Officer Convicted In Train Station Shooting

[MJS]

It must be great to be infallible. How do you do it?

Had you just said a black cop performing an arrest with the white person on the ground reaching inside his pocket, ... THEN you might have had a valid comparison. But instead you build a straw man argument that is a complete distortion of the situation. An yes, I think the outcome of my comparison would have been similar, all things considering. And in your argument, it would be murder, just like if a group of white men would force a black cop to lie on the ground after which they shoot him.

That said, if you are determined to make this a race issue, don't let reason and honest arguments stand in your way.

You misunderstand me, I don't think it's a race issue at all, I think it's a cop issue, those just happened to be the races involved. But the OP asked that we not engage in cop bashing, so I guess that's all I have to say about that.

As far as being infallible, I am not. I also don't point guns at innocent civilians, and I've never murdered one. If you're ok saying "accidents happen," fine. I am not. I feel if one is going to command lethal force, one bears the full respondibility of that decision. If you do not, then you and I will gain nothing from this exchange.

Good day.


-Rob

Whether *we*, here on this forum, think its a race issue or not, fact remains that anytime there are situations like this, the public, the family of the suspect, will always pull the race card. Right or wrong, it happens.

Did this officer intend to grab the taser? I have no idea..I wasn't there. Could he have, during the heat of the moment, mistaken the gun for the taser? Not a clue. I'd like to think that this was accidental, but again, in the eyes of the public......

 

[Andy Moynihan]

Would it be impractical to wear the tazer in a different place entirely e.g. at the left chest with the butt down for a right-hand draw?

That way the draw would be different enough for officers not to mix lethal and non-lethal up when they are under stress?

Well as I see it the problem with that is the same as any gun in an unconcealed, openly-carried crossdraw or shoulder rig( that being that if they see you move for it and you make the mistake of drawing for it while facing square with them, they could block your arm across your body before you deploy it, and once they know what it is you're going for it's more accessible to them than you)

There IS a safe way to carry/draw from crossdraw or shoulder, if concealed,but it adds enough steps that in a Taser situation it may not be well suited, especially where everyone can see the drawstroke.

As I understand it the current practice, helped along by this incident is Sidearm on dominant side, normal draw, Taser in weak side holster, strong side crossdraw.

 

[MJS]

If we are playing "what if" games. I wonder if there would have been riots if the civilians were found innocent? :shrug:

Without a doubt. Then again, I have to wonder....were the tables turned, and this was a white male, shot by a black officer, would there be riots?

 

[Archangel M]

If LA went up in flames after the OJ verdict I wonder how the media treatment would have looked? This rioting after verdicts ******** has to stop. All they are is an excuse to loot stores and damage property.

 

[Archangel M]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gT6GJGL3quMPjCe1oU1W2zvpFfcAD9GRPQ3O0

University of California, Berkeley law school professor Erin Murphy said she could understand the outrage of the community, but the verdict seemed a reasonable conclusion to the trial.

"I think the prosecution from the beginning had a major hurdle," Murphy aid. "Why would a police officer execute someone in public in front of everyone?"

I agree with Mrs Murphy.

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

Would it be impractical to wear the tazer in a different place entirely e.g. at the left chest with the butt down for a right-hand draw?

That way the draw would be different enough for officers not to mix lethal and non-lethal up when they are under stress?

In the U.S., we don't typically wear the type of gear that would allow a chest carry / shoulder holster configuration. Do a search on any U.S. police agency and look at the uniforms.

Unlike in the U.K, from what little I've seen, your officers wear an outer vest over their shirt.

 

[Thesemindz]

"Why would a police officer execute someone in public in front of everyone?"

Why does it matter? See, I have a gun. Bang. Now that guy's dead. It was an accident. I don't care. He's gone forever. Accidents happen. Oh well. Only I should still have been trusted with a gun all along. Even though now, in hindsight I couldn't actually make the correct determination when the moment required it. Oops. But still, can't make an omelot after all. And you don't understand. But hey, I was just enforcing the law. You know paid to point a gun at people. Cause hey, that's what it is. And maybe the people paying my salary should have made sure something like this didn't happen, but if they don't pay their taxes to fund me I'll shoot them. But I only meant to assault unarmed civilians with gangs of men, throw them to the ground, and run electrical current through their bodies while they're tied up on the floor. Get off my back.

I know what my excuse will be next time I accidentally murder someone.


-Rob

 

[Bruno@MT]

Yes, that line of thought would work for a psychopath. An average human being would not follow that train of thought. Psychopaths are not the majority of the people and police officers probably get some sort of psych evaluation before getting their gun. Ergo chances of this cop being a psychopath are not really high.

Thus it is much more likely that this was an accident. Granted, the accident shouldn't have happened, but this is a legitimate determination of manslaughter vs the murder convition which would have been appropriate for a willfull execution on the spot.

But if you would do it so much better, then why don't you put your money where your mouth is and become a cop? Since we need some sort of law enforcement, we might as well have one which would never make any mistake no matter how much confusion and complexity you encounter on a daily basis.

 

[Cryozombie]

Thus it is much more likely that this was an accident. Granted, the accident shouldn't have happened, but this is a legitimate determination of manslaughter vs the murder convition which would have been appropriate for a willfull execution on the spot.

Right. It's not like they let the cop off scott free. If you or I had accidentally discharged a firearm and killed someone under similar circumstances, I would tend to think that the ruling would be similar in most cases, depending on the competency of the lawyers involved of course.