A man is paralyzed after a cop mistook his cell phone for a deadly weapon

The trend is becoming all too popular, at an alarming rate. A cop shoots a civilian, the civilian is unarmed–proven by video footage–and somehow an investigation concludes the discharge was “justified,” while the victim clings to life in a hospital, or the victim’s family makes funeral plans.


In the case of Dontrell Stephens, his encounter with an overzealous cop didn’t result in death, but his life will never be the same. Stephens, who was riding his bike when he was approached by a patrol car that Stephens believed was following him, is now paralyzed. In the dashcam footage, which you can watch above, you can see Stephens disembark his bicycle when the patrol car pulls up on him, turn towards the officer while holding an unidentifiable black object in his right hand. Momentarily, Stephens disappears from view, as he approaches the curb, but he reappears quickly, and appears to be backpedaling away from the officer.

The backpedal quickly turns into full-fledged flight, which didn’t last long. Officer Adams Lin fires four shots into Stephens as he runs away, and trains his gun on the victim for almost a full minute, and at the video’s end, does not make any moves towards assisting the fallen Stephens.

The sheriff’s investigation into the incident concluded that the shooting was justified, and Lin was allowed to return to work just four days after the shooting.