Cop cleared in shooting of unarmed man

Two sets of laws. One set for the police, and another for the rest of us. If any of us, for any reason shot another person who was unarmed, we would be spending time in prison, no questions asked.

In this case, state police tried to stop Raymond Snyder of Kingston, NY for having a loud muffler. For some reason, and quite foolishly I might add, he chose not to stop for the Trooper. But the 28 year-old was not a fugitive and his reason for running is still not clear.

Moments later he was cut off by a Sheriff's vehicle, and took off on foot around the back of a house where he was shot by Deputy James Mullen. Initial reports were that there had been a struggle. In the most recent report the shooting is "justified" by the explanation that the suspect "reached" for something in his waistband. Well, for all we know he may have been trying to pull his pants up. What we do know though, is that the suspect had no weapon, and ultimately was shot for having a loud muffler.

The deputy has been cleared of all wrongdoing.

Here are a few articles on the case:

Poughkeepsie Journal

DailyFreeman