I did some searching and found the video.
N.M. police fire on minivan filled with kids, their mom: How it happened - CBS News
From the top:
Simple speeding stop. Shut up and take the ticket. Everything that happens from there is the fault of the driver. I have no idea why she drove away. The initial flight would be a misdemeanor here, as far as I can see - it takes recklessness in addition to the non-compliance to make it a felony elude.
Then: The trooper's tactics suck. They are awful. When she stops again, he should never have approached the vehicle. Period. It is now a high risk (as opposed to unknown risk, the only other category of stop; the felony/misdemeanor distinction is a lousy way to categorize). The trooper should have held the vehicle at gun (RIFLE) point from a position of cover or at least concealment until enough additional units were present to direct all the occupants out, one at a time, separate them, and find out what the heck is going on. (That means proned and cuffed, at least until the little ones are coming out and not likely to be a threat.) The level of complacency shown is appalling and worthy of a lengthy suspension and some serious re-training. If it is within policy and training, fire the nitwit who is responsible for that. You can't fix a command officer so stupid.
The tactical failure shows as soon as the trooper tries to drag the driver out. That's a heck of a chore to accomplish, and as we can see, it did not work. (Not anywhere near enough force, but he still should not have been up there.) It also meant he was not paying attention to the passengers, one of whom had already shown himself to be a threat by his prior actions. Clownshoes, top to bottom. He did not use nearly enough force on the driver, and he sure as heck did not use enough force on the passenger.
14? Who cares - big enough to be a problem. I spent years prosecuting juveniles. Many are dangerous because they are immature, and big enough to be a problem. I got in more fights in the juvenile court room with upset offenders (usually over piddly stuff, in the grand scheme) that I did with adult criminals. The passenger should have been hit hard enough to put him in the hospital as soon as he touched the trooper. PR24 (ASPs are about as useful as mammary glands on a bowling ball) to the thigh, palm-heel strikes to the face, cuff, ambulance, booking. Period.
Shooting? Ugh. I am not impressed. Admittedly, there is a violent felony in the mix now, but the escape is not by using the car as a weapon. I'd be hesitant. (So hesitant I can't see myself shooting). That said, the trooper shooting may not have known about the kids in the car, and mom is the one responsible for them being at risk. A zillion people a day get pulled over for piddly stuff like this; they get a ticket or a warning, and they go on their way after the contact with no drama. We can bet some # have contraband of some type, but most of those enforcement actions are not worth the time, and won't come up unless the driver is a complete idiot.
Those kids needed to be in protective custody (the 4 not apparently involved in criminal acts; the assailant needs to be in custody at the local juvenile detention center). I would have filed that as a child protective case in a heartbeat. This looks ugly, but it is not near as bad as will be portrayed by the ignorant fools who know nothing of use of force (including media, lawyers, and most command officers). Mom is responsible for all of it.
