How deputies killed an unarmed black man in Parramore

The accompanying photo shows a pistol magazine.

Specifically, this is the pistol magazine Orange County deputy sheriffs say James “New York” Bauduy was holding when they shot and killed him last year on a crowded street in Parramore.

Bauduy, a suspect in a homicide, was unarmed when he was gunned down on South Street at Lime Avenue on the evening of April 20, 2018.

The plainclothes deputies who opened fire that night – Sgt. Bruce Vail and Corporal Randy Hovland – were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office.

In a report compiled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), deputies said they fired at Bauduy because they observed a “dark object in his hand”.

A pistol magazine, sometimes referred to as a clip, is not a firearm. It is a metal sleeve that holds bullets for a firearm. A magazine can’t fire bullets, even though one of the deputies told FDLE investigators that Bauduy raised the object as though he was taking aim and “making a squeezing motion with his hand.”

How the deputy could see a “squeezing motion” in the fading evening light but couldn’t tell the difference between a magazine and a pistol isn’t explained in the report.

Some residents  – including one interviewed on video by 32805OrlNews – said they feared authorities planted the pistol magazine. (Click here to see that interview.)

Their suspicions are understandable because such incidents that have occurred elsewhere. (Click here to read more about fake evidence planted by police.)

It is noteworthy after the South Street shooting that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office refused to say if Bauduy had a gun.

That question went unanswered for a month until FDLE announced that Bauduy was unarmed, but that he had a pistol magazine.

The night of the shooting Jerry Demings, who was then the Orange County Sheriff before he was elected Orange County Mayor, said deputies opened fire because Bauduy made suspicious hand movements.

The narrative in the FDLE report shows deputies themselves triggered the barrage of gunfire.

Sgt. Vail fired one shot because he told FDLE investigators that he saw a “dark object” in Bauduy’s hand. Hearing that shot, Cpl. Hovland fired several shots.

Bauduy didn’t shoot because he didn’t have a gun.

Only deputies opened fire, which alarmed bystanders who said the deputies should not have confronted Bauduy and opened fire while there were so many innocent people – including children -- on the scene.

The shooting reports from the State Attorney’s Office and the FDLE don't explain why Bauduy would pull a pistol magazine in a confrontation with pursuing deputies.

What’s more, the official reports never explain where is the pistol that goes with the magazine. However, investigators said DNA linked the pistol magazine to Bauduy.

The official reports on this shooting are interesting reading. We recommend you check them out.

To see the FDLE report, click here.

To see the State Attorney’s report, click here.