Opinion ID: 6318081
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Melissa Palma’s Statements

Text: Melissa Palma (“Melissa”), Vincent Palma’s stepmother, also saw the encounter. She had called 9-1-1 that day after Palma took the remote out of his sister’s hands. She told the dispatcher that she wanted Palma removed from her house and that Palma had “mental issues.” (Melissa Palma Dep., R. 50-6, Page ID #1165.) Melissa testified that she told the police that Palma was unarmed. However, it is unclear when she said this and whether she shared this information with Johns before the shooting. Melissa’s written statement, on the day of the incident, generally mirrored Johns’ account: No. 21-3315 Palma, et al. v. Johns, et al. Page 6 Police came. [Palma] went downstairs to police. Police told him to stop, he kept going to police. Police said, stop, again. I’m going to taser you. [Palma] kept going after cop. Cop tased him. He fell to ground. [Palma] got up, went after cop again. Cop told him to get on ground. [Palma] would not. Cop told him he was going to shoot him, but [Palma] kept going to cop. The cop shot by his feet, but [Palma] still came after cop. Cop told him to get on ground. [Palma] did not listen, so cop shot him couple more times. (Id.) But in her deposition, she said that she had misspoken in her written statement and that after Johns tased Palma, Palma got up and began walking towards the house. She only heard Johns tell Palma to stop a couple of times. Melissa also gave more detail in her deposition. She said that Palma was on the ground for two to three minutes after Johns tased him, and that, after the tasing, Palma “didn’t come after the cop.” (Id. at Page ID #1159.) Rather “when he got tased, . . . [Palma] got up and started going to the house, the officer was going towards him. [Palma] was facing the other way, going towards the house.” (Id. at Page ID #1174.) At some point after the taser, but before Johns shot Palma, Palma was “walking towards the end of the road.” (Id. at Page ID #1170.) She said that Palma stopped walking whenever Johns stopped, and neither Johns nor Palma was moving when Johns shot at Palma’s feet. Johns and Palma were ten to fifteen feet apart at that time. The encounter lasted around eight to ten minutes.