Quite often, our first introduction to a story of an unjust police use of force that leads to a fatality is by a news agency reiterating the surviving police officer's report of what happened later that day.  All too often, when that initial story comes under question due to irregularities, footage, or surprise witnesses coming forward with contradictory data, the media and the local authorities try their best to ignore the same.  

This incident which takes place in Eaton County, roughly 150 miles away is one of those stories.  Early reports of the story indicate a struggle occurred, doesn't indicate what was involved and has the state police offering their version before their investigation.  Since then video from the officer's body cam has surfaced, yet the video from his vehicle was not available and would have settled quite a bit.  The officer's account of the events has been called into question. 

But even with some damning evidence to the contrary, the prosecutor's opinion on why he wouldn't be seeking any charges is a surreal read, even more so than our own prosecutor's opinion about why a state trooper was justified for shooting Bill Marble in his home one year before this teen's death. 

So instead of subscribing to the exposed fiction of the police report, instead of accepting that report as gospel as the mainstream news did, or trying to piece together a mythology of apologism as created by the Eaton County Prosecutor, I present the family's statement they made after the prosecutor chose unaccountability back in June, followed by the raw video of the event which they had access to.

“Around 8:00pm on February 28, 2015, our 17 year old son and brother, Deven Guilford, was killed as a result of being shot seven times by Eaton County Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Jonathan Frost. At the time, Deven was merely traveling to his girlfriend’s house after playing basketball at his church. Deven was stopped by the officer because Deven flashed his bright lights to alert the oncoming officer that his brights appeared to be on. Notably, Deven was the third person that the officer had pulled over that night for flashing brights at the officer, who was driving a brand new police vehicle with high-intensity head-lights. During this traffic stop, it appears that Deven was puzzled and confused about why he was pulled over and why he was being confronted by the officer. It appears that the officer did not make any reasonable inquiry of Deven that could have helped ease the tensions of the situation.

The Eaton County Prosecutor, after reviewing the investigation by the Michigan State Police has determined to not bring any criminal charges against Sgt. Frost. Based on what we know at this time, our family believes that our son should not have been killed on the night in question.

There was no reason or necessity for the officer to physically remove our son from the car without considering other options to avoid an unnecessary violent escalation. These options could have included, keeping Deven in the car to allow more time for the incident to cool down and/or wait for other officers to arrive. It must be also noted that Deven was not in possession or any weapon and emphatically told the officer that he was not armed. We also have serious concerns about whether the officer used unreasonable force against Deven under the circumstances. In this regard, there are questions about whether Deven should have been tased on the side of the roadway and whether the officer had the right to shoot and kill Deven in these circumstances. Ultimately, we encourage those want more information about the encounter to view the full video of the traffic stop leading up to the physical altercation between Deven and the officer. This video is available through the Michigan State Police Department and the Eaton County Prosecutor’s office. We believe this video raises more questions than answers regarding whether Deven should be alive today.

We respect the thoroughness of the investigation and the Prosecutor’s decision. However, we intend to pursue other remedies to vindicate Deven’s civil rights.”

http://wlns.com/2015/06/16/deven-guilfords-family-responds-to-prose...

The case seemed very egregious to Oscar nominated documentary film producer/editor Matthew Cooke who looked into the case and created a video that summarized the basic issues behind the traffic stop, and whether the parties acted appropriately.  He reviews the relevant parts of the video, the background of both, and several inconsistencies.

The terrible thing that such an event shows is that an officer who violates his own training, protocols and the law in becoming what Matthew Cooke appropriately calls a 'bully' killed a young man for trying to let the officer know his beams were blinding other drivers.  The officer who chose to escalate the situation against an unarmed, peaceful, law-abiding, and courteous boy before shooting him seven times, still patrols his beat, while Guilford's heart will never beat again. 

The 'news' of this story is that the family has filed a lawsuit seeking redress.  Unfortunately, even if the survivors get a fair settlement from the pockets of the taxpayers who allow such poorly acting officers to exist, it can't bring their son and brother back.

Deven Guilford Lawsuit. pdf