[Video] Northern Miami police shoot unarmed Black man with hands raised.

originally posted by: eluryh22
a reply to: gladtobehere

I openly admit and am not ashamed to say that in general, my default setting is to defend the police.

The whole "Hands Up; Don't Shoot" was proven to be a lie and although it was a shame that the individual in that case was killed, he was far from an innocent person.

The guy in Staten Island that got killed had a sizeable record and children (I believe 5) and instead of doing an honest days work for an honest days pay, he was selling "loosies" on the street and resisted arrest. Again, I can't say he deserved the death penalty but he was far from an innocent person.

This case though.... jeez. Of course I only know what we all know so far but my HOPE is that it was an accident... an AVOIDABLE accident (meaning that the cop just basically sucked at this part of his job and shouldn't have been issued a badge to begin with... but somehow slipped through the cracks). I can't fathom (nor do I believe) that someone would, in that scenario, take a shot at someone lying down like that just for fun or for sport.

Two quick points though....

1) Some people are saying that CLEARLY the autistic guy was autistic. That is not a fair assumption. Every night of the week my wife sees them come into the ER. People that are wacked out on this drug or that one and from what I saw in the video and what she describes, for someone arriving on the scene it would NOT have been obvious that the person was autistic instead of being high on Lord knows what. I'm not justifying shots being fired. I'm just trying to clarify that one item that is being kicked around.

2) Before people start going crazy with the institutional racism nonsense (nonsense being my understanding and belief), I think we should wait a day or two to see how this is handled. If this is as bad as it looks, and the officer is kicked off the force and stands trial, then there is no huge issue there in the sense that nobody would be above the law. We'll see how it plays out.

2A) If this turns out to be as bad as it kinda/sorta looks at the moment, my suggestion to the prosecutor would be to NOT try to OVERCHARGE the officer. Look what happened with the Freddy Gray case. I'll say that I personally don't think the officers did anything wrong, but if the overzealous prosecutor didn't overcharge the officers, she would of had a shot of getting a conviction. Just like with Trayvon Martin. Although the person that shot/killed him wasn't a police officer, had the prosecutor not gone over-the-top with the charges, Zimmerman would likely be behind bars as I type these words.

Back to this case. I'm glad the victim survived and I'm hopeful that (somehow) this turns out to be not as bad as it might be.

In agreement with all you said.

If 2A) ends up being what happened, which it looks like it is - this officer better be charged and found guilty. If not I will be in the streets protesting along with other citizens.

Pretty disgusted at the moment but thankful that this man is alive and able to be with his family again.

LEO's need better training. I don't know if yearly psych evals are given to each officer but they should be.

I think people are just going to have to start carrying their own handcuffs and learn how to cuff yourself to keep this all under control.

"Look officer, I have my own and I am putting them on. No need to get spooked. Just give me 10 seconds to put the bracelets on and then you can arrest me. It's going to be ok"

a reply to: rollanotherone

No silly, we need to walk around always cuffed.

originally posted by: rollanotherone
I think people are just going to have to start carrying their own handcuffs and learn how to cuff yourself to keep this all under control.

"Look officer, I have my own and I am putting them on. No need to get spooked. Just give me 10 seconds to put the bracelets on and then you can arrest me. It's going to be ok"

still gonna get shot at tho

why even have police in the first place, honestly i feel that things like law enforcement and a military hampers a free society like ours.
i mean if everyone used the second amendment properly they could enforce the law and they would naturally restrain themselves much more heavily in order to prevent social isolation and to protect themselves.

what we have are an elite group of a select few who has special laws and privileges to protect themselves, who are placed above the general public and are basically accountable to nobody, it's a situation that creates a dangerous mindset that causes stratification and a sense of superiority over others and in the people a sense of blind faith that denies reality in most cases or causes fear and paranoia in others(mainly minorities and the poor).

So none of you find it suspicious that we have footage of the guy laying on the ground with his hands in the air, but not the actual shooting?

There's a reason for that I'm sure.

I do the same type of work and have been in situations attempting to calm autistic folk down in the community and that is hard enough but this guy has to deal with getting shot also????.
It does sound like it was a mistake but come on the training they should go through should make sure stuff like this never happens.
I hope he sues.

a reply to: Bone75

Do you think he jumped up and ran for the cop? please explain what you mean.

originally posted by: TheKnightofDoom
a reply to: Bone75

Do you think he jumped up and ran for the cop? please explain what you mean.

I actually believe his story, so don't put words in my mouth monkey boy.

I'm just curious as to why they didn't show him getting shot. Either the person who provided the footage edited it out or the news station did.

Either way we're being manipulated... whether he's telling the truth or not.

Ahh! my local morning news is going full swing with this one. "A behavioral therapist "gunned" down in the street"... That is sure to ease tensions. Should be more like "idiot cop pops off stray round" or something to that effect.

I am glad this man survived as he clearly has a good heart and really seems to be perfectly innocent, but it seems like one big mistake and not a case of malicious intent, that I can see so far. I can only imagine the flak this cop got from his fellow officers afterwards.

And what is up with part of the video being left out.. Hmmmmmm...

originally posted by: Bone75
So none of you find it suspicious that we have footage of the guy laying on the ground with his hands in the air, but not the actual shooting?

There's a reason for that I'm sure.

Do you think if the cop had a body cam we would be seeing that footage yet? Gotta be a reason for that I bet.

originally posted by: rollanotherone
I think people are just going to have to start carrying their own handcuffs and learn how to cuff yourself to keep this all under control.

"Look officer, I have my own and I am putting them on. No need to get spooked. Just give me 10 seconds to put the bracelets on and then you can arrest me. It's going to be ok"

Just lmao.

Something is beginning to stink. After some local scandal about our sheriff, it seems like some far right extremists have taken a lot of jobs in law enforcement.

originally posted by: Snarl
Sounds like a negligent discharge that's being blown out of proportion as another cop shooting a black guy.

When people are handling firearms there is always the potential someone is going to get shot. Sometimes the cops shoot themselves. Pretty damn funny when that happens. It's pretty damaging to one's career if you become defined as an unsafe officer.

I've said it before. I'll say it again. Try not to become involved with cops. You do NOT know what the outcome is going to be.

This is a 100% unacceptable excuse. This officer needs to turn in his badge. Accidental discharges that don't hurt other people are one thing, but this situation is completely unacceptable. If you are pointing a gun at someone, trigger discipline goes hand in hand with that. NEVER put your finger on the trigger of a gun unless you are going to fire it. I was taught that in the military.

a reply to: gladtobehere

As was mentioned before (by a few european members) U.S. LEO training is sub-par in comparison to LEOs in european countries.

Over here, recruits have to go through 3,5 years of training before they are even "rookies" for another year.
Entrance requirements are much higher and mental health evaluation are much more strict.
If you want to go up in higher grade of the career bracket you have to absolve additional law school classes.

It seems that a lot of U.S. LEOs would barely qualify as Mall-security over here.

originally posted by: Bone75
So none of you find it suspicious that we have footage of the guy laying on the ground with his hands in the air, but not the actual shooting?

There's a reason for that I'm sure.

I'm curious what you think that reason is. Did the guy suddenly start reaching for a gun when the video went off or something? Is that what you are suggesting? Are you honestly incapable of finding fault with the police?

originally posted by: ColCurious
a reply to: gladtobehere

It seems that a lot of U.S. LEOs would barely qualify as Mall-security over here.

In rural towns, LEO's are determined by a popular vote and then that guy employs his buddies as deputies.

a reply to: ShadowLink

So, someone says "I'd like to hear both sides", and you reply with "The guy who was shot said X, that's good enough for you".
Really?

I recommend you read some government material denying the existence of area 51, aliens, or black sites. You know, since all you need is one side of the story to know what is and isn't true.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: Bone75
So none of you find it suspicious that we have footage of the guy laying on the ground with his hands in the air, but not the actual shooting?

There's a reason for that I'm sure.

I'm curious what you think that reason is. Did the guy suddenly start reaching for a gun when the video went off or something? Is that what you are suggesting? Are you honestly incapable of finding fault with the police?

You have to admit Bone has a point. How convenient that we have before, and after, but not during, in the video. Somebody doesn't want us to see that footage and I want to know why. Maybe it was a complete negligent accident, but they want to spin it as intentional? I don't know but you have to admit, something isn't right.

That being said, this man that was shot does not seem at all to be a bad guy, in fact just the total opposite, so I truly do feel for him. If this shot that was fired, from a rifle, was a deliberately aimed shot, someone would be dead, or at least critically injured. It feels that someone is trying to spin this another way.

a reply to: gladtobehere

It really is pretty simple to understand. We are living through the death throes of the shared social convention of a white male christian defined society. In general the police are the most obvious of the projections of that paradigm. The Trump takeover of the GOP, and the seething, violent, irrational anger it exudes have concentrated the violence in a completely obvious manner. Since the decline and eventual extinction of this frame is inevitable we can only pray (if that is what we do) that their last gasps do not reach out and threaten the stability of the entire world. Simple, isn't it?