Getting away with murder
by digby
Shoplifting is a capital offense?
Surveillance footage capturing a homeless man’s death in the alley behind a CVS pharmacy in Chicago in 2010 was released today, showing several minutes of the attack in which store manager Pedro Villarosa held down and strangled 35-year-old Anthony Kyser while six passersby helped hold him down.
Kyser had reportedly stolen a tube of toothpaste from the store and was followed out into the street by Villarosa. From DNAInfo, which also released the original video:
It shows Kyser’s final minutes on May 8, 2010, and the beginning of the police investigation into the case. No charges were filed in Kyser’s death, which police ruled an accident. CVS has said the manager acted in self-defense after being attacked by Kyser.
The video appears to capture Kyser fleeing to the alley with the store manager close behind him. There’s a brief struggle before Kyser hits the pavement, with the store manager on top of him.
Another man appears to punch and kick Kyser, at one point stepping down on his hand while the store manager remains atop Kyser. More bystanders join in, helping to hold Kyser down. Eventually, Kyser stops flailing his legs, the video shows.
The store manager admits that the victim said “I can’t breathe” before he died, but claims he was acting in “self-defense.”
So:
According to Salon, the police department decided not to press criminal charges even after the Medical Examiner’s Office “ruled the death a homicide.” No criminal charges are currently pending.
One of the great advantages of living in a paranoid society is that you can easily get away with murder.
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