On Tuesday's edition of CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time," Chris Cuomo grilled Cobb County police union president Steven Gaynor, as he tried to defend the officers who killed Rayshard Brooks.
"Why do you believe this shooting was justified?" asked Cuomo.
"I think if you look at the whole situation, the whole story with an open mind from start to finish, you look at the officers dealing with Mr. Brooks in a calm and peaceful manner for about 43 minutes and you see it change when they tell him he's under arrest. He becomes violent and attacks the officers," said Gaynor.
"What kind of training did the officers get in using nondeadly force in how to apprehend somebody?" asked Cuomo.
"We do get training," said Gaynor. "Almost every year we have training in which we train how to take somebody into custody. Every person is different in the way they fight. Mr. Brooks, I think, was very strong."
"He was running away," said Cuomo. "Shooting someone from behind is not what you are trained to do, isn't that correct?"
"You can't predict how a person is going to bob and weave and where the bullets will go after it leaves your gun," said Gaynor. "If they are facing towards you and the reaction time, they could turn around. your reaction time is slower than theirs. They know what they are going to do. You have to react."
"He was running away and he turns around and fires a Taser," said Cuomo. "A Taser doesn't count as deadly force when you guys use it. Why is it when they use it?"
"A trained individual using a taser is not a deadly weapon, so a trained individual knows where to aim it," said Gaynor. "An untrained individual does not, and then it's a deadly weapon."
"A Taser is not the most dangerous thing," said Cuomo. "If he had a knife or sharp stick, he would be more dangerous than a Taser. Under the law you have to believe he has something he is going to seriously hurt somebody with, or that he has committed a crime which makes him a serious danger to somebody. Which of those boxes does he check?"
"He has committed a crime," said Gaynor. "He's committed an assault on two police officers."
"You don't get to build into that moment as proof of criminal behavior," Cuomo objected.
Watch below:
