On That Bridgeton NJ Shooting

When I saw the report of the man shot in Bridgeton NJ I thought something was odd about it.

“I’m gonna shoot you!” and “You’re gonna be fucking dead!” Days is shown saying repeatedly, as Reid tells the officer he is not “reaching” for the gun. Days shoots Reid as he exits the car. Reid appears to have his hands up. Days uses Reid’s name during the incident, despite not obtaining any identifying information from the passenger. Local reports state that Days had arrested Reid in the summer of 2014.

When I first saw this report, I saw a transcript of the video. Then I saw the video and somehow, honestly I think this was a hit. The thing is...if the DRIVER ran the stop sign, then the conversation should be with the DRIVER not the passenger. The "backup" officer may cover the passenger, but the conversation is had with the driver. Now I've seen instances where police go on the passenger side (someone explain why) but in this case it seems that the passenger was the target here.

Then the whole "I know your name" thing. Then there's the constant "he's reaching for something" yelling, that to me sounds like a setup for the camera that he knows is running. Having set the stage for the killing, all he needed was for the victim to make any kind of move. That was covered when Reid decides on his own to open the car door and get out (big ass mistake). Day's will claim that because he "saw the gun in the glove compartment" (but never saw anyone lay hands on it), and that Reid pushed the door open on him (a threatening move meant to cause Days to lose his balance), he thought his life was in danger.

Now what is going to sink his story is that the camera clearly shows Reid with his hands up.

The officer that shot Reid in the back is unlikely to be charged with anything because he was given the impression that his partner was under attack by the language used by Days. Also unlike the Sean Bell shooting, that officer did not indiscriminately shoot into the vehicle.

Days on the other hand will have some explaining to do. Why didn't he allow his partner to remove the driver if he thought the person he was dealing with was dangerous? And he DID know that person and his previous record. And you'll note that the driver was extremely cooperative. Days seemed particularly agitated about this particular person. That the driver survived the encounter he will be in a position to tell us what exactly happened in the vehicle.