SAN ANTONIO – The trial of three former San Antonio police officers accused in the shooting death of Melissa Perez is drawing attention to just how rare it is for officers to face murder charges — and even rarer for them to be convicted.
A law professor explained that, nationwide, roughly 1,000 people are killed by police each year, but fewer than 2% of those cases result in criminal charges. Fewer than 1% lead to convictions for murder or manslaughter.
“The prosecution has to prove that it was objectively unreasonable, that no other reasonable officer would have acted the same way,” said Sigrid Vendrell-Polanco, a St. Mary’s Law assistant professor. “That’s an extraordinarily high standard to meet.”…