So, I’ve been casually engaged in a run-and-gun conversation with this chap regarding the Liko Kenney/Bruce McKay shooting. Chris King, the presumed author of said blog appears to be under the impression that McKay was a bad cop; and does in fact present some decent evidence in that regard.
Here’s my problem, and the source of my consternation on this issue. Even if McKay was a bad cop, even though he had rammed Kenney’s vehicle and then OC’d Kenney, it doesn’t justify shooting him. You don’t get to go around killing people, no matter how much you don’t like them.
The act of ramming Kenney’s car could be considered using potentially lethal force. However, at the time he was shot, McKay was not using, nor was he presenting, a credible threat of force. He was out of his car (so he couldn’t “squash Kenney’s car”), and he didn’t have his gun drawn. That’s not a threat of force.
No matter what McKay had done, you can’t twist the events into making Kenney some kind of folk hero. No matter which way you slice it, Kenney made the decision to shoot McKay, and that makes him responsible. There are plenty of legal options available for people who are legitimately abused by the police – Kenney didn’t pursue any of those.
I don’t care if McKay was a bad cop. In this situation, it’s irrelevant. Until someone can come up with a truly legitimate reason for Kenney hauling off and blasting McKay, Liko Kenney will remain to me as nothing more than another murderous scumbag.
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