Another Officer’s Use of Force Was Justified But This Time, For Killing a Racist

A district attorney announced that a Massachusetts officer will not face criminal charges but instead deserves “great credit” after fatally shooting a man. Don’t sigh and scoff just yet. The man happened to be a white supremacist who fatally two innocent Black men moments before.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Tuesday that Winthrop Police Sgt. Nicholas Bettano will not be held criminally responsible in the death of 28-year-old Nathan Allen. In June 2021, authorities say Bettano was dispatched to respond to the report of an active shooter. According to surveillance camera footage, Allen was seen walking barefoot near a cemetery then stole a truck and crashed it into the side of a building. Upon emerging from the vehicle, he fatally shot veteran Romana Cooper at point blank range. After fleeing the scene, he fired more rounds killing retired state trooper David Green and tossed the gun.

Bettano got to Allen’s location after Green was killed and found him aiming another firearm at a group of people sitting in a car. Allen refused to drop his firearm at Bettano’s command, leading the officer to fire four rounds at him, police say.

Upon searching Allen’s home, authorities discovered the potential motive for the sudden shooting spree.

Read more from The Associated Press:

Allen had no criminal history, had a firearms license and owned three guns, police said.

At Allen’s home, police found hundreds of rounds of ammunition and several books by Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski. They also found journals containing hand-drawn swastikas and writings about anarchy and white supremacy, according to investigators.

Police released pages from Allen’s notebook, in which he praised “the white race as superior” and referred to Black people in harshly racist terms, at one point stating “racism is healthy and natural.”

Well, don’t that sound like every white supremacist mass shooter in the book?

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden applauded Bettano upon the announcement that the officer would escape criminal liability.

“Our investigation makes clear that the officer’s actions were justified that tragic day. Indeed, it is likely that this officer’s brave actions saved others from being injured or killed as a result of Nathan Allen’s racially-motivated rampage,” Hayden said in a statement, via The AP.