Originally posted by defcon5
I already covered this above somewhere, but to charge an officer with manslaughter you have to show that they did something intentionally negligent.
Like if the guy modified his weapon, or was in the habit of handling it unsafely. Police are given a large amount of leeway in making mistakes, even
when it costs someone their life. As I have already stated above though, it will most likely end his career as a police officer.
Well it's simple really.
Either he drew his weapon intending to use it given the situation unfolding, which then is criminally negligent homicide as there was no reason for
him to pull the trigger - Or he drew his weapon bu accident and it discharged accidentally, which is then involuntary manslaughter - and yes, if his
was only in fear of his safety based on the commotion around him, he was negligent in his care of duty in that situation as the kid was not a threat
yet he still drew his weapon.
Also if you read my other posts, you will see that one of the other reasons I truly feel that he did not intend to use his firearm is because
of the proximity to other officers who were struggling with the victim.
He still drew his weapon when it was not required. That is neglect. And it would be murder had the roles be reversed.
An officer is not going to discharge his weapon when the person could easily pull one of his fellow officers into the line of fire at the last
second, or where the shot could ricochet off the floor and strike another officer.
Therefore, involuntary manslaughter. Neglect not only in that he drew it, but he was in close proximity of his fellow officers and put them at real
risk of death or serious injury also.
Basically, I see absolutely no case in which he CAN NOT be charged with a crime, BUT I know what sort of world we live in, and I know that it will be
swept as much under the carpet as possible. Cops are above the law, don't you know.
As to your remark about the other case, I guess I just don't get it.
Get what? I was referring to the same case, I only mentioned the perth trains because the atmos here can be exactly as rowdy as it appeared on that
video, and would lead to no good outcome if you mix with it an inexperienced cop who has no ability to step back from the situation and consider his
next actions very carefully.