# Another unarmed black guy shot by cops -- this time the cop is being prosecuted. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511 "2014-09-25T11:17:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/241 "2014-09-26T14:05:49Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > [You’re](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RYiknkz764) [right,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRKtflyhuec) [it never](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMxRTWwcWrs) [happens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxuhZ3HdQo) > > Do you want more of these? Do you have a few million more? To fear a random man you’ve stopped for his seat belt is irrational. To shoot him out of your irrational fear is criminal. Irrational people shouldn’t possess guns/badges. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/242 "2014-09-26T14:07:42Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I would. But it’s just not reasonable to ask a person to verbally announce every movement. What he did wasn’t threatening and could not have been taken as threatening by a reasonable and sane person. What percentage of people do you think watching that video would interpret something as suspicious in the victim’s behavior? It’s probably in the tens of percentages, right? And anyone who thinks his actions were suspicious, with any similarities to the sort of reactions people have when they choose to fight cops rather than comply, are unreasonable and insane? > [@](#): > > As to SenorBeef’s comments about how “the expectation” is that his license is in his pocket, again… Christ. Are we seriously now even contemplating the idea that a police officer should try to kill a man because his license isn’t where most people carry it? That’s not a reasonable interpretation of anything I said, and you know it. I’m saying that sudden, unexpected movements are inherently threatening in a situation like that, and that if the victim were to have done them in a non-sudden, non-unexpected sort of way, this probably wouldn’t have happened. If he said “my license is in my car” and then slowly reached in, it’s extremely unlikely the cop reacts that way. And to say “oh, well we’re all living in a police state if we have to do that” - give me a fucking break. Cops keep up to date on all the police shootings and shit that happen everywhere. They probably have a personal experience or one from a friend in which a routine stop turned into a life or death situation. They’re nervous and suspicious every time they have to do something like this. Throw them a little fucking bone and do your best not to make the situation worse. I don’t know what twisted fucking world you all live in where “try to make sure a cop knows you’re not meaning him any harm” turns into “well you’re just a police state slave then!” ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/243 "2014-09-26T14:08:50Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Moron, as a diagnostic term used for someone with low IQ, has long been out of use. It’s current and common use is as a insult for someone who simply acts that way. My post doesn’t refer to a diagnostic term. I’m asking him if he’s seriously saying, in good faith, that he believes that I’m not merely below average in intelligence, but significantly enough below that to justify such an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/244 "2014-09-26T14:11:28Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > In a perfect world, should you, as an innocent person, be completely unafraid of cops? Sure. No need for a perfect world; how about almost any other other western country? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/245 "2014-09-26T14:11:35Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > My post doesn’t refer to a diagnostic term. I’m asking him if he’s seriously saying, in good faith, that he believes that I’m not merely below average in intelligence, but significantly enough below that to justify such an insult. God, you’re a moron. He’s saying that your posts and “critical” analysis look like they’re posted by someone who is sub-normal IQ. Conclusions about your actual IQ aren’t necessary. That’s why it’s an insult. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/246 "2014-09-26T14:11:51Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > So knowing what I posted in this thread, and my posting history on the board, your position is not merely that I am of sub-average intelligence, but significantly enough so as to be classified as a moron? > > It’s not hyperbole thrown around in an argument, but an attempt at an objective observation and diagnosis? Why is the sound question so hard to answer? You also made a whole bunch of stupid claims - e.g., the guy freezes for a couple seconds, most men carry their wallet in their pocket when driving, we’re all idiots… and now that my use of “moron” is diagnostic? 1. There is no diagnostic label of “moron”. I’m not texting you from the 50s. 2. Lay people use the term moron all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/247 "2014-09-26T14:12:21Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > As I’m watching the video, based on the reaction of the victim, I thought I was going to see the cop get shot. So I can see why the cop would think he’s under threat. Should I give up now? I feel like maybe I should. > [@](#): > > The guy freezes up like a deer in the headlights He does no such thing. > [@](#): > > pauses for a few seconds And that’s threatening? > [@](#): > > and then suddenly takes an action quickly and with purpose. He was getting his wallet on purpose because the cop asked for his ID. > [@](#): > > Since most men carry their license in their pockets, the expectation is that he’s going to reach into his pocket. So the guy is bucking expectations by reaching back into his vehicle. And he did so suddenly, and quickly. It was neither quick nor sudden, and while unusual, it wasn’t some kind of black swan outlier. And again: the person who saw this and shot him _is paid and trained to deal with situations like this and make accurate judgments when placed in those situations._ It’s a big understatement to say he repeatedly failed at this. > [@](#): > > That would make me extremely nervous as a cop Please, please, please tell me you’re not a cop. Please. > [@](#): > > Or, to look at it the other way: If this guy meant to do the cop harm, because had a warrant or whatever, what would it look like? It’d pretty much look like this. And what would it have looked like if the guy listened to what the cop said and then followed his instructions? Exactly like this because that’s what was really happening. That’s the fucking problem. That’s not a defense of the cop. It’s an indictment of his reckless stupidity and failure to make the kinds of life-and-death judgments he is specifically empowered to make. And based on this post it sounds like there is almost nothing that wouldn’t justify a cop shooting an unarmed person. Moving fast and ignoring instructions is obviously bad, but standing still and then follow a cop’s instructions is also suspicious. :rolleye: This is some really frightening stupid, **SenorBeef**. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/248 "2014-09-26T14:12:24Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Do you have a few million more? > > To fear a random man you’ve stopped for his seat belt is irrational. To shoot him out of your irrational fear is criminal. Irrational people shouldn’t possess guns/badges. You demand a few **million** cops getting shot at routine stops in order to justify an officer being on alert and suspicious of sudden unexpected movement? You’re asking for a greater number of incidents than there are police officers in the United States in order for police to feel as though routine stops can be dangerous. Even if only a fraction of these millions of incidents you’re demanding were fatal, are you essentially saying that you have to have several hundred thousand dead cops before they can be nervous during traffic stops? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/249 "2014-09-26T14:16:06Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > You demand a few **million** cops getting shot at routine stops in order to justify an officer being on alert and suspicious of sudden unexpected movement? > > You’re asking for a greater number of incidents than there are police officers in the United States in order for police to feel as though routine stops can be dangerous. Even if only a fraction of these millions of incidents you’re demanding were fatal, are you essentially saying that you have to have several hundred thousand dead cops before they can be nervous during traffic stops? Fine. Have a statistically significant amount more? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/250 "2014-09-26T14:18:04Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What the stop was about is nearly irrelevant. People often get arrested for speeding or seatbelt violations because they have warrants for arrests for other crimes. That’s often why a person will run or attack a cop when pulled over for something minor. It’s relevant because a random seat belt stop is a goddamned safety stop. This isn’t a criminal, nor a violent one. He’s a human being. A person you’re trying to help be more safe. Stopping him and shooting him out of crazed fear is frigging mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/251 "2014-09-26T14:18:46Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’m saying that sudden, unexpected movements are inherently threatening in a situation like that, Situation?!?!? There’s no fucking situation, unless you call “talking to someon” a “situation”. If every encounter with people has you on that kind of edge, you can’t be a cop. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/252 "2014-09-26T14:27:55Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Again, I ask, how might this encounter have looked different if the victim actually were a threat? There would have been a gun in the guy’s hand. That’s the difference. If a guy reaches unto a bag during a traffic stop, a cop is right to be concerned. If something shiny comes out, the cop should be on red fucking alert. But he can’t use deadly force until he’s convinced his life is at risk, which means he needs to see a gun being pointed at him, pretty much. And really, it’s a pretty low bar - - doesn’t have to be a real gun, or even a fake gun, just something that a reasonable person could assume is a gun. And “pointed” has a pretty broad interpretation at that point, with most everyone willing to give the cop much benefit of doubt. But you can’t shoot a guy based on a hypothetical. Hand in a bag is not yet a deadly threat. Maybe in Falujia c. 2004, but not here. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/253 "2014-09-26T14:28:24Z")
The only way anything here would appear sudden is if you did not listen to the cop’s command immediately preceding the reaction. As for the idea that the standard we should be accepting is for the people in such a situation to take control through measured, deliberate, carefully planned and articulated behavioral sequences… fuck that. That is simply not workable. Most people respond to official detention with a spike in their anxiety level - often dramatically so. It is not remotely reasonable to set the standard that these people, with no training and typically no experience, must have the wherewithal to think, plan and do everything with an eye towards anticipating what the range of potential responses from the cop might be to each one. And, when they fail to do so, their death is somehow justifiable. We have to expect that the person with the training and experience will be the one in control, rather than treating cops like Lenny from Of Mice and Men. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/254 "2014-09-26T14:29:07Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > I mean that’s what we’re doing now - blaming the law abiding citizen for not following some undocumented ritual to prevent the law enforcement officer from shooting him. It’s not undocumented, nor is it esoteric. Plenty of people write advice for interacting with the police, including the aforementioned ACLU. They’re all very fucking common sense. I would never do what the guy in the video did. And that’s not bragging. I’m just able to realize the situation is one in which the officer sees me as a potential threat and wants to keep control of the situation. And so I act in accordance with that, not giving him any reason to think that I’m a threat nor that he has lost control of the situation. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > God, you’re a moron. > > He’s saying that your posts and “critical” analysis look like they’re posted by someone who is sub-normal IQ. Conclusions about your actual IQ aren’t necessary. > > That’s why it’s an insult. One can call an argument stupid without resorting to specifically opening a post by stating “you are a moron” if you have any intent to actually have a dialogue with someone. It’s almost certainly hyperbole - it’s more viscerally satisfying to say “you’re a moron” than “I disagree with you”, but it’s poisonous to discourse. > [@Marley23](#): > > He does no such thing. You’re right that I exaggerated the amount of hesitation. > [@](#): > > And that’s threatening? Yes. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been exposed to someone who made an “oh shit” fight or flight response to something, but it generally looks like a freeze up followed by decisive action. > [@](#): > > He was getting his wallet on purpose because the cop asked for his ID. > > It was neither quick nor sudden, and while unusual, it wasn’t some kind of black swan outlier. And again: the person who saw this and shot him _is paid and trained to deal with situations like this and make accurate judgments when placed in those situations._ It’s a big understatement to say he repeatedly failed at this. It was certainly faster than is prudent to do when you’re being detained by a police officer. Cops are human beings. They are not evil automatons, somehow both assigned both perfect control and malice simultaneously. Help the fucking guy out by avoiding doing things that look like a threat. That said, yes, the cop was unjustified to shoot. I think at that point he was justified to pull his gun and make the guy get away from the vehicle, but without further evidence of a threat, shooting was malfeasance. My argument in this thread is not to mostly support the cop, but rather to attack the attitude that blame is entirely binary and the victim could not possibly have done anything to agitate the situation. > [@](#): > > Please, please, please tell me you’re not a cop. Please. I’ve actually been in some situations where there was a real threat and I’m actually extremely calm and rational and not prone to panic. I wouldn’t have shot that guy, nor would I have been justified in doing so. But his behavior definitely would’ve set off alarm bells. I would’ve been more cautious. > [@](#): > > And what would it have looked like if the guy listened to what the cop said and then followed his instructions? Exactly like this because that’s what was really happening. That’s the fucking problem. That’s not a defense of the cop. It’s an indictment of his reckless stupidity and failure to make the kinds of life-and-death judgments he is specifically empowered to make. And based on this post it sounds like there is almost nothing that wouldn’t justify a cop shooting an unarmed person. Moving fast and ignoring instructions is obviously bad, but standing still and then follow a cop’s instructions is also suspicious. :rolleye: This is some really frightening stupid, **SenorBeef**. Again, reaching into the car was not what the officer was expecting. He should’ve communicated this before he took that action. You make it sound like some impossible predicament he couldn’t solve, but it wasn’t, at all. He could’ve chose to communicate and/or move more slowly and deliberately and either one of those things would’ve kept the situation from escalating to that level. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/255 "2014-09-26T14:34:45Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Point out which one says anything about the south or South Carolina. Fucking imbecile. [/QUOTE] The part where you are too stupid to read “southern” has already been pointed out. Now go back and see the mentions of whites, which was also mentioned, you asswipe. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/256 "2014-09-26T14:36:48Z")
Also, I don’t know how many times I have to say the cop’s actions were unjustified, unprofessional, and rightfully got him fired and it’s fine if it goes to court to see if he was criminally malfeasant. Mostly, this thread was 4 pages of circle jerk arguing against a perfectly reasonable **Smapti** essentially repeating that the victim could never have any role whatsoever in the results of the event that victimized him. And to a lesser extent, that some people were simply saying the cop wanted to murder black people and for some odd reason waited for today to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/257 "2014-09-26T14:41:00Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > What I’m saying is that, until the moment the guy pulls out of his vehicle with his hands up, his actions look more or less identical to someone who’d made the determination to violently resist, as in the videos I linked earlier. That’s more or less what you’d expect that to look like. > > Now, hypothetically, someone could say “I’m going to get my license, it’s on my seat” and slowly move in, and grab a gun and shoot the cop, but that’s more movie bad guy stuff than the way people in a fight or flight reflex sort of situation act. I know that’s what you’re saying. What I’m saying is that this is not a good standard. The point at which the “fire until they stop moving” bell is rung, I would hope most of us agree but maybe we don’t, is the point at which it is actually reasonable to believe that the guy poses a threat to the safety of the officer’s life. You’re not saying, thus far, that the officer actually did make a reasonable call, although I think probably you’re a little on the fence about whether you think he did. What you’re saying is that this _could_ have been that situation; that there’s no way to say after the fact that it definitely wasn’t. I don’t want that. That’s backward. I want the officer to be held to the standard of making a reasonable read on the situation, not one that we can’t prove was implausible. > [@](#): > > Blame is not a binary, black and white situation. The cop overreacted and the guy didn’t deserve to get shot. But that doesn’t mean that the victim couldn’t have handled the situation better or that he didn’t make mistakes. You guys are so obsessed with the idea that “anything other than total binary blame, where the victim is completely blameless is just blaming the victim, you can’t possibly find fault with the actions of the victim” and that’s a simplistic worldview. This isn’t related only to what you’re saying, but I’m going to take the opportunity to express how fucking sick I am of this lecture. It’s like a significant chunk of the population develops this weird autistic disorder where they forget that something being true doesn’t mean you have even a decent reason to say it, even though they would immediately remember it again if their wife said she thought about a dude from Game of Thrones while they were fucking. They forget anything exists other than technical logical accuracy, and once it turns on they convince themselves they’re fucking supergeniuses and have to talk down to everyone else about it. We’re not children. It’s not that we can’t figure out, unless you point it out to us, that if it had been the guy’s number one priority at the time, he probably could have convinced the officer not to try to manslaughter him. You don’t have to sit us down on the edge of our beds while we wipe the tears away and explain to us that you know, there can be multiple causes of the same event. We get it. We’re just not giving you any Sherlock Holmes only-rational-man credit for pointing it out. Congratulations, it is factually accurate to say he could have done something differently. The trouble is that god-damned nobody anywhere has ever said there was literally nothing he could have done – nobody ever says that during any of these “black and white” arguments – so pointing out that he could have done other things is fucking useless unless you’re saying this fact should have some sort of primacy in our analysis of what happened. We don’t walk around saying everything that’s factually accurate. Lots of things are true and yet we don’t say them. When we say things, we are ascribing importance to them. The trouble here with the autistic robot “he could have handled the situation better” approach is that none of us wants to live in a fucking world where anybody has to handle the situation better than that guy did, because he didn’t do anything wrong. He was fine, that’s what we’re saying. Everybody act like that around the police, and don’t anybody pull any guns on anybody, and we suddenly live in a _better world than this one_. We are not objecting to your criticism of the erstwhile dead man’s perfectly normal behavior on the grounds that it is impossible that he could have acted differently. We are objecting because it is not important what defensive measures he could have taken to make it super super unlikely that a police officer would manslaughter him. Because fuck that approach, and fuck that world, and fuck anybody who wants to just accept that this is the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/258 "2014-09-26T14:42:39Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The part where you are too stupid to read “southern” has already been pointed out. Now go back and see the mentions of whites, which was also mentioned, you asswipe. > > Regards, > Shodan > [@Zsofia](#): > > Okay, I admit I skipped a few pages, but as one of the few people on this board who might actually get called for this jury, theoretically - you know what? Fuck all of you assholes for assuming that the white Southerners of Columbia, SC are totally cool with this. The quote in question couldn’t be more clear - “white Southerns of Columbia, SC.” That’s a very specific group of people. You can ask **Zsofia** , but my guess is that she wasn’t intending to take up the general white power defense you wanted her to. Fucking imbecile. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/259 "2014-09-26T14:48:15Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > My argument in this thread is not to mostly support the cop, but rather to attack the attitude that blame is entirely binary and the victim could not possibly have done anything to agitate the situation. The blame is entirely binary. Perhaps there’s a slight possibility the man bears some blame for heightening the cop’s anxiety (though I don’t believe this is true, this at least is not out of the realm of reason). _That doesn’t mean he bears any blame for the cop shooting him._ The cop could have said “freeze and back away”. In fact, as soon as he said “get out of the car”, _the man got out of the car_!! He wasn’t shot until he was out of the car, and then _the cop continued to shoot him when it was very, very clear he represented no threat, including with his arms up and falling backwards_. So the blame for the shooting is entirely on the cop. Every single iota. ---
**Author:** ![Onyerbike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onyerbike/32/5402_2.png) [@Onyerbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onyerbike)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511/260 "2014-09-26T14:53:19Z")
Cops are generally pretty good the world over at telling the people they are all brave and shit. I half believe them too - after all it can be a really shitty job at times and some of them do it just to make a better world for everyone. Most people in the right circumstances are positive towards the police because of that, I think. Which is this strikes me as a whole lot of boo hoo; > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by SenorBeef View Post > Again, I ask, how might this encounter have looked different if the victim actually were a threat? Actual threats are part of the job and principally why the police are a force for good and its why we like them - they take those threats on when they appear for everybody. Note that the officer was shooting at imaginary threats, not real ones though. Dude did not have so much as a toy gun. Non existing things do not constitute threats, and they must not if law abiding citizens are to remain that way (and/or alive). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-unarmed-black-guy-shot-by-cops-this-time-the-cop-is-being-prosecuted/699511.md?page=14)