Jury Convicts Oklahoma Cop In Death Of Unarmed Teen

"OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma jury Tuesday convicted a veteran police captain of first-degree manslaughter in the death of an unarmed teenager who was running away after scuffling with the officer."

Yes, this is great news. I hope cops across see this and think "Holy crap, I gotta start actually doing my job instead of acting like Hitler!" ~ I'm just saying, you know, that it seems that most cops seem to have this "I'm better than you, and I am above the law" attitude.

The videos are out there, and they show just how ignorant some cops can sometimes be.

In the old days of ATS, I remember that when you post news, you had to write a certain amount of words that describe your thoughts and feelings regarding the news event, and I find that to be an excellent concept. My thought regarding this story are simple. Despite the fact that these officers are human, I believe the citizens need to be aware of the afflictions that police officers must endure.

Then Again. . . .

Quite simply, if it should make sense that if soldiers endure the horrible effects of PTSD, then why should I not consider that any given officer might be subject to the same fate as a result of the many horrible things that they have endured. Since it is a job, his or her tour of duty might last for 20 to 30 years. So, given that concept, perhaps I may be jumping to conclusions by calling them idiot for losing control. . .that, for all I know, they may no longer have.

A Link To The Story

reply to post by Divine Strake


Holding cops accountable should be a required part of our justice system. If we can't be safe from those upholding the law we've all lost. While you seldom if ever will find me sympathetic to any police violence and over-reach I will always check out the information in any case I'm discussing.

Here's what I found most interesting:

The shooting occurred just a few weeks after the death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida, and the defense suggested early on that prosecutors were influenced to file charges to prevent the type of racial discord that followed that shooting and another high-profile case in Tulsa last year. Harrison is white; Scott was black.

So was this a racially motivated case on the part of the prosecution? Not that the cop shouldn't be charged for shooting someone in the back but if the suspect was white would he have been prosecuted at all?

reply to post by Bassago


Good point. I've wondered that as well about the racial issue. I find it interesting how many stories on my local news seem to involve people of other races, yet if the suspect is white, they seem to explain the story in more detail as if to give justification for the white suspect's actions

I think it's odd that this was a jury trial. Usually a cop will opt for a bench trial and get a slap on the wrist.