Man who Defended Against Minneapolis Police Settles for 1.5 million

Jaleel Stallings mug shot after arrest and beating.

On May 30, 2020, at about 11 PM, during the George Floyd riots, Jaleel Stallings fired in the direction of people in an unmarked van who had fired at him.  They said nothing before opening fire. Jaleel felt a round hit him before he fired back.  They turned out to be police, who were shooting rubber bullets.

When Jaleel realized they were police, he stopped firing, very quickly, and surrendered. He had fired less than five shots. The shooting was over in seconds. Jaleel was severely beaten, even though he did not resist.

Because of video evidence, he was acquitted in a jury trial. Now, two years later, he settled for 1.5 million and lawyers fees. He has stated he is happy with the settlement, but would have liked to see some consequences for the officers involved. In the settlement, the city of Minneapolis did not admit any wrongdoing. From  fox9.com:

 "I'm extremely satisfied and grateful for that but I’m disappointed because my purpose in filing a civil lawsuit was never money," added Stallings. "I want justice and I wanted accountability."

Jaleel has moved to Texas, to avoid possible retaliation. He intends to change his career from truck driver to activist. Police who ride around in unmarked vehicles, and shoot rubber bullets at people, unannounced, should be subject to disciplinary action, and possibly civil suit, if not criminal penalties. From mprnews.org:

From his new home in Texas, Stallings said now that his criminal and civil cases are behind him, he’s making the transition from being a commercial truck driver to full-time activism with the hope that his experience will help change the culture of law enforcement.

Jaleel Stallings opined he would like to work with gun rights groups to help change police culture. From minnesotareformer.com:

Stallings said he’d like to bring people together — from police to gun rights groups — to talk about how to improve policing culture. He thinks the funds to settle his lawsuit should come from police pockets, rather than taxpayers.

“The work’s not done,” Stallings said.

Commentary:

In discussions of police misconduct in the gun culture, a theme repeatedly heard, is that police should be held accountable when they violate the Constitution, the law, or police regulations. Jaleel agrees with this. It is not clear if Jaleel intends to produce income with his activism.  Most activism costs money, unless a sugar daddy like Michael Bloomberg is supporting it.

There are reforms which many police departments could benefit from.  Respect for Constitutional rights of citizens, and stepping back from the concept that it is the police against the citizens would be good things. Police in major cities have often acted in racist ways. When the police and citizens have mutual respect, crime rates plummet. Mutual respect can be earned.

Body cameras and ubiquitous surveillance cameras are making it  difficult to act badly as police in a public place. Digital recorders and video cameras are as important to securing freedom as pistols and rifles.

We need to guard against the use of video clips to create public witch hunts, as well. It is profoundly important that we support the rule of law and due process.

Jaleel is already a member of the gun culture. He chose a Mini Draco as his self defense gun, and had an active Minnesota carry permit.  Jaleel has no criminal record.  This correspondent would like to hear more from him.

 

©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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