Police Shoot Unarmed Airman in the Stomach

Alabama officer opened fire on the young man—but why?
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2014 5:15 PM CDT
Police Shoot Unarmed Airman in Stomach by Freeway
   (Shutterstock)

Police shot an unarmed Air Force airman in the stomach Thursday after the 20-year-old pulled over on an Alabama freeway, the man's family says. Michael Davidson was driving from Texas to an Air Force base near Goldsboro, NC, when he became too tired to drive, decided to pull over, and clipped a semi-truck with his driver's side mirror, Raw Story reports. Davidson got out and walked toward the truck driver when he heard someone yell at him from behind, his father tells the Panola Watchman: "Realizing it was the police, [he] raised his arms and turned around."

That's when seven-year veteran officer Phillip Hancock shot Davidson in the stomach. Hancock then asked Davidson where "the other one" was, and officers searched his car before the airman first class received medical attention, his father said. By the truck driver's account, Davidson had been driving erratically and was told to put his hands up twice before being shot, the Opelika-Auburn News reports. Police haven't explained the shooting yet, but word is Hancock will be suspended. As for Davidson, he underwent extensive surgery and will likely have to wear a colostomy bag for life, his pastor says: "This is a life-changing event for him. He’s in an acute state of depression right now." (More police shooting stories.)

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