February 3, 2019 in News by RBN Staff
Source: thefreethoughtproject.com
Elizabeth, NJ — Michael Bates, 37, was trying to get the attention of police last month, to tell them that someone had beaten up his girlfriend, when without warning or provocation, police opened fire on him. Bates was unarmed, standing by himself, and hadn’t harmed anyone. Nevertheless, to cover their mistake, Bates was arrested and charged on multiple counts—despite being the victim.
The incident happened in December and now Bates is going after the officers to get them brought up on charges, and rightfully so.
At around 2 a.m. on December 22, police were responding to a domestic violence call of which Bates had no part. According to the official account from the officers, as police responded to the call, they say Bates approached them and began making threats. None of this is seen on the video.
Police also claim that Bates was yelling he had a gun and threatened to shoot the officers “while multiple civilians were also present in the area,” according to his criminal complaint. Again, none of this is seen on the video.
In fact, the video shows quite the opposite. At no time is Bates seen threatening the officers or anyone else for that matter. However, he is seen attempting to calm them down—even after he was shot.
The body camera videos were released this week and appear to show what may have caused police to over react. As the officers are responding to an unrelated call, one man is heard asking, “yo, does he have a gun in his hand? He has a gun,” referring to Bates.
The officer then echoes that statement, “Yo, does he have a gun in his hand?” the officer says, before declaring, “He has a gun.”
Instead of verifying the claims of this random bystander that falsely claimed Bates had a gun, police simply opened fire, without warning.
Multiple shots then ring out and Bates is shot in the stomach.
After they shoot him, police keep yelling at him as they demand he produce the non-existent weapon.
“Where’s the gun,” an officer asks Bates after he is shot. “What did you just come at us with, man. What the f—- did you have in your hand?”
After Bates was shot by the officers, he was so scared that he actually began calming them down.
Bates responded, “No gun, no gun. I have a cell phone.”
As cops continue to berate him, Bates talks in a calm voice and says “Relax, relax, relax,” at the officers. “I got ya’ll.”
