A Montana cop who shot and killed an unarmed passenger in a traffic stop broke down crying immediately after the killing, according to dashcam video that became public this week.
“I thought he was gonna pull a gun on me,” Billings Police Officer Grant Morrison could be heard saying, before sobbing with his head against the hood of a patrol car, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
The officer reportedly shot Richard Ramirez three times, puncturing his lung, after the victim refused to put his hands up.
It was the second time Morrison has shot and killed a civilian in a traffic stop, according to the Billings Gazette newspaper. In February 2013 he killed James Shaw after shocking him with a stun gun, an incident which was also caught on video by a dashcam, the Gazette reported. An advisory panel decided that the cop was justified in shooting Shaw.
Last week, a panel found Morrison was also justified in killing Ramirez, who was reportedly high on methamphetamine during the incident. Morrison told the panel that he thought Ramirez had a gun after he saw him reach for his belt.
“I knew in that moment, which later was determined to be untrue, but I knew in that moment that he was reaching for a gun,” Morrison told the panel, according to NBC. “I couldn’t take that risk. … I wanted to see my son grow up.”
Watch the video below, which was originally published by the Gazette. WARNING: It is graphic and disturbing.
h/t The Root
