Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz tells Boston 25 News he believes the police-involved shooting death of murder suspect Marvin Veiga in Tennessee appears to have been justified.
[ MSP Most Wanted fugitive shot, killed during traffic stop in Tenn. ]
“I don’t think the police officer had any alternative,” Cruz said. “But I’ll certainly wait and see what the trained investigators do in Tennessee. I’m sure they’ll do a great job, but for now I’m glad nobody else was hurt.”
Marvin Veiga was one of the Mass. State Police’s Most Wanted Fugitives.
He was wanted for his role in the October 2020 murder of Manuel Durate in front of Duarte’s Brockton home.
Early Saturday morning, a Nashville Metro Police officer pulled over a Mercedes with mismatched plates.
Police body camera video revealed the stop quickly spiraled out of control when Veiga jumped out of the vehicle armed with two large knives.
The police officer ordered Veiga to drop the weapons, but it appears Veiga ignored the police officer. The police officer shot Veiga three times just as Veiga, carrying the knives, charged at the police officer.
DA Cruz was hoping to prosecute Veiga for the Durate murder. He said after watching the body cam video, he believes the Nashville Metro Police officer had little choice.
“You have a police officer who was trying to de-escalate a lethal situation with an armed man with two butcher knives in his hands. The police officer, I think, did the best he could do in a very limited time frame. And it really came down to him or that armed individual,” Cruz said.
Another man, Takari Elliot, was also charged with the Brockton homicide. Unlike Veiga, he did not flee. Elliot’s case is still making its way through the court system.