Virginia Cop Receives Highest Valor Award for Shooting Unarmed Man

Via downtrend.com What!? A cop shoots an unarmed man and gets an award for it? I thought I’d seen it all, but this one takes the cake in terms of police corruption and mindless bureaucracy.

According to the Richmond Time-Dispatch, Henrico County, Virginia Police Officer Brian K. Anderson shot a motorist in September of 2012. He believed the man was holding a firearm and fired through the window, striking him in the arm. The man survived.

To be fair, Anderson claims he was told the man, whom led him on a pursuit before stopping, was likely armed with a handgun. A handgun was ultimately found in the vehicle, but the man did not once threaten him with it.

Yet, Anderson shot him when he spotted a cell phone in his hand. Of course, any police officer or kindergarten student can discern a phone from a firearm, meaning the officer, at best, let his emotions get the best of him.

Was Anderson charged with a crime or at least reprimanded for his actions? Was his fitness for duty reevaluated after the incident? Not quite.

Instead, he received the Silver Valor award – the highest award offered at the 24th Annual Valor Awards and Ceremony.

While Anderson was understandably on high-alert after being tipped off the man may have had a firearm and the motorist could have prevented this by putting his hands on the steering wheel, this award sends the message that police brutality is not only tolerated, but rewarded in Henrico County. At the very least, his competency should have been reviewed, given his rash and incorrect decision to pull the trigger. Instead, he was the headliner at an award ceremony.