Police Shoot Man Trying to Prove 'Theory' That Police Aren't Bad People

After getting pulled over, Jose Vaca exited his car with a rifle and his hands up. He was immediately gunned down by the police.

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Complex Original

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A man who was shot by police officers last week claims it happened while he was trying to prove to his friends that police are good people.

The man, 29-year-old Jose Vaca, was pulled over by police Monday, and when he stepped out of the car he brought a rifle he’d purchased at a flea market (and allegedly was not legally permitted to own). According to Vaca, he made it clear he had not intention to shoot.  

"I exit my vehicle, I come to the front of the police vehicle, I put my butt of the rifle on the floor and I just put my hand up,” Vaca told reporters.

Despite his stance, the police shot him several times without warning, and three bullets passed all the way through his body. Though the police department reports the police shot him nine times, Vaca says he endured 12 shots. Vaca also says that several were taken after he was already on the ground.

"Soon as I hit the ground, I just attempted to play dead, and then they fired a couple more shots at me from the back as I was lying on the ground,” he said.

Vaca claims the reason he exited the vehicle with the firearm was to prove a point he’d made some months ago to a friend. He told the friend he thought police officers are good people, and hoped his encounter would serve as evidence he could take back to her.

"First thing that came to my mind is I'm already going to get pulled over. I know they're most likely going to take me in, but I’m going to try my theory real quick and see that it's true so she can believe there’s good officers in the world,” he said.

The “experiment” very quickly went awry, and Vaca admits he regrets the decision and that it’s a “blessing” he’s alive. Nevertheless, he says he still thinks there are good police out there, even the ones involved in his shooting.

"They didn't know what to expect,” he claims.

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