Mark Bender
Mark Bender
threw the gun aside
In October 2020, officers of the San Bernardino, California police Department shot and killed 35-year-old Mark Bender Jr. The incident occurred near an alcohol store where the man was working as a security guard.
Officers received a report that a man, later identified as Bender, was jumping on the car roofs and behaving inappropriately. The video from the officer’s body camera shows how a police officer who arrived at the scene pointed a gun at the man and ordered him to raise his hands. Bender raised his empty hands, and the officer holstered his gun. However, a few seconds later, a police officer attacked the man, knocked him to the ground and tried to detain him, but Bender resisted, as a result of which he was shot. According to the police department, the man allegedly tried to get a gun.
In March 2021, Bender’s relatives filed a lawsuit against the city and the San Bernardino Police Department. The family’s lawyer said that Bender tried to throw the gun aside to show that he did not pose a threat. He also said that Bender’s reaction was a consequence of what the lawyer called the officer’s overly aggressive tactics.
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