Jury Finds Police Officer Not Guilty For Mutant Deaths

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New York, NY — Over one hundred demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest a Manhattan jury’s verdict that found NYPD officer Raymond McCoffer not guilty of murder and several other counts of misconduct in the shooting deaths of two mutant men last January.

Ramirez Ferrero and John Redden were killed in the Manhattan neighborhood known to its residents as District X. According to the police report, McCoffer witnessed what appeared to be a drug deal between the two men and asked for identification. The men fled on foot, with Redden unleashing an energy burst. McCoffer opened fire in response, hitting both men, who were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital. Redden was pronounced dead on arrival, and Ferrero did not survive surgery.

Police said both Ferrero and Redden were carrying vials of the illegal mutant power–enhancing drug hypercortisone D, known as Kick.

Mutant rights activists and other civil rights leaders expressed cautious optimism when the District Attorney’s office not only agreed to prosecute McCoffer, but also secured a grand jury indictment. Across the country, several other police officers involved in civilian shootings have either not been prosecuted at all, or the grand jury has declined to bring charges.

“We owe it to the people of this city, regardless of their genetic status, to investigate these shootings, and if appropriate, bring criminal charges,” said assistant DA Franklin Nelson, who prosecuted the case.

Nelson expressed regret for the outcome of this case, but echoed former US Attorney General Eric Holder, who said in 2014 that while the majority of police officers are good people, this shooting violated the public’s trust, and the justice system had an obligation to step in and repair that trust. Nelson further said he hopes this case will embolden other DA offices to look more closely at police misconduct and bring charges when appropriate.

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