NationStates Jolt Archive

American Air serviceman shot by deputy sheriff after a high speed chase, I'm sure just about everyone in North America has seen a clip on the news (should they watch the news)

Thoughts anyone?

I think (from what I have seen on the tube anyway) that the victim(?) disobeyed an order to remain on the ground by the deputy, and instead started to get up. I know this is a bad idea, having personally been tazed for my own refusal to stay down (glad it was tazed and not shot though).

Anywho, thoughts please.

I saw the video on CNN this morning. It seemed to me that the cop said "Get up" and when the suspect tried to do so the cop shot him. You can even hear a neighbor who witnessed the shooting yell "You told him to get up". Now, maybe the tape audio is faulty, but I'm fairly certain I heard the cop tell him to get up and I'm positive I heard the neighbor say it. I think the cop panicked and gave the wrong order then shot an innocent guy.

This entire bit is a mess.

Anyway, from what I could tell, I think the officer might have been intoxicated. Perhaps he was trying to say "shut up" and said "get up" instead? It would confuse me well enough.

I don't see why he had to ventilate the guy, though... even one shot to a guy on the ground should be fine.

I think the cop panicked and gave the wrong order then shot an innocent guy.
:D

What a typically anti-American Police response! Have you ever experienced the stress of being a policeman and having to deal with a situation like that?!?
The police will investigate this, and they'll find that he made the right decision. And besides, the criminal..ahem..."serviceman" should've known what was meant. How stupid can you be to ignore the signals, hey?

You, sir, are an armchair sheriff!

:D

What a typically anti-American Police response! Have you ever experienced the stress of being a policeman and having to deal with a situation like that?!?
The police will investigate this, and they'll find that he made the right decision. And besides, the criminal..ahem..."serviceman" should've known what was meant. How stupid can you be to ignore the signals, hey?

You, sir, are an armchair sheriff!
Nope. I'm a retired criminal.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/01/police.shooting/index.html

for those of us who DON'T watch the news.

if you ever watch the famous COPS show, you can totally see how this happens. cops get all hopped-up on adrenaline, stop thinking correctly.. All The Time. i've often been surprised that more incidents like this aren't on the news. we need cops, but what the hell.

Vegetarianistica']cops get all hopped-up on adrenaline, stop thinking correctly.. All The Time. i've often been surprised that more incidents like this aren't on the news. we need cops, but what the hell.
Oh I'm loving this!!!

Poor cop. I bet this isn't how he imagined his career ending....

The Serviceman was a passenger in the vehichle. The officer instructed him to get up, the man began to comply, and the officer shot him. There is no way to reason that away, there is no way to explain it. He did something stupid, and will likely get his ass sued to hell and gone. I want to be a cop, and I think the officer fucked up.

at least the guy that was shot is in good condition and probably doesn't have to go back to Iraq for a while. :p

That cop is a criminal and a loser though but I imagine he won't go to prison like he deserves.

Seems like a pretty good case for less lethal weaponry in the hands of police. Certainly the LA bank robbery thing has pointed out that the police can be out gunned, so I'm not advocating that they have no guns at all and sometimes they really do need the fire power. But if they had an intermediary option for when they're not in a near war zone condition...if that cop had a stun gun instead of a bullet gun the mistake wouldn't have been as near lethal. I know that police are carrying those now (and I know that they can be lethal as well, but not as likely as a bullet) but I don't know how many are using them and under what conditions. Bottom line, they're not always in a knock down drag out fire fight and they don't always need a weapon with irreversable consiquences. Their job is hard and stressful and mistakes are going to happen because they're not supermen, you can take some of that load off by reducing the lethality of thier options..