Killer Cop Puts Yet Another Man Six Feet Under

Remember Pennsylvania State Trooper Samuel Nassan, who, last year, was convicted by a federal jury, in a civil trial, of intentionally shooting an unarmed 12-year-old suspect in the back? The boy, Michael Ellerbe, died. Part of the conviction and the damages awarded stemmed from the fact that Nassan, in an attempted coverup, lied about what happened. I wrote about the case here.

Incredibly, Nassan remained on the force. And then, this past weekend, he killed again.

A state police trooper who fired gunshots at a Pittsburgh man in a roving DUI patrol on the South Side over the St. Patrick's Day weekend is the same person who killed an unarmed 12-year-old during a chase in 2002. State police spokesman Jack Lewis in Harrisburg told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that Trooper Samuel Nassan III [right] fired shots at Nicholas Haniotakis, 33. ...

Pittsburgh police Sgt. Terry Donnelly was also involved in the incident with Haniotakis, according to Chief Nate Harper's office. "The individual that was fatally shot essentially used a 2,000-pound — give or take — vehicle to attempt to kill two police officers last night," said attorney Eric Stoltenberg, who's representing Nassan through the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association union. It's not yet clear who fired the shot that killed Haniotakis.

Absent eyewitness testimony, and absent the results of an independent investigation, we don't know what happened, and we can't say whether the killing of Nicholas Haniotakis was remotely justified. Something about the current account doesn't quite add up yet:

Haniotakis nearly backed over the officers with his vehicle's headlights off at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday on 13th Street."When officers activated their emergency lights, the driver put the vehicle in reverse and backed down 13th Street at a high rate of speed," [Police Chief] Harper said at a news conference.

Odd. I wonder if we'll get to view surveillance-cam or dashcam video.

It appears that a commenter on this blog, who had done a little digging on Nassan, might have have been moderately prescient when he wrote, in the wake of the Ellerbe civil verdict,

Nassan is a menace to our society. There cannot be justice with corrupt officers of this magnitude wearing badges and many more innocent civilians will be hurt by Nassan if his pattern of erratic behavior continues to go unpunished.

Corrupt? I don't know. A menace? Let's just say that I wouldn't want Sam Hassan anywhere near my neighborhood, with or without a uniform. You?

[thanks, Elayne!]

Comments

[bosunj]

The only good cop is a dead cop.

[Uncle Ho]

How can the driver "almost back up over the officers" and then "put it in reverse at a high rate of speed" to get away? Ain't that there the SAME direction? Did the cops move their cruiser to the front of the dead man's car? Huh?

Hang'em high, and today - not tomorrow....

[Marty]

st. louis county cops used the same excuse a few years ago in a drug buy at a busy jack in the box at 4pm from a recreational marijuana user. filled the car with bullets because they 'feared for their safety'.

my thoughts are with the families harmed and I hope justice is served.

[Shane Gibson]

We the people need to start utilizing street justice to deal with the criminals who call themselves law enforcement. Lynch mobs were once the prefered method of justice, I say bring them back.

[greg]

ggrrr...I had that mentality. Every time a suspect's vehicle so much as brushes a cruiser, they get on the radio yelling that the suspect tried to kill him with is car.

It's strange, most people in these types of dangerous jobs revel in it. They take pride in the fact that they can withstand the harsh and dangerous working conditions that most people cannot, without so much as mentioning it. Many cops on the other hand seem to often engage in serious hyperbole over the dangers of their jobs.

[greg]

sorry.....I HATE that mentality.

[The End]

The United States is basically a fascist country, so it's no wonder that our law enforcers often behave in these ways.

During revolutions, the military tends to side with the people, while the police tend to side with the government.

Goons & thugs...

[Holocaust Gaza]

People ignore the innocent inmates in Gitmo and think they are terrorist.

Look what police can do to Americans!

No more to say.

[maggie]

"protect and serve" has turned into intimidate and harass. They're mostly bullies (police).

[tgaratzi]

A punk cop who should not have been on the force killed my couisin. He was his mother's ONLY CHILD. This cop has two lawsuits settled against him, one the largest in PA history. He also has two pending lawsuits before this incident occurred.

[Joe]

I hope the investigation of this latest crime by Nassan makes more sense than the initial Elerby investigation, however, I do not trust the jsutice system given my experience with a corrupt cop. The last time Nassan killed someone there was an obvious cover-up. Let's see if they try again to cover up another shooting in the back. In the wild west, shooting someone in the back was a heinous crime. I wonder if Nassan will say again that he did not see the hands of the victim. This pattern excuse of not seeing a hand was used to justify Michael Ellerby's killing when Nassan initially said that Michael Ellerby was running with his hand in his pocket. The jury did not believe Nassan's story then and any jury will not believe his story this time. The question is - How much blood shed and excessive force is necessary to prosecute a corrupt officer that has no conscious? Do any of our government officials have the courage to stand up for justice and do what is right? Will the Federal Government have to get involved?
I hope there is police cruiser video and audio and the people get to see and hear the truth. We have a rigth to hear and see the video in the police cruiser that night. His victimes especially deserve the right to hear and see how justice is performed be out of control cops.