They were “fleeing felons”. Obviously with equipment being found in the car of the crooks, they had already broken in and nearly gotten away with his property.
He did nothing other than block the vehicle. It appears the bad guy was trapped behind his OWN vehicle. Wow. I can’t see Mr. Reid having ANYTHING happen to him, unless the living perp sues him for “emotional distress” of having to watch his crime partner die. Tough. I hope the other perp spends the rest of his life re-living that incident and can’t sleep due to post traumatic stress syndrome.
A distinction without a difference. If his intent was to pin the car to the gate, and he could see a person standing between the car and the gate, he's on the hook. If he didn't see the guy, he could argue that his intent was to hit the car and the injury and death of the perp was an accident.