On Feb. 11, 39-year-old Mark Daniels was shot and killed by Pittsburgh police officers after he allegedly shot at and ran from them when they attempted to approach him.
The details, reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, are somewhat fishy. The police were called to the scene after being “alerted to an actor with a gun.” But Anita Williams, Mark Daniels’ aunt, claimed that her nephew did not own or carry a gun. She also claimed that while Daniels was in the hospital, his body was guarded by “four or five” police officers and his family wasn’t allowed to see him.
The case is currently being investigated, as is the case with all fatal police-involved shootings.
And then there’s this from the Post-Gazette:
The Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot a man during an exchange of gunfire in Homewood on Feb. 11 has been involved in two other shootings in the past 10 months.
Officer Gino A. Macioce, a five-year veteran and field training officer, shot 39-year-old Mark Daniels, a spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto confirmed Tuesday.
It’s at least the third time in recent months Officer Macioce has opened fire while on the job in Zone 5. He was involved in non-fatal shootings in January and April, court records show.
In April 2017, Macioce shot 20-year-old Christopher Howard, who robbed two women in the area, was approached and chased by Macioce and allegedly pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. Macioce shot Howard, forcing him to drop his weapon.
And then, in January 2018, Macioce was involved in the shooting of 26-year-old Eric Farrar, who allegedly was carrying a shotgun, dropped it when the officers ordered him to and then reached into his waistband for a pistol to fire at them. Macioce and a second officer on the scene shot and critically wounded him.
Now, is it possible that each of these shootings was justified and that Macioce just happened to be the officer on the scene each time? Yes, that is possible. Is it also possible that Macioce happened to have three criminals separately attempt to shoot him in less than a year’s time? Yes, that is possible. Considering that many officers can go entire 30-year careers without anyone shooting at them, is it possible that Macioce is just unfathomably unlucky? Yes, that is possible.
Regardless of the possibilities, it’s definitely true that violence keeps finding Gino Macioce. Or perhaps violence doesn’t have to look that hard because Macioce keeps looking for it.
And since it’s true that each man Macioce shot was black, it’s also possible that Gino Macioce just keeps finding reasons to shoot black people.