Cops and accountability are mutually exclusive – ask Jonathan Ayers (oh, wait, you can’t)

Surveillance footage of Jonathan Ayers walking into a Toccoa convenience store. He was shot and killed as he left moments later.

And here’s yet more proof that cops simply cannot and will not be held accountable for their own fuck-ups, especially when they result in the death of innocent civilians. Remember Lavonia, Georgia pastor Jonathan Ayers, who was shot and killed in his own vehicle whilst trying to escape in terror from a surprise drug bust at a gas station, a drug bust that had less than nothing to do with him? Well, of course, a Stephens County grand jury acquitted the dumbass cops who shot a fleeing man (at a gas station, no less), saying that they were “legally justified” to open fire. When the guy did nothing wrong, didn’t attack anyone, and just wanted to get away from a scene of sudden chaos, as would any other normal person.

The officers involved in the shooting are members of a multi-agency drug unit similary to the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad.

Rickman said the matter is now closed as far as any state criminal charges are concerned because of Georgia's law against double jeopardy. However, Rickman said that if a federal investigation is conducted, there is the possibility of federal criminal charges being filed against the officers.

"...there's no double jeopardy between the state and federal system, so, in theory, I suppose, the FBI could conduct their own investigation if they chose to."

Uh-huh. Now, why in the hell would they do that? Forget whatever Season 7 of 24 tells you; the FBI is no more honest and accountable than any other law enforcement organization. They’re all the same: cover their asses first, deal with the public and their ever-worsening PR (much) later.

Stories like this exemplify why I hold law enforcement in such total contempt. For every honest and law-abiding officer, there are 20 more who are ready and willing to twist the law to suit their own needs and whitewash themselves of any and all mistakes and culpability. Accountability is a pleasant but impossible myth in this current system. Anyone who believes otherwise is naïve at best. Here, we just saw an innocent man get gunned down as he was trying to flee without hurting anyone and without having committed the slightest crime or offense to anyone or anything, and the cops who took his life are cleared of all charges. And this is just one example out of countless others – and those are just the ones that reach the ears of the media. What more proof do you need?

(via The Agitator)

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