On March 3, Superintendent Larry Snelling agreed with the decision of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) to fire CPD Officer Noah Ball for the 2022 shooting of an unarmed 13-year-old boy known as A.G., leaving him permanently paralyzed. Balls and four other officers had pursued A.G., who they suspected was connected to a carjacking in another neighborhood, while he was driving a vehicle before he fled officers on foot. Gas station footage shows A.G. turning towards officers with both hands up, unarmed, before Ball yelled “drop the gun!” and shot him. No gun was found on the scene, and neither Ball nor the three other officers present had turned their body cameras on during the incident. Had it not been for the gas station camera footage, Ball and other officers would likely have lied about what went down that night and justified his near-fatal shooting.
But with the truth out about A.G.‘s encounter with Ball and other police, we‘re once again left wondering why Ball isn’t facing criminal charges for his actions.
Both the 2021 shooting and A.G.’s shooting show a clear MO from Ball. No cameras, shoot first, and claim self-defense. Ball joins the ranks of trigger-happy pigs like Fernando Ruiz, left to play target practice with the masses until their encounters turn fatal. After shooting and paralyzing 39-year-old Raymond Comer in a botched traffic stop in 2022, COPA recommended he be fired but not criminally charged. Nonetheless, Snelling overruled Ruiz’s firing and let him off on a one-day suspension. The next year, Ruiz shot and killed 24-year-old Reginald Clay Jr.
Like Ruiz, Ball‘s firing is nothing close to accountability for the trauma and harm he’s inflicted on A.G. and likely many others. The only true accountability that these pigs will get is for them to be charged and locked up for their crimes.
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