Disgraced, Former LVMPD Officer Kills Again — Body Camera Footage Fails To Capture Shooting
In Less Than Six Years with Metro
“The Most Dangerous Cop in America” Had Two Kills
Was Caught on Video Assaulting an Unarmed Citizen.
And now, he has killed again!
UPDATE: It seems Derek Colling has killed again, shooting an unarmed man in Albany County, Wyoming. According to Wyoming Public Media’s Tennessee Watson, the body cam footage, released by The Albany County Sheriff’s Department “cuts off before Colling fired the fatal shots.”
Dubbed “THE MOST DANGEROUS COP IN AMERICA,” by CopBlock, Derek Colling managed to kill two citizens and assault and falsely arrest a third. Two of these incidents have been captured on video and even when viewed in the very best of light they show Colling is prone to making bad decisions, is confrontational, reckless and dishonest.
In 2006, he and four other officers shot Shawn Jacob Collins after the 43-year-old man pulled a gun at an east valley gas station. The shooting was ruled justified following a coroner’s inquest.
Then in 2009 Colling was the lone officer to fire in the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Tanner Chamberlain. The incident was captured on video. Chamberlain appears more scared than dangerous as he hides behind his mother as officer approach, weapons drawn. Chamberlain’s life ended when he stumbled, releasing his mother and giving Colling a clean shot. Even though the boy’s stumble forced him to release his grasp on his mother freeing her from danger, Colling took the shot while four other officers and Chamberlain’s mother watched in shock.
Wayne Peterson, a former Las Vegas police homicide lieutenant, said he would not have pulled the trigger on the mentally ill teenager, even though he had been holding a knife in front of his mother just before Colling shooting him in the head. “I couldn’t live with myself,” Peterson said of the thought of taking the troubled boy’s life.
The Chamberlain shootings was also ruled justified by a Clark County coroner’s inquest jury.
Then in April, 2010 Colling made national headlines when the video above was released showing Colling arresting Las Vegas resident Mitchell Crooks. Crooks, a freelance videographer, was taping the arrest of several juveniles for suspect burglary on his cul-de-sac. Suddenly, officer Colling stopped his cruiser in front of Crooks home, and began to question a man standing in his front yard, breaking no laws. What happened next was captured on video tape, which, after being released to the media, resulted in Colling’s paid suspension. An internal investigation determined that Crooks’ complaint about Colling’s use of excessive force was sustained. Colling was found guilty of violating several other department policies and was terminated in December of 2011, but not before costing taxpayers nearly $108,336 in total pay & benefits while he sat home on paid suspension.. His attempt to have his termination over-turned was rejected by Metro’s Civil Service Board.
Colling was hired by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming as a corrections officer shortly after being terminated by the LVMPD. His recent promotion to deputy was defended by Albany County Sheriff Dave O’Malley, who admits he has made it a point not to watch the video of Colling assaulting Crooks.
Related articles
- Chants of “Fire Derek Colling” echo through the streets of Laramie, Wyoming
- An officer-involved shooting in Laramie has been handed to the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation.
- LVMPD Reaches Settlement with Mitchell Crooks (clarkcountycriminalcops.wordpress.com)
- Vegas Cops Dish Out $100,000 Settlement To Videographer They Severely Beat (pixiq.com)
- Federal Jury Says Cops Can’t Arrest People for Recording Police Encounters (reason.com)
Metro cop accused of using excessive force after body-cam video reviewed
Police IQ by Mike McDaniel
During my early career in law enforcement, I had the odd distinction of having two separate police chiefs in two separate law enforcement agencies in two separate states tell me that I was too intelligent to be a policeman. Readers may debate my intellect, as they often do, but I tell this little morality tale not to pat myself on the back of my brain, but to set up the story that follows. Those hapless police chiefs were giving me a more or less backhanded compliment. They weren’t my fans, yet I was so productive they couldn’t fire me without far more mistakes on my part than ten men could make. Yet, they obviously didn’t realize what they were saying about themselves and their own agencies, nor did they apparently appreciate the inherent irony.
My experience has taught me that police chiefs, sheriffs and politicians in general want…
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