Detroit Police Chief: ‘Very Difficult’ to Justify Use of Deadly Force Against Brooks

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “CNN Newsroom,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig stated that it is “very difficult” to justify the use of deadly force against Rayshard Brooks, given that Brooks was armed with a taser, which is not lethal. Craig also said that he was in a similar situation to the Brooks incident during his career, “and fatal force was not used during that encounter.”

Craig said, “There’s a lot I don’t know. I can tell you, just based on my professional judgment, you know, looking at this, fatal force was used with someone who was armed with a less than lethal taser. And so, it’s very difficult to justify that, and clearly, the officer had a partner. He wasn’t alone. I’ve been in similar — a similar situation in my career [to] the video, and fatal force was not used during that encounter. So, I struggle with that use of deadly force in this instance, but I don’t know all the facts.”

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