The Shooting Gallery: Police Violence MEGATHREAD

[Capetan Mihali]

If it was please ignore

Appreciate it, Tim.

[Razgovory]

I hadn't seen it.  Officer seemed more then a little trigger happy.

[mongers]

I hadn't seen it.  Officer seemed more then a little trigger happy.

Free Fire Zone USA.

Vietnam sensibilities meets modern 'force protection'.


American boat people next?   

[Ed Anger]

Mongers:

[derspiess]

I hadn't seen it.  Officer seemed more then a little trigger happy.

That's an understatement.

[DGuller]

I wonder what would've happened if the dash cam wasn't rolling?  Would the prosecutor go to the grand jury, or would he just go ahead and indict the black guy for assaulting the officer?

[mongers]

I wonder what would've happened if the dash cam wasn't rolling?  Would the prosecutor go to the grand jury, or would he just go ahead and indict the black guy for assaulting the officer?

The standard you need to judge it by is, what would have happened in the later days of the Soviet Union in the same situation; better or worse and you seem the ideal person to be able to make the comparison. 

[DGuller]

I wonder what would've happened if the dash cam wasn't rolling?  Would the prosecutor go to the grand jury, or would he just go ahead and indict the black guy for assaulting the officer?

The standard you need to judge it by is, what would have happened in the later days of the Soviet Union in the same situation; better or worse and you seem the ideal person to be able to make the comparison. 

As I said earlier, this situation would be very unlikely to happen in Soviet Union.  Soviet Union did not trust its cops with lethal force, so any use of lethal force required a mountain of paperwork to justify yourself.  Before you fire your gun.

[Valmy]

It would have helped clarify the Michael Brown shooting much earlier.

Indeed.  It was amazing that department did not have cameras on the cars.  Hopefully this sad incident can at least secure that.

[garbon]

Just left work and it was/is grim faced cop-palooza. There aren't even any protesters there!

[garbon]

Some 200 people arrested in NYC last night with more roads/bridges/tunnels being blocked. And looks look quite a few smaller protests across the nation.

[Ed Anger]

https://mobile.twitter.com/OccupyWallStNYC/status/540690787928113152

[OttoVonBismarck]

Ugh, the immediate reaction the Phoenix case just makes me not care at all that black people are being killed by police. I simply cannot accept such dishonest journalism. IN the past few articles I've read that:

1. The police officer "confronted" Rumain Brisbon who was out on a fast food run.

-No, he didn't. The police officer had been told that someone was selling drugs out of a black Cadillac, and had arrived at the McDonald's specifically to investigate that black Cadillac. It was not a random confrontation of a black man.

2. Largely fail to paint an appropriate picture of who Rumain Brisbon is. Namely they focus on how he was unarmed, and might mention as quickly as possible he is a convicted felon, and that "well he did have a gun in his car, but no harm there." Not one article has actually linked that all together: Robinson was committing a felony in his Cadillac by having that gun in it. He's a convicted felon he cannot have a gun. The fact that he had one in addition to illicit drugs in his car makes it quite likely he's a bad dude. And also likely that while he may have, in fact, bought some McDonald's, he also may have been there to sell drugs too.

3. Focuses on "cop confuses bill bottle for a gun." This is typically the headline. But the actual meat of the incident is, the cop pursued him and tried to subdue him. Why did he flee in the first place? Because he was a felon and had a gun in his car and marijuana, and I believe the oxycontin was illicit as well (meaning not prescribed to him.)  He ran to avoid arrest. When the cop caught him and tried to arrest him, he continued to struggle with the cop. The cop felt something hard in his clothing and feared it was the butt of a gun, and after repeatedly telling him to not pull his hand out of his pocket (as he thought he had his hand on a gun), the cop shoots him.

I don't get it, seriously. Are we now at a point where the first reaction to a convicted felon, illegally in possession of a gun and drugs who is resisting arrest and repeated commands to stop what they're doing should be immune from police action? The Supreme Court sets a pretty reasonable standard on when cops can shoot their guns, the "reasonable officer" standard. And it seems that the out of control media/race pimp population takes the view that only after a black man has either shot a cop or is actually shooting at cops is lethal force ever appropriate. Because you know, it's wrong to shoot someone who is just digging in their pocket for something after repeated refusals to stop.

[garbon]

Ugh, the immediate reaction the Phoenix case just makes me not care at all that black people are being killed by police.

Well you have always been a drunken fool so, thanks for staying in character.

[MadImmortalMan]

Damn, Otto.



As a cop, don't you at some point have to question whether you're resorting to violence too hastily? It's a big responsibility, the sanction to use violence on another citizen. I think I'd be pretty careful with it if I were a cop.