Cop fires at unarmed man holding wallet during traffic stop

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AUSTIN, Texas — A five-year veteran of the Austin Police Department was wrong to shoot at a man who got out of his car during a traffic stop earlier this year, Chief Art Acevedo said Friday while explaining his decision to fire Officer Justin Boehm.

Boehm was driving behind James Barton when the Austin resident ran a red light at the intersection of East 12th Street and Airport Boulevard around 7:50 a.m. on May 8.

Boehm promptly pulled him over, and several seconds later, Barton got out of his truck.

Footage from the dashboard camera in Boehm's patrol car shows Barton walking toward Boehm and pulling a dark object from his pocket — his wallet — after the officer twice told him to "stay in the car." Boehm then shoots at Barton, missing, and starts yelling for him to stay in the car.

Read more at http://www.policeone.com/officer-misconduct-internal-affairs/articles/64...

Sgt. Wayne Vincent, president of the Austin Police Association, said that he agrees the shooting was a mistake but that he thinks firing Boehm was not the appropriate response.

"We believe this officer could have been re-trained, rehabilitated and we should have kept him," he said.