Virginia cop found guilty of man slaughtering 18-year-old black man

Prosecutors said Rankin, 36, intentionally killed 18-year-old shoplifting suspect William Chapman in a Walmart parking lot on April 22, 2015, after Chapman resisted arrest. Rankin was facing up to 10 years in prison; when he is formally sentenced on October 12, the judge can give him less than the two and a half years recommended by the jury, but not more.

Rankin also shot and killed a suspect in 2011. Rankin’s defense described this as a deliberate attempt to influence the outcome of the trial ― a charge that the friend denied.

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said on August 5 that it is ready to assist Denyakin’s family if it decides to file an appeal to revise the case in the United States. No tape of the encounter exists and witness testimony was often contradictory, though all witnesses agreed that Chapman was unarmed when Rankin shot him.

But Gregory Provo, the Wal-Mart security guard who reported the shoplifting allegation, testified that Chapman never charged at the officer.

“Juries are very reluctant to convict an officer because they all recognise that policing is hard and violent”, he said.

In 2012, Rankin shot and killed unarmed cook Kirill Denyakin, who was allegedly banging loudly on a door outside of an apartment complex. He said Chapman raised both hands, boxing-style, and said “Are you going to f-ing shoot me?” before Rankin fired from about five yards away.

News 3 learned Jon Babineau, the attorney for the Chapman family claims Stephen Rankin should have never been on the streets patrolling. But most witnesses said Chapman had his hands up, and prosecutor Stephanie Morales said the officer could have used non-deadly force.

While Stinson doesn’t expect to see more officers charged in coming years, he said video of these shooting incidents has the potential to drive reform.

Babineau said that evidence is significantly different than the criminal case against Rankin. Rankin said he fired his weapon after the teen came towards him in an aggressive manner.

However, in testimony before the court Rankin claimed that Chapman repeatedly ignored his commands and when he tried to handcuff him he attempted to escape.

But as communities across the country increasingly demand accountability for police officers involved in fatal shootings, citizens are beginning to play a pivotal role in bringing officers to justice. When asked by prosecutors why he did not attempt to tackle the fleeing Chapman, Rankin said that he did not think he could win in an unarmed fight. “He didn’t have an option”, said Rankin’s lead attorney, James Broccoletti.

His conviction marked a rare one for any on-duty police officer in the death of a suspect.

The officer was originally charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony, but Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminology at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, told Huffington Post a murder conviction was always unlikely in this case.