How far did he expect to get?
A federal judge has released terrifying video of a gang member defendant in a racketeering trial attacking a witness with a pen, before he is shot dead by a marshal.
The shocking footage shows the moment Siale Angilau, a member of the Tongan Crips gang, stood up, grabbed a pen or pencil, and ran towards the witness stand before launching his body over it in 2014.
The witness, another gang member who was shackled and chained, managed to sink into the corner of the courtroom and avoid the 25-year-old. He was not hurt.
The video then shows a deputy US Marshal, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, pull her gun from its holster and rapidly fire four shots at Angilau.
‘Drop the pen, drop the pen out of your hand,’ another officer out of the shot can be heard yelling at the defendant.
The video is muzzed to keep the judge, officers and any witnesses in the courtroom from being identified.
The video shows the moment the defendant, Siale Angilau, a member of the Tongan Crips gang, stood up, grabbed a pen or pencil, and ran towards the witness stand – tossing him body over it to attack the witness
The video then shows a deputy US Marshall, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, pull her gun from its holster and fire four quick shots at Angilau
US District Judge John Dowdell made the video public when he dismissed a lawsuit brought by Angilau’s family claiming excessive force.
‘The video completely contradicts the plaintiffs’ argument that Angilau stopped posing a danger within less than one second of launching himself over the witness stand while making a stabbing motion with a pen in his hand,’ Dowdell wrote in a statement obtained by Deseret News.
The entire incident lasts for roughly 24 seconds.
‘Angilau was in custody, but he essentially had escaped custodial control for those seconds during which he was executing his plan to assault the witnesses.
‘His attack was…