No Charges Filed Against Cop Who Killed an 82-Year-Old Partially Deaf Man While Sitting in His Car

After being shot by police, an 82-year-old "granddaddy" battled for his life for two months, but succumbed to his injuries and died. Melvin Bouler, according to his family, is partly deaf and couldn't understand police orders, so one officer filled him with holes. We now hear, a year and a half later, that the cop who murdered Bouler will not face charges.

According to police, they responded to a complaint of a guy with a pistol on a Sunday afternoon on November 17, 2019. Melvin Bouler, 82, was reportedly getting into his vehicle and driving away when police arrived.

As ABC 7 reported, Adjanay Okoe is not a biological relative of Bouler, but he has looked after her since she was a toddler and considers himself to be her grandpa. She said that he was visiting her mother when he became embroiled in an altercation with her mother's boyfriend, who then phoned the cops. However, she said that he was already being assisted into his vehicle to return home when police arrived.

"My mother was attempting to assist my grandfather," Okoe said. "As you know, my grandfather is elderly, and she was attempting to assist him in the vehicle and transport him home... and then the cops arrived. I'm guessing they were attempting to educate him. "

Witnesses reported hearing an argument between a man and a woman just before the police arrived, followed by policemen shouting at the guy as he sat inside his vehicle. Then about a dozen gunshots were heard.

According to police, Bouler was seated in his vehicle when he took out a pistol and aimed it at the officer.

"[He] ordered Bouler to drop the pistol and fired his service weapon through the front window shield of the car, hitting Bouler and forcing him to drop the firearm," Commander Michael Stewart of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told ABC 7.

This was in direct contradiction to the initial allegations, since police never recorded Bouler pointing the pistol at them, firing a shot, or even having the gun when they arrived.

According to the family, Bouler was unable to comprehend the cops' instructions due to his deafness in one ear, and this misunderstanding resulted in escalation and lethal force.

"My grandfather is elderly. He is deaf in one of his ears. He's eighty years old, " Okoe said. "If you're going to speak with my grandfather, you're going to have to explain things to him. I had to repeat things three or four times, so it's not as if he was being rebellious and defying the cops. That was not the case. "

Carrying a gun in public is not prohibited in the state of Indiana. The state permits both open and concealed carry. If Bouler never raised his pistol, this does not justify cops opening fire on him. They would be justified only if he was attempting to shoot them. This seems not to be the case, since he never fired a bullet. It seems more probable that the cops shouted at an old guy to obey and the elderly man, who is partly deaf, did not instantly comply. His refusal to quickly comply justified the cops opening fire.

As seen in the picture above, at least ten bullets were fired into Bouler's vehicle, which is unsettling for the family. Bouler was not drunk and posed no threat to anybody, according to the wrongful death complaint.

"It's simply one of those things that doesn't sit right with you," Bouler family attorney Robert Beeman said.

Unfortunately, police officers beating or even murdering deaf individuals due to their inability to hear their orders is an unfortunate reality.

Oklahoma taxpayers were forced to foot the bill last year for the violent ineptitude of the two Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers who assaulted him.