| Photo: The Cannabis Post |
| Trevon Cole and his fiancé, Sequoia Pearce, in happier days. The unarmed Cole was shot and killed in his bathroom by a narcotics officer during a marijuana raid. |
The Las Vegas police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Trevon Cole during a June drug raid over small-time marijuana sales was “justified,” a coroner’s inquest found Saturday night, despite contradictory findings from the medical examiner.
Cole, 21, and his eight-months-pregnant fiancé, Sequoia Pearce, 20, were at their apartment when police serving a search warrant burst through the door, reports Phillip Smith at StoptheDrugWar.org. Cole was shot in the bathroom by Detective Bryan Yant who, in testimony Saturday, said he kicked in the bathroom door and claimed he saw Cole squatting by the toilet, apparently flushing marijuana.
Yant claimed he saw Cole rise to his feet “while moving his hands in a shooting motion” and that he saw something silvery or metallic in Cole’s hand. He then fired once, killing Cole.
“Unfortunately, he made an aggressive act toward me,” claimed Yant under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens. “He made me do my job.”
It’s unfortunate that Detective Yant believes “his job” is shooting and killing unarmed marijuana suspects.