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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.
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"
originally posted by: TheKnightofDoom
a reply to: Bone75
Do you think he jumped up and ran for the cop? please explain what you mean.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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?