Another killing at the hands of the Police

[In The Zone 1,294]

This time the cop gets charged with murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=0

[mr roboto 8,574]

Well that's pretty obviously not right. Hope he's in prison for a long time.

[Henry Ford 60,520]

He was so furtive and uncertain about the whole thing, you can tell it's the first time this has ever happened.

[BustedKnuckles 2,763]

He was so furtive and uncertain about the whole thing, you can tell it's the first time this has ever happened.

yup...went into total panic mode before, during and after the shooting...looked like a rookie who never shot a gun before...reminded me of Barney Fife

[Mjolnirs 1,020]

Less than two miles from my house.

[jonessed 3,213]

I heard the guy was driving a Honda.

[bigbottom 11,136]

Not only shot an unarmed man in the back, but also appeared to tamper with the crime scene by planting a taser on the guy.

[Mjolnirs 1,020]

I heard the guy was driving a Honda.

I'm guessing you mean the 230+ page Looting in Missouri thread. gotcha.

[Ilov80s 30,132]

High praise for the guy filming it. Gutsy move. I can't believe the cops didn't spot him. I wonder what the result is without the footage? The cop gets away clean, right? Or is the fact he was shot in the back from a distance going to come out in an autopsy and actually be enough to bring action?

Edited April 8, 2015 by Ilov80s

[Henry Ford 60,520]

High praise for the guy filming it. Gutsy move. I can't believe the cops didn't spot him. I wonder what the result is without the footage? The cop gets away clean, right? Or is the fact he was shot in the back from a distance going to come out in an autopsy and actually be enough to bring action?

"Clean"? He probably gets a medal without the video for meritorious service in the face of danger.

[The Commish 13,662]

High praise for the guy filming it. Gutsy move. I can't believe the cops didn't spot him. I wonder what the result is without the footage? The cop gets away clean, right? Or is the fact he was shot in the back from a distance going to come out in an autopsy and actually be enough to bring action?

[Yankee23Fan 9,376]

JFC.

[swirvenirvin 7,057]

Awful shooting... What was he 10-15 ft away and it took 8 shots to get him?

[BobbyLayne 10,892]

High praise for the guy filming it. Gutsy move. I can't believe the cops didn't spot him. I wonder what the result is without the footage? The cop gets away clean, right? Or is the fact he was shot in the back from a distance going to come out in an autopsy and actually be enough to bring action?

"Clean"? He probably gets a medal without the video for meritorious service in the face of danger.

209 shoots over the last five years in SC. 100% of the time is was good shoot and deemed a justifiable homicide, e.g, zero prosecutions.

I don't think that statistic makes SC unique.

[Sinn Fein 33,994]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

Isn't SC the same state where the trooper shot the guy going back into his car to get his license?

[rascal 1,733]

The cop should be tried for murder and the fellow cops who lied on the police report saying CPR and first aid was given when obviously was not should be tried for manslaughter.

Edited April 8, 2015 by rascal

[BobbyLayne 10,892]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

"Bring the [CPR] kit."

He had it in his mind they would put in the report they administered CPR. Of course they didn't try CPR in the 3-4 minutes the camera is rolling, but they wanted the kit near them so they could put it in their report. I think the other office took his pulse at one point.

[zamboni 7,049]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

I noticed that, too. The cop also didn't exactly jump to call 911 or provide medical assistance.

Edited April 8, 2015 by zamboni

[tom22406 1,116]

This was how I expected the Ferguson incident to look.

Hope he rots in jail and gets a few "sessions" with Big Bubba and Tiny.

[Zow 8,615]

Yeah that's murder.

[BobbyLayne 10,892]

Isn't SC the same state where the trooper shot the guy going back into his car to get his license?

Yes.

Do you think it's a SC problem?

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

He'll be acquitted and given a medal most likely.

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

Isn't SC the same state where the trooper shot the guy going back into his car to get his license?

Yes.

Do you think it's a SC problem?

No.

[George Jefferson Airplane 1,045]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

Yeah he was covering it up from the time he pointed the gun at the guy.

This is horrific.

[comfortably numb 7,554]

He'll be acquitted and given a medal most likely.

White people may riot if that happens

[avoiding injuries 3,254]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

I noticed that, too. The cop also didn't exactly jump to call 911 or provide medical assistance.

He called it in on his radio right away, complete with the excuse that they guy grabbed his taser.

I saw the video on the news and they typed out the audio, otherwise I wouldn't have known.

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

Not only shot an unarmed man in the back, but also appeared to tamper with the crime scene by planting a taser on the guy.

And people thought Chappelle was just doing standup when he said "sprinkle some crack on the body".

Edited April 8, 2015 by SacramentoBob

[DrrDetroit 6]

I think (although wrong!!!!) the police officer will not face jail time. Defense will say he was scared for his life, or danger to other people. "I thought he might run into a house and take hostages!, I had to take action!"

[johnnycakes 1,189]

Hold it, hold it, hold it.... everyone seems to be overlooking one important point, here. He was a black guy. Driving a Mercedes. WTF??? Doesn't that strike anyone else as a little fishy?

[DrrDetroit 6]

So in my neighborhood a neighbor lady calls the police stating their is a black man wandering around in her neighbors backyard. The black man is an electrician and had a key to the house. The police show up guns drawn on the man in the back yard make him lay face down in the yard while being handcuffed. Finally, the police realize their mistake and let the man go about his work.

I don't think the same thing would have happened if the electrician was a white male.

[zamboni 7,049]

Gotta love telling the dead guy to put his hands behind his back...

I noticed that, too. The cop also didn't exactly jump to call 911 or provide medical assistance.

He called it in on his radio right away, complete with the excuse that they guy grabbed his taser.

I saw the video on the news and they typed out the audio, otherwise I wouldn't have known.

I missed that part - thanks. The cop still seemed a bit nonchalant about the whole situation considering he just gunned down a guy, but I'm not in law enforcement.

[The Commish 13,662]

Guy should fry for shooting him down...nice touch to throw the taser beside him though...the guy filming is a hero IMO. Crap like this has to stop.

[RedmondLonghorn 7,730]

My brother was a cop for 30 years, so I have always gotten to hear things from the police perspective as well. But in the last decade I have gone from somebody with a generally favorable view of the police to a more neutral stance. In the last year or two I have gone from neutral to quite negative.

There is way too much abuse of power and way too little accountability.

[sheerterror 326]

High praise for the guy filming it. Gutsy move. I can't believe the cops didn't spot him. I wonder what the result is without the footage? The cop gets away clean, right? Or is the fact he was shot in the back from a distance going to come out in an autopsy and actually be enough to bring action?

If this wasn't recorded, they'd say this guy died of self inflicted gunshot wounds. The officer was merely trying to help him.

Edited April 8, 2015 by sheerterror

[Scoresman 6,602]

Does this mean another reunion tour is likely not going to happen?

[Ditka Butkus 1,817]

Yep bad kill, giving all of the cops who have a good kill a bad name.

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

Yep bad kill, giving all of the cops who have a good kill a bad name.

That's what 1? maybe 2?

[Ditkaless Wonders 16,251]

What I saw, and what was not seen as clearly as I would like.

At the start of the encounter an object seems to fall from the vicinity of the black male back towards the officer, in fact two items seem to come down, one black and one black and yellow. One of those objects seems to stay on the pathway, and one to fall into the grass just off of the pathway. What the object(s) were is very uncertain, but would be generally consistent with the size and coloration of a tazer.

The black male turns to flee. He takes several steps away from the officer who then levels his gun at the man. Audio is garbled but I, disturbingly, do not hear clear, authoritative, or multiple commands to halt, stop, get his hands up, he's under arrest, nor any other typical warnings. The Officer opens fire. It seems clear he misses the retreating man who is not presenting a then direct danger to the Officer. Around shot number 5 I begin to see evidence the fleeing man may be hit, his gait and posture change. By shot number 7 it is very evident the man is shot and stumbling. The man is now probably some 30 feet to 35 feet away from the Officer and obviously somewhat incapacitated. The Officer pauses briefly in his firing pattern, perhaps less then a second, but a very real pause, and then the Officer fires once more at the wounded man who is facing away from the Officer and not presenting any present danger. The black man drops down, possibly dead, certainly unresponsive as the Officer approaches giving commands to place his hands behind his back. (Now the Officer issues commands)

The Officer goes to cuff the downed man. As he does so it appears, for an instant, that perhaps the man has control of his own head and neck muscles. He seems to hold his head up briefly while being cuffed, though that may just be a result of the Officer pulling on his arm. This attracts my attention. Was the man still alive at this point, if only barely, and if so might the Officer have been wise to request medical assistance with greater apparent urgency.

Next I note that the second Officer arrives on scene more or less from the path of travel of the now deceased black man. It seems that the deceased was running right into a trap had the first Officer not shot him dead before he reached the trap. Also, it is possible that some of the missed shots were traveling more or less in the general direction of the second Officer.

At this juncture the first Officer walks back up the path to the site of the initial encounter we saw, although fairly clearly not the initial point of encounter. He stoops and picks up something off of the ground in the area where we saw something drop right at the beginning of the video scene. He returns to the body, now likely a corpse as we have not seen any movement or even muscle tension in some time, and he casually tosses whatever item was picked up, down next to the body.

From what I have seen the shooting was unjustified at its inception, and certainly by its conclusion. In addition to charging between reckless homicide to Murder 1, I note several violations of sound police tactics, and procedure.

In closing I note that the audio shows that before the shooting police sirens are closing in on the area. The Officer had reason to believe assistance was on the way. He was not out there alone. The cavalry was coming.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Ditkaless Wonders

[jon_mx 8,979]

I hate the implication that because one incident happens one way, it somehow casts light on what happened in other cases. Cops face real danger on a daily basis and act appropriately in some cases. In some cases the circumstances are very grey where it is somewhat justifiable. And in other cases, the cop was completely out of line and should be charged with a crime. Nothing which happened here means anything to any of the other recent cases and to imply it does just shows ignorant bias.

[Scoresman 6,602]

I hate the implication that because one incident happens one way, it somehow casts light on what happened in other cases. Cops face real danger on a daily basis and act appropriately in some cases. In some cases the circumstances are very grey where it is somewhat justifiable. And in other cases, the cop was completely out of line and should be charged with a crime. Nothing which happened here means anything to any of the other recent cases and to imply it does just shows ignorant bias.

wow, i agree with a jonmx post completely.

[The Commish 13,662]

My brother was a cop for 30 years, so I have always gotten to hear things from the police perspective as well. But in the last decade I have gone from somebody with a generally favorable view of the police to a more neutral stance. In the last year or two I have gone from neutral to quite negative.

There is way too much abuse of power and way too little accountability.

Have friends who are thinking of leaving the profession because of incidents like this. It's getting more and more violent.

[kutta 5,526]

That's a bad deal

[Scoresman 6,602]

If you turn the audio way up on the video, you can hear the cop saying "Don't stand so close to me". He was obviously nervous.

[Sweet J 3,288]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGt1l6pNEEE

Posted this in the other thread.

[Scoresman 6,602]

Or maybe the voices inside his head told him to shoot?

[Ditka Butkus 1,817]

If you turn the audio way up on the video, you can hear the cop saying "Don't stand so close to me". He was obviously nervous.

Don't the Police sing it though

[Sinn Fein 33,994]

I hate the implication that because one incident happens one way, it somehow casts light on what happened in other cases. Cops face real danger on a daily basis and act appropriately in some cases. In some cases the circumstances are very grey where it is somewhat justifiable. And in other cases, the cop was completely out of line and should be charged with a crime. Nothing which happened here means anything to any of the other recent cases and to imply it does just shows ignorant bias.

What incidents like this one in particular show - is how this was originally reported, sans video, and how the narrative shifted with the disclosure of the video. It certainly makes people think about how other incidents were reported, and wonder how many would have been reported differently if there had been video.

[SacramentoBob 4,898]

proxy Sinn

[Dentist 1,791]

Only two miles from Mjolnirs house.. unreal.