Followup LA: Video of Open Carrier Mandeville Shooting of Shawn Breland

Shawn Breland, center; Open carrier, center right; Clerk, center bottom

On Monday, April 4th, about 11:00 a.m., a firearms instructor who was openly carrying a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, shot and killed Shawn Breland at a gasoline station and convenience store. Twelve days later, I wrote about the incident and published the article on Gun Watch and The Truth About Guns. There was some disagreement about the incident as described, and people at the Truth About Guns (TTAG) forum were of varied opinions.
 
From TTAG 

From askandyoumayknow

This is a case of a bystander getting involved in a common argument between an employee and customer. How many of you have gotten mad at an employee somewhere due to the way you were being treated? This man threatened an unarmed man with a firearm, and when he couldn’t handle the man, he shot and killed a husband, father, and honorable veteran. He should have not gotten involved. The police were already on the way. If he wanted to be in law enforcement, then he should have joined the Mandeville police dept. The man was getting in his car to leave when this wanna-be cop came out telling him he was getting his license plate. He is not a trained law enforcement officer and his mishandling of the situation caused a good man having a bad day to lose his life.

 JR_in_NC says:

April 19, 2016 at 10:29 (Edit)

“The shooter followed Breland outside to get the license plate from Breland’s white minivan. Breland got out of the minivan and physically attacked the shooter, Ruple said.” If you are going to make claims that contradict what is published, please provide a source for your information.

I am commenting specifically on the information I have available which is: He (the shooter) went outside to get the plate number and Breland RETURNED to the continue the confrontation.

Did the shooter contribute to the escalation? I don’t know, and I am not commenting on that.

What I am commenting on is the completely idiotic, Statist notion that we all have to be “trained law enforcement officers” to act in any situation.

Dean Weingarten says:
April 20, 2016 at 02:34 (Edit)

There was video of the event. I wonder if it will be released. 

The video has been released, so you can look at it and determine which version of events was closer to the video. One thing was not mentioned in the written description of the events.  Shawn Breland had a passenger in the mini-van.  It may be the man in a white T-shirt that came into the store after him. That man takes a drink from the counter that Breland pays for.  It might have had an impact on his mind-set.  It is clear from the video that Shawn Breland was an exceptionally large man. From nola.com:

A legally-armed citizen who fatally shot an attacker at a Mandeville convenience store in April will not be prosecuted, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney Warren Montgomry said Friday (May 27). Mandeville police investigators concluded Shawn Breland, 42, of Folsom, was the aggressor at the Shell gasoline station and convenience store at 3959 Louisiana 22.

"Although Mr. Breland's death is a tragedy, this office agrees that the shooting was legally justified under the circumstances and will not pursue criminal changes based on the evidence submitted to date," Montgomery said in a news release that included surveillance camera video of the incident. (See video above. Warning: graphic content).

Link to Video 

Here is another claim that was made during the TTAG discussion. From askandyoumayknow:

 I personally spoke to a man that was there during the entire situation. The shooter did not walk quietly out to get the license plate. He confronted him stating that he was going to get his license plate, in turn escalating the situation. THE MAN WAS LEAVING. If the shooter would have minded his own damn business, a good man would be alive today. Armed citizens trying to play cop have far too often lately found themselves in situations that end in them shooting and killing UNARMED people.

As you watch the video, much that happened becomes clearer.  Pictures convey so much information that multiple replays may be necessary to catch relevant details.  Digital recording is making "he said" "she said" controversies less common.

The video greatly increased my understanding of this case of an open carrier defending himself and others.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch