Billings police once again find themselves having to defend their over-aggressive police tactics in yet another officer-involved shooting, except during this shooting, many videos are available from different angles that appear to show Billings Police Officer Zach Wallis 11-year veteran of the Billings police force and member of the SWAT team, may have committed murder in cold blood of a Crow Agency Indian minority man.  

Was this shooting race motivated? 

 Possibly.  

Was the over-aggressive force used unnecessarily? 

Possibly

Is Billings Police St. John scrambling to cover up the fact that his officer murdered a man? Based on Corrupt Billings Police Chief St. John’s history, that question could be answered with a RESOUNDING YES.

So far the only thing that Billings Police Chief St. John has been honest with the public is that “Officer Wallis was placed on paid administrative leave, which is department policy for any officer involved in a shooting.”

According to several videos that are circulating around in the Billings public and social media, several videos show the suspect falling to the ground after an officer fired his Taser causing the suspect to fall helplessly.

Several of the videos show at least seven Billings police officers running towards the man as he is lying on the ground helpless and incapacitated by the Taser.

The suspect was writhing on the ground caused by the pain of being Tased. Billings Police officers approached the suspect quickly.

This is where the story takes a horrific turn.

Multiple videos circulating in the public and on social media, clearly show Billings police officer Zach Wallis shooting an un-armed man, as he was lying down on the cement sidewalk caused by being tased and not a threat to anyone, yet Officer Zach Wallis shot the man five times at close range while the man is still on the ground, and not a threat to the public or the responding officers.

This incident happened in 8 to 10 seconds and it left many in the public stunned.

Billings Police Lt. Matt Lennick claims that:

“Officers attempted to negotiate with that male. There was no progress… They attempted less lethal, it sounds like, in the form of a Taser, which was not effective,” 

 “At some point during their altercation with him and trying to take him into custody, one officer fired one of their service weapons and struck the subject.”

The Billings Chief of Police is going to have a tough time trying to sway his agenda to protect his officer who just committed murder.  

Many in the public watched and recorded the use of unreasonable deadly force by Billings Police Officer Zach Wallis.

A Billings attorney David Dietrich, witnessed the shooting nearby from the front stairs of the Transwestern Plaza building where he was only about 40 feet away.

The Billings attorney David Dietrich seriously questions the Billings police’s use of force regarding this particular incident.  He witnessed Billings Police Officer Zach Wallis murder a man.

“There didn’t appear to be any brandishing of the machete or even an attempt by him to access it in the sheath, which is where it was when he got Tased,” Dietrich stated. Attorney David Dietrich continued stating, “My god, I mean, what a level of force used under these circumstances… I didn’t even know he was dead until after because I had no idea that, that level of force was needed to subdue him because of the fact that he had been already effectively, Tased.”

The public now considers Zach Wallis a threat to public safety and security. Officer Wallis needs to be charged with MURDER.

Officer-involved shootings are always a sensitive and complex issue. It’s important to wait for all the facts and details to come out before making any judgments or conclusions. It’s also important to respect the families and loved ones of the victim, not the Officer nor his personal feelings especially when they commit what appears as a murder.

However, remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. It’s a tragic situation for all parties involved except Zach Wallis as he used unreasonable deadly force that caused the unnecessary death of a minority man.

The Billings public wants to strive for justice and accountability of Officer Zach Wallis yet working to also prevent these situations from happening in the future In Billings Montana.

Billings Police have hidden behind what is called their “Qualified immunity” This is another reason why “Qualified Immunity” needs to be abolished.

45-year-old James Bennett was the name of the man Zach Wallis Murdered.

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