https://youtu.be/-HbatvhR3lE
A St. Louis mother demands answers after viewing the leaked photo that became the subject of this KMOV report. The picture shows an officer smiling widely while wearing latex gloves and and giving a “thumbs up” gesture while holding the arm of a dead man. The man is Omar Rahman, who died from an accidental drug overdose on August 8.
In this news video, reporter Lauren Trager asks Rahman’s mother, Kim Staton, if she can think of a “reasonable explanation” for the officer’s actions in the picture. Staton is absolutely horrified, and she — like most people who view this picture — relays that there is no reasonable explanation for grinning and approvingly gesturing while posing next to a dead body.
Staton’s attorney, Antonio Romanucci, also spoke to KMOV: “It’s hideous. The implications of this photograph are just astronomical.” Romanucci comments on how he’s never seen a “staged photograph of an officer next to a deceased body” during his entire career. He’s questioning whether there was a sergeant nearby who may have allowed this photo to be taken, so Romanucci has filed suit against the North County Co-Op. (which employs the officer in the photo) to uncover more information.
Staton tells Trager, “I really don’t know, actually, what happened to my son.” Her plight isn’t aided by the North County Co-Op’s claims that they cannot find their crime scene camera or hard copies of this picture.
In this segment, Trager also spoke to former St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom, who responded, “I don’t know why he’s raising his thumb in the air, I don’t know what he’s doing at that point, I can’t explain why you would be doing that in the photo, but certainly there are reasons why a person might turn a body over, view it, for signs of trauma.” Isom admits that the intentions of the cop certainly look “questionable.” The North County Co-Op. has declined to answer questions on the currently open investigation. The Co-Op’s lawyers also threatened to sue KMOV for publishing the “stolen” picture.
(Via KMOV in St. Louis)