We'll never get justice, says mother of police shooting victim

By Jason O'Brien

Friday March 20 2009

THE family of a young man shot dead by a police officer in America claimed yesterday they would never get justice for his killing.

The inquest into the death of Andrew Hanlon (20) heard any one of four gunshots that wounded him would have been sufficient to kill him. He was hit five times.

Andrew was unarmed and barefoot when officer Tony Gonzalez opened fire, the hearing at the County Coroner's Court in Tallaght was told. His heartbroken mother, Dorothea Carroll, wept as she said all she wanted was to be with her 20-year-old son in his final moments, and an apology.

"He died alone on a dark street with nobody who cared around him," she said.

"I think about that often, my son lying on the side of the street in a pool of blood dying.

"If I could have that one moment back with him that would mean the world to me, that one moment to put my arms around my son, but none of that is possible."


Mr Carroll said witnesses claimed to have heard Officer Gonzalez confront Andrew, who was five metres away, and warn him 'do you want me to shoot you?'

"He was in the process of getting down," said Mr Carroll.

"Officer Gonzalez said something else. Other witnesses said him heard 'do you want me to shoot you?' [again] at which point Andrew seemed to straighten up and step forward. The officer fired seven times."

Mr Carroll said five bullets hit Andrew as he moved out from between two cars.

After the shooting, Mr Gonzalez was placed on administrative leave but was later cleared by a grand jury of wrongdoing. He resigned from the force in August. But in December, the former police officer was jailed for more than six years after pleading guilty to four counts of sex abuse.

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This case is a shocking disgrace but is sadly typical of what happens when unarmed civilians are gunned down by police in the land of the 'free'.

Do the family not bear some burden here? They allowed a man they knew to be severely psychologically troubled go AWOL in a foreign country. What exactly did they think was going to happen? Perhaps it explains why they are flailing about so wildly for someone to blame.

What happened this young fella was sad, but foreseeable and preventable.

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Are you well? It's a link to the full article.

Oh yeah, they were asking for it.
Nothing at all to do with a criminal cop using wildly excessive force against a civilian whom he knew to be unarmed and getting away with it.

Andrew Hanlon was a young man who need to be committed to a secure psychiatric unit.On the night he died he was violent and irrational and attempting to break into a house where the terrified occupants had to hold the door closed with their bodies to prevent him from getting inside. They genuinely believed their lives were in danger.

Officer Gonzales arrived and drew his firearm when confronted with Hanlon who refused to show him his hands - a violent suspect could be carrying a blade or another sharp weapon.

Hanlon refused to back up but aggressively advanced on Gonzales.

A suspect, even an unarmed suspect, presents a serious threat if he is willing to charge an armed officer - a scuffle could result in the suspect grabbing the gun and shooting the officer.

A suspect armed with a blade or another stabbing weapon could inflict fatal wounds to an armed officer before he can open fire.

A crazed suspect is especially dangerous - unless an officer can immediately incapacitate with a headshot or heart shot, a suspect with multiple fatal wounds could continue to attack an officer before expiring from blood loss.

It is a myth that a bullet will not knock a suspect down and it is a myth that a bullet in a leg or arm will incapacitate a suspect - a crazed suspect with a flesh wound or a broken leg caused by a bullet strike may be impervious to pain.

Despite the obvious disparity between the size of Gonzales who was a martial arts expert and Hanlon who was of slim build - the difference in sizes and combative experience is equalised if the smaller opponent is carrying a blade.

The armed officer could not let the suspect charge him and neutralise the edge he had over him with his handgun.

Most shootings with handguns occur at less than twenty feet and most individuals including trained cops in combat situations would fail to hit a barn door at that range.

If Hanlon had closed the range and had been armed with knife - Gonzales could not see his hands - Gonzales would have been the dead man.

That is why he opened fire and sadly that is why Hanlon is dead.

Link Swans?

I agree completely. If Gonzales had been issued with a Tazer, however, Hanlon would still be alive.

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Where is the evidence that the cop knew him to be unarmed (ie that he did not have a weapon of any kind)? This is a tragic story but the newspaper article makes no mention of the young man's mental illness and the fact he was trying to kick in the door of a terrified family just moments before.

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Police were called to the scene by the frightened homeowners, but Andrew was around 100 yards away from the property when an officer spotted him.

"The printout from the radio conversation between dispatch and officers confirms Officer Gonzalez was aware Andrew was unarmed,"

We'll never get justice, says mother of police shooting victim - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

There is no excuse for what the cop did. He is a convicted sex criminal so that in itself speaks volumes about his character. If there was any justice he would have been tried with murder.