Off-duty cop shoots, kills son after mistaking him for intruder

There are a lot of police officers shooting first without asking anything. Off duty or on. Are they microchipped by any chance? Is there a reason for it?

Originally posted by Ilovecatbinlady


His son would most likely have been a cop. The cop problem runs in families. I worked with a lady whose husband is a cop and her kids, both a boy and a girl, joined the police one after the other.

There is something hard, officious and limited about cop families. They are dull, dull, dull and fXcking evil.

I hope you never need a cop some day.

I'd write more but T&C. . . . . . .

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Originally posted by Ilovecatbinlady

I love it when the pigs get it.

It was a child. Not a pig!

It was the policeman's child so you are technically correct. We are all someone's child, but at age 37 he was hardly "a child " - nor a pig. A very callous comment on the part of who you are responding to but it is becoming an increasingly popular sentiment as we watch our society and government deteriorate from within. Much crime is generated by poor laws we are stuck with. There is hardly such thing as a friendly neighborhood policeman anymore.

Originally posted by beezzer

I hope you never need a cop some day.

I'd write more but T&C. . . . . . .

I will never "need" a policeman or cop. Much better, to me, to want them and not have them than to have them and not want them - especially given to what and how their duty, attitude, and function has evolved to in more recent times.

It is very unfortunate that poor law-making has created an "us vs. them" mentality even among the more commonly law-abiding citizenry.

Very true it is a tragedy from any way you care to view the incident.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


To a parent, a child of 2 or 52 is still their child.


Child [chahyld]
noun, plural chil·dren.

1. A person between birth and full growth; a boy or girl: books for children.

2. A son or daughter: All my children are married.

3. A baby or infant.

4. A human fetus.

5. A childish person: He's such a child about money.




It's a tragedy

reply to post by Ilovecatbinlady


Oh, Whatever


Twist and turn all you want the fact remains you lack empathy simply because you want to make a statement about cops meanwhile it's a tragedy

A parent has accidentally killed their child. I could care less how you want to rationalize your statements. A few years back there was a story in the local papers about a father whose son had a very bad chest infection and in the middle of a very bad snowstorm had to take his son to the Hospital. He went outside to get the car warmed up and ready and he then backed out of the driveway and inadvertently ran over and crushed his son

What would have been your response to that?

"I love it when the pigs get it"

reply to post by SLAYER69


Noted. That was taken into account in my reply, before any edit. I replied to you in part to clarify in the event you may have missed the age, and also replied as a vehicle to interject my own commentary. However your providing of definitions does not warrant you another star from me. It really is not like he shot and killed a 10 year-old son, except perhaps from his own perspective.

Agreed, this is a tragedy from any way it is viewed. It is a tragedy on many levels of analysis and slant.

Whatever positive actions or outcomes that may be prompted from and arise as a result of this tragedy are sure to be offset by equally negative ones.

I could use this case to pop off on my feelings about Police Officers, laws, policies, and any other number of issues but I won't do that. As a Father myself, my heart goes out to this man. It's bad enough when you feel you are in a position to defend your life. It's even worse, when you have to take a life. I can not even begin to imagine taking the life of my own child accidentally. Weather he is 3 or 83, that was his son that he shot and killed and he will have to live with that forever. No parent should ever have to go through the pain of burying their own child- it does not matter how old they are. This father will not only have to deal with the emotions of burying his son, but he will have to find a way to live with the responsibility of it as well.

Sorry, I am not fan of Police but using this type of situation to make a political statement of any kind is classless. I feel for this man, not the Officer- but the man.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


No offense, but my reply wasn't just to you.

PEACE

Originally posted by Ilovecatbinlady
Oh whatever nothing.

You know my position and I didn't ask for you favour. If you don't like what I think, then move a long because I don't buy what you are selling.

Insert a T & C violation Warning here

Originally posted by benrl
Its a tragedy...

It illustrates it can happen to anyone, even someone trained in the proper use and application of force.

All cops are not bad, and reveling in the death of this mans son as an example of "stupid cops" is shameful.

I hope this man and his family end up okay after this, but I can't imagine how hard it would be to shoot your own son.

No it cannot "happen to anyone."
Unless my son was physically attacking me and needed to be shot, this would not ever happen to me. I do not shoot at silhouettes in the dark. Do you?

I really cannot wait for the usual ATS 2nd amendment brigade to march in here and point out how much better it would have turned out if the son had a gun on him too.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

This is heartbreaking.

As a Parent I cant imagine the pain and anguish that the father feels. He'll have to live for the rest of his life with knowing his is the hand that ended a precious life.

edit on 22-7-2012 by SLAYER69 because: (no reason given)

Agreed.

I'm pretty disgusted at some of the comments in this thread. The guy was just protecting his own property and did what most people here would do. How many times do we hear members here acting the tough guy saying that if anyone came onto their property they'd shoot them?

This guy did the same thing and a terrible accident happened. Not all cops are bad. What a god job the whole of ATS is not judged by the actions of a few eh?

CX.

Originally posted by CX
The guy was just protecting his own property and did what most people here would do.

How so?
What property was he protecting?
This is the same cop that caused riots in my hometown in the 70s for also shooting and killing someone he did not have to.

You might think that with a dad for a cop, a brother for a cop, decades on the force, and already having an entire city hate you for shooting someone...you might learn to ask questions before shooting.

Originally posted by CX

The guy was just protecting his own property and did what most people here would do. How many times do we hear members here saying acting the tough guy saying that if anyone came onto thier property they'd be shoot them?

This appears to be a somewhat uniquely American situation. I see you are from the UK, and myself now having lived the better part of the past decade in Mexico where in both countries gun ownership is highly restricted compared to US laws.

I agree with the US 2nd Amendment and right to have and bear arms, but law, enforcement, and justice should necessarily be different where these arms rights laws differ. Perhaps the US should lean toward "frontier Justice" and more complete personal autonomy than where the arms rights are so limited - rather than the more "police state" type society that it has become.

More personal responsibilities should accompany the increased choices and freedoms in such a society rather than a "crack-down" mentality of its government because of its freedoms, which is all counter-productive to the aims and goals of the nation's founders in granting these liberties and "rights." Its increasingly restrictive laws are at odds with its freedoms, and at odds with its citizens. It is creating an undesired friction that is showing up in countless headlines.

Americans, though, seem more willing, than any other country I have visited, to give up their freedoms in trade to their various levels of government for providing them security. Americans seem content with merely being told they are the freest nation on Earth though their incarceration rate contradicts that notion. In light of that contradiction it seems likely they will either surrender all their freedoms or bring their society and government structure crashing down on themselves.

Somewhere on Earth I would love to see an example of a country living and being a completely free and open, self-responsible society. All persons may wish to volunteer for such but it seems doubtful any society is really ready to accept that sort of responsibility, along with its accompanying joys and its tragedies.

Cops need to be taught how to not be trigger-happy before they're given a gun. They need anti-paranoia classes or something. There have been enough stories in the news by now that we all know trigger-happiness among cops is a problem. I don't think they should be using lethal weapons in most cases anyway. If he had accidentally stunned his son hilarity would've ensued. But this is just tragic and stupid.

Again, someone please explain to me, why we need automatic weapons? When i asked this question, in the Colorado shooting spree pages, i got an answer like this: "Do you really want to be schooled." And my answer to that question is: "Yes! Please, do so!"

There is no use for a gun, and if you're "off duty"....why doesn't your pistol remain at the station??? You're not "working" so...why do you need a WEAPON? Matter of fact, why does ANYONE need a firearm??? Let's have a world war, with fists and feet. Fight til the death.

reply to post by habitforming

I really cannot wait for the usual ATS 2nd amendment brigade to march in here and point out how much better it would have turned out if the son had a gun on him too.

This is a very odd statement. I understand the first portion of your post but you lost me here. I don't see how that can be any intelligent rebuttal. Many have said it, until all the details are released we have nothing but speculation. Like you said, you shouldn't be aiming and shooting at silhouettes. I'm a veteran and gun owner, but I'm not a LEO, so I have my own level of comfort and habits with my firearms. I would expect a seasoned police officer to have his/her own. Someone mentioned never bringing a firearm into Old Forge. Well, anyone familiar with the Adirondack mountains knows you're no longer highest on the food chain. I've personally had a black bear in the bed on my F-150; must have been a Chevy bear. Lol. Anyways, we all know every issue in firearms is highly polarized. We have the 9mm vs 45 ACP debate, or a safe gun isn't accessible, or an accessible gun is not safe. Lasers vs lights. Which method of holding the light, And finally, and maybe this had something to do in this particular shooting. Some gun owners don't want their weapons close to them during the night because they do not "wake up well," thus they want that few seconds of walk time to get up wake up before lighting up a target. This is in contrast to someone who wakes up well and can be on their feet without a problem. Perhaps this police officer, as he has aged needs a couple more seconds to "wake up." I'm been both a fireman and flight nurse/paramedic. Early in my career it seems you anticipate the pager when it goes off and you're wide awake, boots on. As I've gotten older, I've noticed I have slept through the pager at times, put my boots even without having an memory of it. I've gotten up, answered the pager and then went back to sleep lol. Good thing I always had a partner!

We won't know for a little while. It's all speculation and assumptions at this time.

Originally posted by SpittinTruth
Again, someone please explain to me, why we need automatic weapons?

Matter of fact, why does ANYONE need a firearm???

You choose to either have uninfringed rights to keep and bear arms, or not. If you choose to infringe on those rights then where do you draw a line and why?

Perhaps the American experiment in freedom and liberty is a failure with so many so eager to give up their liberties in order to possibly have some bit of added security. Accept the responsibility in whole to accept the joys and tragedies that attend it. What you have already given up has only brought you more tragedy and no more freedom nor security.

There are many out there that would like to have you in a submissive slave society. How much further are you willing to go in that direction? You are already getting much closer to that destination.