WA: Lottery Winner Officer-Involved Shooting

[OF]

California lottery winner shot to death by police
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/13/lottery.winners.death.ap/index.html

Wednesday, October 13, 2004 Posted: 9:16 AM EDT (1316 GMT)

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A man shot to death by police outside a football stadium has been identified by his family as one of the winners of an $87 million lottery jackpot.

Rick Camat, 32, was shot early Sunday as dozens of people fled to avoid a fight outside a bar before a St. Louis Rams-Seattle Seahawks game.

Police alleged that Camat was carrying a handgun and fired at a car that was leaving the area. Authorities said he crouched behind another vehicle and pointed a handgun at officers.

Relatives insisted Camat only fired into the air to break up the fight and said officers never issued a warning before shooting him.

"He shot once in the air to scare people away. He didn't aim it at anyone," said Camat's brother, Brian, who was with him at the time.

Officer Debra Brown said the family's account "differs vastly from the statements of dozens of witnesses who were at the scene that evening."

The officer who fired at Camat remains on paid administrative leave. An internal police review and a court inquest are planned.

Camat was one of 13 Starbucks employees in Los Angeles who shared an $87 million California lottery jackpot in 2000.

He recently bought a house in Federal Way, a suburb between Seattle and Tacoma, relatives said. He previously used his share of the lottery winnings to buy a house for his mother and cars for his siblings.

 

[bill2]

warning shots?

Is there ever a valid reason for firing a warning shot? do LEO's ever fire a warning shot?

 

[OF]

Sounds like a case of 'have gun, no training' to me. Stupid is as stupid does.

- Gabe

 

[thefitzvh]

darwin got em....


good shoot

 

[Kinsman]

"Hmm....big ol' bar brawl, cops on the scene....hmmm....I know! I'll just fire a warning shot into the air!"

Sheesh.

 

[Shield529]

We do not ever fire warning shots, nor would there ever be a reason to. We are held accountable for every round expended and letting a stray round go is just stupidity.
We are also not requiered to issue a verbal warning before firing if doing so would place us or other citizens in greater danger, which sounds like it may have been the case here.
If you fire into the air in a crowded place to break up a fight, I think most of us know this is the most likley result.
Think before you act.

The famliy is blaming the police for three reasons:
1. It's always our fault never the idiot.
2. One dead cash cow.
3. Cops killed the cash cow----second lottery winning in less than five years.

 

[Standing Wolf]

...officers never issued a warning before shooting him.

If I ever need to clear leather, I'll fire two warning shots to the center of mass, two more warning shots to the head. After that, things just might start to get serious.

 

[Old Dog]

Couple of nagging things about this story ... This morning's Seattle Post-Intelligencer story said , "He grabbed a gun ..." and that "he and his brother had been bar-hopping ..."

1) No mention of whether the deceased had a valid WA state CPL -- but you can't carry in bars in this state, nor in stadiums.

2) So then -- where did the firearm come from? One way, or another -- this guy was illegally packing as far as state laws go.

I'm reminded of a recent thread in this forum -- "Warning Shots in a Barfight." Here, most decidedly, is the definitive answer.

Shield529 had it right: one dead cash cow. I see a lawsuit in the near future.

 

[dinosaur]

Wait'll his family finds out he left his winnings to Monique the local lap dancer!

The first thing he should've bought with the money was a brain.