Derek Copp’s father spoke to the press, and says his son was shot when he moved his arm to cover his eyes from the police flashlights as they came into his apartment. That would be consistent with the police account that Copp was unarmed, and that there was no confrontation.
It was also be another piece of evidence showing the idiocy of using such violent, confrontational police tactics for nonviolent offenses. These raids have a low margin for error, for cops and the people they’re targeting. Look over the more than 170 posts in this topic; It's like I keep rehashing the same raid over and over.
The bullet apparently broke Copp’s rips, ruptured his right lung, and punctured his liver. The Copp family didn’t hear about the shooting until six hours after it happened. Even then they were told by hospital staff, not police. The police also still haven’t released why they raided Copp’s apartment, what if any illegal substances they found, or why one deputy felt the need to shoot the guy.
It seems pretty clear by now that Copp was a recreational pot smoker; there’s no indication thus far that he was dealing (not that that would justify shooting an unarmed man).
