- Police Brutality Watch

Police Caught Lying, Contradicting themselves in Fatal Shooting of Jammal Bonner

The Aurora police department, which shot seven people last year and killed five, is taking steps to examine the use of deadly force. A CBS4 News investigation last week probed the shooting of an unarmed man. The department is setting up an internal review board to examine officer's use of force in future cases. On Dec. 3, 2003, Jammal Bonner, 20, found himself outside the Top Star motel selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer posing as a hooker. Police were trying to arrest prostitution patrons. A police surveillance camera was rolling and a "street arrest team" was in place, ready to take down suspects. Bonner wasn't interested in sex, though, and the undercover police officer said she lured him up to a motel room. But what exactly happened in that room at the Top Star motel? As four SWAT officers pour into the room, the surveillance tape was turned off. Officers have conflicting accounts. Two of the officers said Bonner was shot while he struggled with police, and was standing up when the shots were fired. Three officers in the room have conflicting accounts, indicating Bonner had been Tasered and was shot in the back while he was on the floor or going down. "He's down, but he's on his knees," one officer said. "But his head is down, basically on the floor." Police say they thought Bonner had a gun. They also say he never showed his hands. It turned out he had no weapon. Bonner's parents say the time has come for change. "I want some change," Bonnie Bonner, Jamal's mother, said. "I don't want to see this happen to another soul." [more] and [more]

Excellent Investigative Reporting Piece on the Bonner Police Killing is [here]