Father of handcuffed man who drowned at Missouri lake calls for federal investigation

[ColesCountyDem]

11. I hope he succeeds with federal charges, because state criminal charges are very unlikely.

Under MO law, the criminal offense that most resembles the conduct described would be 'negligent homicide' (see: MPC Section 210.4).

What would make proving negligent homicide difficult would be proving that a.) the trooper's was aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk to the deceased as a result of his conduct, and b.) that his conduct was a gross deviation from a reasonable person's 'standard of care'.

The fact that the trooper placed a life jacket on the young man at all would tend to both a.) negate the 'gross deviation' element of the standard of care, and b.) call into question whether or not failing to properly secure the life vest constituted a 'substantial and unjustifiable risk'.

Prosecutors are extremely reluctant to bring criminal charges in such cases, whether or not a law-enforcement officer is involved, simply because of the standard of proof of each element of the crime is set at such a high 'bar'.