Unarmed man in speedos shot dead by police

Unarmed man in speedos shot dead by police

www.telegraph.co.uk

Unarmed man in speedos shot dead by police

By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 5:50PM BST 22 Jul 2009

Tyler Heilman, 24, had just arrived home in Kasota, Minnesota, after a day's swimming with friends when he was accosted by Todd Waldron, a sheriff's deputy, who had been following him in an unmarked car.

As the pair got into a scuffle, friends of Mr Heilman insisted it was not clear that Mr Waldron was a police officer when he asked to see the other man's driving licence.

According to the friends, the two men got into an argument and ended up wrestling on the ground.

As M

(visit the link for the full news article)

I have been known to frighten the horses and to give the ladies the vapours when strutting around in my Speedos, but this is ridicules. Why fire a weapon at a near naked man when merely drawing the weapon would have permitted the officer to take control.

The officer didn't even identify himself and unnecessarily escalated the confrontation.

www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 053131p://pm3109 by masonwatcher]

the vapours? you give women gass? lol that is really horrible that he died in some damn speedos.....

I actually know a friend of the man who got shot by the pig. It's absolutely disgusting. I hope the pig hangs. I've heard what this was about and I know from slain man's friend that he was a level headed good person. THE PIG NEEDS TO HANG!

And don't give me this whiny pro-cop stuff. Screw that, there's no defending this situation. The cop deserves death.

Also notice this is in a BRITISH news source. Cracker jack reporting American MSM.





[edit on 23-7-2009 by CuriousSkeptic]



Removed profanities.

Note: do not remove staff comments in your posts.

[edit on 23/7/09 by masqua]

reply to post by masonwatcher


I'll say this as it is very frustrating to read, watch videos, hear news reports more and more recently about things like this but once again here is a clear case by the thread that a cop/police has run a muck! I wish the news would report equally amount of reports of good cops doing their jobs so that we can praise them. I want, need and inspire more reports like this for public awareness but want to thank those who do their jobs without threat to the public as well.

I hope to hear updates about this case!

reply to post by CuriousSkeptic


i totally agree, if there was a cop that got shot then s would hit the fan and it would be this big ordeal......but not for this man right?? there should be.....and im really sorry to hear about this whole incedent.....im still waiting on word for my recent brothers murder case and havnt herd s.....

A Deputy officer not in uniform, driving an unmarked vehicle pulls over a citizen. I believe that the Deputy officer did the right thing in pulling over an erratic driver, however, when you are driving an unmarked vehicle and are wearing plainclothes, the VERY first thing you do is show a badge and identify yourself as a Law Enforcement officer! Most plainclothes officers driving an unmarked car will wait for backup from uniformed officers in a marked vehicle to arrive before approaching the car.

Second, where was his Taser?

Third, why wasn't drawing his weapon enough?

Fourth, four shots? Officers are generally taught to shoot twice.

It is clear that the officer breached protocol to begin with. It is pretty obvious that the officer panicked as well.

Bad cop! No donut!

The victim didn't sound like an angel, but he certainly didn't sound like the kind of guy who was deserving of being fatally shot either. Yet another example of bad police who give the rest of the police a bad name.

There have been stories of criminals posing as cops. Many cops have also been convicted of being criminals. Without having witnessed the event, I don't know the details. My guess would be that this was a lovers quarrel. Maybe the guy was messing around with the cops wife or girlfriend. idk

reply to post by fraterormus

I believe that the Deputy officer did the right thing in pulling over an erratic driver,

Somehow I doubt the police man's claims seeing that he put two bullets in a man in his drawers.

Originally posted by aleon1018
There have been stories of criminals posing as cops. Many cops have also been convicted of being criminals. Without having witnessed the event, I don't know the details. My guess would be that this was a lovers quarrel. Maybe the guy was messing around with the cops wife or girlfriend. idk

The guy who was murdered had a girlfriend and a kid.

It said they got in a scuffle. If you start fighting with an officer and especially if you grab for his weapon you may end up shot. Best way to not get killed is to cooperate with the officer. Common sense.

This is another example of stupidity. Give him the chair. If they are allowed to continue outrageous behavior in plain sight consider them untouchable. SnF

FYI

U.S. Source

abcnews.go.com...


Also an interesting comment on this story from someone who appears to be close to the strory:

abcnews.go.com...[66E818A1-D541-411C-B7A1-2264945ED92A]

In Response To: Heilman's Family Wants Justice For Son's Shooting
VanillaDuck you are a horrible, heartless person. This "alcoholic/druggie" man you are talking about was my younger brothers friend and friend of many I hold dear. You need to not judge what you do not know. Tyler WAS in trouble with the law IN THE PAST. He was in the middle of getting his life together when he was shot and killed. As for Chris (the friend you mention in the car) it all happened so fast he didn't know what to think. He was scared. Simple as that. I wish you could have seen his face tonight. I did. I saw every tear that fell from his eye as he told me what he had witnessed. I saw the horror in his eyes as he was telling me of the scene that keeps replaying in his mind and will never go away. And as for the "badge that was on his belt"... there was no badge. That is he didn't show it until after the wrestling match began. When he did show it, Tyler got up back off with his hands in the air saying, "I'm done." THAT is when Tyler was shot. AFTER he surrendered. Tyler was not shot at once or twice or three times. No he was shot at four times. He was hit twice from what we know now. But this police officer shot at a man who said he was done and backing off, who had only swim trunks on, not even a shirt (so clearly know weapon) and who had his hands up in the air. Four times. Four. Tyler was but five feet away from him. If he really, really felt that for some reason in this case he had to shoot at Tyler, I believe once....in the leg....would have had a better outcome. So, VanillaDuck, take it from someone who knows these people: Tyler who was a son, a father, a boyfriend, a cousin and a friend...did not deserve this.

Better Local Source:

(Long link, if it doesn't work, go to google and put: star tribune Kasota, Minnesota Tyler Heilman into your search.
www.startribune.com...W3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl


I would say this officer is screwed.... there are 2 witnesses, one of which was a resident of the apartment complex:

When Heilman started walking away, Waldron grabbed his shoulders, ordered him to the ground and announced that he was under arrest, Hoehn said.

Heilman then flipped Waldron to the ground and the two "wrestled," though no punches were thrown, Hoehn said. Heilman eventually pinned Waldron and only then saw the badge clipped to Waldron's belt. He then jumped off the deputy with his hands in the air, Hoehn said.

Waldron "sprang up and shot" without any warning, Hoehn said.

Heilman, who was dressed only in swim trunks, grabbed at two bullet wounds in his chest and staggered as blood oozed between his fingers.

" 'I'm done, man, I'm done -- what the hell?' " Hoehn recalled him saying between strained breaths.

Jolene Manderfield, who lives in the Valley View Apartments where Heilman was shot, supported Hoehn's account of the shooting occurring without any warning.

"[Waldron] just had that look on his face, 'What have I done? What have I done?'" said Manderfield, who pulled into the parking lot minutes before the shooting. "Why would you shoot someone that's unarmed? All he had on was a swimsuit, you know?"

Manderfield ran after Heil-man as he staggered around the apartment building, then collapsed on his stomach. When she and other witnesses turned him over he was unconscious, without a pulse, she said.

[edit on 23-7-2009 by infolurker]

cops simply have too much power and dont have the emotional capacity to handle it

what pisses me off is the situation with that gates guy who obamas standing up for


all because hes black its now a racial thing instead of what it truly is

its not just black and latino ppl who are screwed by law enforcement

its all of us

every day

we need to stop the race card and realize law enforcement as a whole needs a new makeover


its only a matter of time until the cops arrest the wrong person, abuse the wrong person or kill the wrong person

and when it happens, law enforcement and the entire U.S. will be in for a really hard time

[edit on 23-7-2009 by Dramey]

The witness has this cop pegged, She saw the shooting and that the "victim was surrendering when he was shot.

www.twincities.com...

An argument ensued, and it was overheard by Manderfield, who was walking from the parking lot to the front door of the apartment building at the time.

The argument, which some said escalated to a physical altercation, prompted Manderfield to turn around and investigate. And as she turned the corner, she said she saw the officer reach for his gun, pull it out, point it at Heilman and fire what she believes was four shots into his chest (some in town say they heard just three shots.) Heilman had been swimming at Lake Emily and was wearing nothing but his trunks.

"(The officer) pulled out his gun and just started shooting," Manderfield said. "He didn't yell 'Freeze!' or anything. I said, 'What are you doing!' "

Manderfield administered CPR until paramedics arrived, but she says she knew immediately that it was hopeless.

"It was so senseless. (Heilman's) arms were like this," she said, raising her arms straight out from her sides. "I saw him. He knew (Heilman) didn't have a weapon.

reply to post by fraterormus

A Deputy officer not in uniform, driving an unmarked vehicle pulls over a citizen. I believe that the Deputy officer did the right thing in pulling over an erratic driver, however, when you are driving an unmarked vehicle and are wearing plainclothes, the VERY first thing you do is show a badge and identify yourself as a Law Enforcement officer! Most plainclothes officers driving an unmarked car will wait for backup from uniformed officers in a marked vehicle to arrive before approaching the car.

Starsky and Hutch have a lot to answer for.

Less man-sized children in our law enforcement plz.


[edit on 23-7-2009 by Lazyninja]

multiple stories like this coming out each day I've noticed. Its pretty sad. RIP to this man.

[edit on 23-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

With the added above information and alleged testimony, I would think the family might get a law suit against the state. This reminds me of the cop who shot a guy they already had pinned down. The cop used excessive and deadly force. He'd be lucky if he didn't go to prison. What he should have done at most; was either pepper sprayed him or tasered him.

Where did the cop think the other guy had his weapon, In his Speedo...

I think cops might feel like they have too much power sometimes.

I don't know why they feel the need to pull out their big guns and tazers on some people..