The day after Christmas 2015 saw a tragic event where two people lost their lives. One absolutely didn’t have to and the other, well there is strong evidence he didn’t have to either!

Officer Robert Rialmo shot 19-year-old Student Quintonio LeGrier and his 55-year-old neighbor, Bettie Jones. Bettie was also a mother of 5. Both died as a result of their wounds.

LeGrier had actually been the one who called police, he was having a dispute with his father. The officer shot him 5 times, his neigbour was standing behind him and took a bullet to the chest.

4 calls came in that day to 911. 3 by LeGrier and one by his father! The operators actually hung up on LeGrier twice, they were suspended without pay.

The Root reported that an official statement said:

Jones, a downstairs neighbor, answered the door and pointed the officers to LeGrier’s apartment. Before the officers could act, LeGrier came down the stairs wielding an aluminum baseball bat, according to the D.A.’s office.

The officers reportedly began to back up onto the front landing and as they were walking backwards down the stairs, Rialmo’s partner tapped Rialmo on his back and told him to look out,” the state’s attorney’s office wrote in a four-page legal memorandum supporting its decision.

“Rialmo drew his service weapon and fired eight shots toward LeGrier while backing down the front staircase,”

However, the family of the victim and at least one witness counter this and say that there is evidence (by witness and shell casings on the sidewalk) that the officer was 14-20ft away when he shot at LeGrier, who was holding the bat.

LeGrier was said to be in the middle of a mental health crisis.

The officer also sued LeGrier’s estate for “emotional damage” and sued the Police dept for inadequate training.

In the end, the state has decided to file no charges against the officer! Which seems ludicrous in this situation.

Further details can be found in The Root’s detailed article here.