Four teammates of the Pace University student and football player who was fatally shot by police on October 17 want an immediate dismissal of their charges. In this post, we will talk about the recent court proceedings related to the investigation. In our next post, we will talk about the conflicting stories of the teammates who say they tried to help their friend and the police who charged the teammates with obstruction of justice and interfering with their friend’s medical aid.
The criminal charges against the four Pace University football players stem from the shooting death of their 20-year-old teammate and fellow student. The 20-year-old student was close to the scene of a disturbance outside of a bar and was shot to death in his car on October 17. According to police, the shooting occurred after the young man drove away and hit two police officers when an officer knocked on the young student’s car window. The shooting death occurred 25 miles north of New York City in Thornwood, New York. The investigation of the fatal shooting is ongoing and is being coordinated by the district attorney.
The young student’s four friends were arrested for allegedly interfering with their friend’s medical aid. The criminal defense attorney for the four college football players argues the charges filed against the players are a police brutality cover-up. Commenting on successfully opposing the prosecution’s request for the postponement of the teammates’ appearance in court, the defense attorney said if the prosecution does not have enough evidence now, then the police did not have enough evidence to charge the college players.
Prosecutors had asked for a two week postponement for the appearance of the four teammates in court. Even though postponement requests usually do not raise any opposition from the defense, the criminal defense attorney of the four students objected to the request explaining the claim of an ongoing investigation is insufficient to deny the four teammates of their right to a prompt arraignment. In our next post, we will discuss the conflicting stories that led to the four teammates’ arrest.
Source: The Washington Post, “Slain Man’s NY Teammates: Drop Charges Against Us,” Jim Fitzgerald, 11/3/10
