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Orlando Man is Year's Second Drug War Death

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #768)
Consequences of Prohibition
Drug War Issues

One of two men shot by Orlando police inside a home during a drug investigation last Wednesday night died the following day. Karvis Jabbar Gamble, 19, becomes the second person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement activities so far this year.

Police told WKMG TV that five people were in the home when officers knocked on the door and that two of them resisted.

"A subject sitting inside the front room immediately reached for a handgun, pulled it up and started pointing at the officers," said Orlando police sergeant Jim Young. "A second subject inside the house comes running out of a back room. He ignored all officers' commands. He began to reach into his waistband."

Two different police officers opened fire, each striking one of the men. The other man shot by police, Cordaryl Leojermane Wilson, 25, has been charged with possession of MDMA/Ecstasy, possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting arrest without violence.

Police said they recovered three guns, two of which were reported stolen, as well as drugs.

Neighbors told WKMG that they heard as many as five gunshots coming from the home. Relatives said it doubled as a studio for aspiring musicians.

Other witnesses told WKMG there were no guns or drugs at the house, and that police never identified themselves.

"All (the officer) did was open the door. They never said, 'OPD,' or nothing.  They just shot him," a man said.  "Who really would point a gun at the police? You know what's going to happen."

The two officers who shot their weapons will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a departmental investigation.

At this point, it is unclear whether police were uniformed or undercover and whether they were serving a search warrant or engaging in a "knock and talk" investigation.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Josh Blowter (not verified)

No, no... You've got it all wrong. He ruined his life, not the people that shot him. They are Helping him with a cage so he can stop not hurting them. They just want him to stop not hurting them. Please stop not hurting anyone or they are going to start helping you, too. Don't dare turn down their help like he did or they might help you permanently, too, for not letting them help you.

Wed, 01/23/2013 - 11:11pm Permalink

WTF?  The persons response above is "wacked", I don't know if it is Drugs they are taking or Drugs they NEED to be taking but seriously stop with the comments.

As to the Story above, It never tells you that after the Police or Cops do something "Wrong or in Question", Those Cops that kill people get to go Home on "Administrative Leave".

That No Punishment, That's not even an acknowledgment of Police doing anything "Wrong".

It basically means that those Officers will Have a short PAID Vacation, And the Ruling will always be for the Officers. And then it's back to work as usual. ALWAYS............

    

Thu, 01/24/2013 - 2:44pm Permalink
Plebiaen (not verified)

Based on this short article (we don't know all the facts, now-do we) this looks like it *could* be cut and dry, depending on missing facts.  Was a warrant issued?  Was this a take down?  It certainly appears that way at the offset with them finding drugs AND stolen guns.  I'll hold judgement til the mud in these waters settles a bit.  Rights right, wrong is wrong.  (Stolen Hand guns is pretty wrong-if they weren't planted!)

Thu, 02/07/2013 - 7:54pm Permalink

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