Nearly six years after an unarmed man was shot in the back by a Miami-Dade Police officer during a botched arrest, a judge has ruled the shooting was "not objectively reasonable" and violated the man's constitutional rights.
The ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Williams Thomas last month held that the use of deadly force against Rudy Morris in the June 12, 2005 confrontation with officer Carol McKinnon was unjustified.
"Officer McKinnon’s actions to kill an unarmed burglary suspect, by shooting him in the back as he was running away on foot, was unreasonable and violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution," Judge Thomas wrote. "No reasonable officer, under the circumstances of this case, could conclude that shooting Morris, in order to gain control of his person, was constitutionally justified."
The ruling was made as part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Morris' mother, Mary Williams.
"The decision vindicates Mr. Morris’s mother, Mary Williams, and her fight to make sure this does not happen to other young men and their families," said Williams family attorney Ray Taseff. "This is an important first step in the long road for justice for the Williams family."
The family is seeking monetary damages against the county and McKinnon, and Taseff said they plan to sue the county for negligent training practices for police officers.
The incident happened at the 18th Avenue Market convenience store in Liberty City, when McKinnon and partner Guipson Balthazar approached Morris to question him about a stolen car.
Morris was ordered to the ground and when Balthazar straddled him to place handcuffs on him, Morris jerked his back. Balthazar used his foot to pin Morris back on the ground, but McKinnon, startled by Morris' move, fired her Taser at Morris.
"You simply don't shoot a Tazer at a subject when there is an officer standing right over him," Taseff said.
The Taser missed Morris and struck Balthazar in the leg, who fell to the ground. Spooked by the incident, Morris got up and began to run, bumping McKinnon to the ground.
While she was seated, McKinnon took out her gun and fired twice at Morris, hitting him in the elbow and back.
"Rudy's last words were," Taseff said, "you didn't have to shoot me."
