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MCSO Releases Statement on USA Shooting, Family Hires Attorney

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Updated: 10/08/2012 6:24 pm
(MOBILE, Ala.) The Mobile County Sheriffs Office has released a statement regarding the shooting investigation on USA's campus.

Student Gil Collar, 18, was shot and killed Saturday outside the campus police department. Police say he was naked, assumed a fighting stance and charged an officer several times. The officer shot and killed Collar.

The internal investigation in the case has been turned over to the Mobile County District Attorney's Office and MCSO. Sheriffs deputies say they have obtained surveillance video of the incident.

"While the video clearly depicts a sequence of events, no disclosure of the video or its content will be made at this time as part of the ongoing investigation," Sgt. Joe Mahoney said in a release.

Meantime, Collar's family has hired Montgomery Law Firm Beasley Allen to represent them in the case. The law firm released a statement today. It reads in part:

"Our firm has been retained to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Gil Collar, a student at the University of South Alabama. The family is leaving all media contacts relating to this matter to us. They have lost an 18-year-old son, are grieving and would like to have their privacy. Hopefully, the officials at the University will cooperate with us during this difficult time for the Collar family. Gil was a freshman at the school and his family had been assured by campus police back in August that a safe haven would be provided for all new students coming to the University."

The USA Police Department is larger than the departments of many small towns in the area. The department's website states all officers must meet minimum standards required by law for peace officers in the state of Alabama.

That includes:
*480 hours of basic training at an approved academy.
*Score 70 percent or more on a written exam.
*Pass a first aid exam, a legal issues exam, and a physical ability and agility test.
*Pass 43 hours of fire arms training.
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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Local 15

flamekiller - 10/9/2012 12:14 PM
0 Votes
I would imagine that if an officer is holding a weapon trained on you, tells you to stop, it would probably be in the best interest of everyone to follow that instruction.

Hefreys - 10/8/2012 11:12 PM
0 Votes
Sounds like the kids was high on something...or drunk. If he "charged" the Officer, then the officer has the right to defend himself and shoot. Sad that he didn't shoot him in the leg or something but he still has the right to defend himself from someone that is out of their mind.

daylilylady - 10/8/2012 10:14 PM
0 Votes
Such a sad story. So many comments on the fact that non life threatening tactics should have been used instead of a gun. My thoughts are the same on that issue, but I also wonder if this young man had been told to go to campus police if he ever needed help and that was what he was doing. Who knows why he was naked and why his frame of mind was as it was. Perhaps he had been assaulted and was trying to get help from the campus police. If he had broke into an apartment ,there would not have been a gun waiting for him.Perhaps doors are made to go back into and lock when you feel threatened by an unarmed student. Such a sad, sad event and nothing will now change what happened. Nothing.

Here2Long - 10/8/2012 6:46 PM
0 Votes
Jere Beasley...the biggest ego in Montgomery. He's so smart he feels compelled to send every lawyer in Alabama a copy of his News Letter, gratis. He knows the law and the State's very limited liability...I bet he didn't take this on a contingency fee basis!
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