by CCJ
Recently the Butte County District Attorney found that Butte County deputy sheriffs acted in reasonable self-defense when they shot to death a Palermo woman in April 2018. Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ) disagrees with that decision.
We believe that the community should find the following facts alarming:
1. Both deputies were wearing body cameras that they did not turn on until after the shooting.
2. The victim was shot five times in the back.
3. She was not armed.
4. She was known to be mentally ill.
5. The DA said that people exercising self-defense are not required to retreat, even if safety could have been achieved by retreating.
We think that this is an uncivil conclusion to reach in a civilized community. Retreat is preferable to shooting an unarmed, mentally ill human being.
We want guardians — not warriors — to police our communities.
We want de-escalation techniques to become normal practice for every officer.
We grieve for the officers who must live with this tragedy knowing that they could have avoided killing a person had they been adequately trained in and practiced both de-escalation and behavioral-health intervention.
We ask, “Do you find this shooting reasonable?”
Margaret Swick with Chico Citizens for Justice
She was the sweetest person ever. With more Myra’s in this world it would be such a better place. I miss you little sister so much.
This was absolutely an unjustified use of excessive force by the butte county police department their body cameras should’ve been on prior to exiting their vehicles in addition they were given her license plate number on the 911 call and her vehicle was registered to her and her home address ,which was less than a mile away , in addition she had no criminal history .they could have let her leave and went to her home to question her or shot a tire to stop the vehicle The vehicle stopped on its own at the end of the driveway when hitting a pile of rubbish therefore it wasn’t traveling at such high speed that this wouldn’t be possible in addition one of the individuals that lived on that property said he came out observed a conversation between the two women , obviously did not feel there was a threat , because he put his headphones on went back in his trailer and begin playing video games. the toxicology report revealed she was not on drugs And there are so many more issues and discrepancies in the Case I am disgusted at the DA and his findings !! Butte county is definitely responsible for this woman’s life and should be held accountable… during the paradise fire evacuations there was a known wanted murder suspect park in a Walmart parking lot the police approached his vehicle and when he saw them he started his vehicle and left the Walmart parking lot and they went back to the vehicles and pursued him in a high-speed chase using nail strips to stop his vehicle down the highway not one time did they fire a weapon at this known wanted murder suspect somehow they feel justified in shooting an unarmed woman in the back multiple times for stopping to request items possibly for sale in a yard ????!!!!
Agreed❤️
As a relative who knew Myra most of her life, (mother to my nieces and nephew) I am relieved to know there is a group of vigilant citizens with intelligent thinking who are watching and aware of this unnecessary killing of an unarmed citizen. I listened to the 911 tape and watched the reenactment tapes of the killing. On the repeat calls to 911 dispatch the property owner was rightly concerned and voiced those concerns to dispatch which then dispatched to law enforcement. The key to good mental health training and proper techniques in de-escalation of a potential negative situations could surely have changed the outcome of this situation. The property owner described Myra wanting change for a trillion dollar bill and she had a “finger gun”. Here KEY words should have let officers know this is an unusual situation and could have focused as much on “trillion dollar bill” but the focused seemed to be on just GUN and put them on high alert as if a gun was there threatening the home owner. No real gun was seen or spoken of and Myra’s behavior SHOULD have automatically had law enforcement ready with a trained officer who could recognize by key words that this was an unusual situation and trained mental health professionals were needed.. Myra was a 5 ft blonde white woman who was non threatening in appearance. The home owner actually escalated the situation by continued engagement with an apparently distraught woman who was speaking nonsensical words..Had she gone safely into her own house allowing Myra to calm down or just leave, again we would be having an entirely different conversation. She made numerous calls to 911, at least 3 and stayed outside re-engaging and fueling the situation uneccesarily as Myra can be heard on the 911 tapes in the background. Myra was outside the car when officers arrived and her size and appearance and the lack of a visible weapon were visual to the arriving officers. As she entered her vehicle, if weapons by law enforcement were going to be used, maybe simply shooting out the tires could have rectified numerous threats to the officers. The point is, was deadly force really necessary against this citizen in this given situation? If Myra was killed by those sworn to protect and defend who is safe?? There is a list of Butte county killings by officers and the number labeled as mentally ill or suicidal by cop is ALARMING!! If this county has such a record ALL citizens need to know and hold law enforcement and their chain of command accountable..TRAINING is absolutely necessary when dealing with mentally unbalanced citizens but just killing them is really not an option anyone should be entertaining or supporting. We are mourning the loss of a bright light and someone who loved everyone and needed maybe just a little more love and understanding herself. Rest in PEACE Myra and know you are loved and missed. Your children continue to seek the justice you deserve….All citizens remove Myra and put in someone gentle and loved and very non-threatening from your life and insert them in this situation and maybe you will be counted and hold our law enforcement to a higher standard….