To be fair, the article makes clear that the officer didn’t make a regular mistake; he made an inadvertent mistake.
Chief Wiggum over there didn’t mean to shoot anybody. JEEZ! Are you always right about everything!? Quit nagging!
Actually, I’ve seen him described by some sources as a “volunteer patrolman,” so that may mean he isn’t even actually a trained officer…?
Many municipalities these days use the services of “Volunteer Police”, usually structured around the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program which comes from the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Let us hope a certain fellow named George Zimmerman doesn’t sign up for something like this.
Haters got to hate, but I wish the libtards would stop picking on Robert Bates, a fine American, still serving his country despite advancing age.
First of all, he did apologize:
[QUOTE=Robert Bates]
Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.
[/QUOTE]
Second, Mr. Bates was an experienced police officer, working for an entire year. Yes, his career as regular policeman was 50 years ago, but once you learn how to whistle (or taser*) you don’t forget. More importantly, he “served as chairman of the Re-elect Sheriff (Stanley) Glanz Committee in 2012 and donated $2,500 to Glanz’s campaign that year.”
Moreover, the shooting was endorsed by the other officers present:
Hehe good stuff. Yours is way better than mine.
And another cop in that video obviously misspoke when she(?) told the murder victim to stop fighting. She clearly intended to say something like “Stop lying on the ground being shot.”
I’m amused by Bates dropping his gun on the ground. Must be all his training kicking in. “Whuh? Tasers don’t go bang like this! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU DEVIL THING!!!”
The guy was completely out of breath and on the ground. Just straight gave up. Fucking idiot insurance salesman supercop wannabe.
What I don’t understand is why even tasing would have been reasonable. It’s hard to know for sure, but it seems to me Harris was already on the ground, pinned down by a football team of police officers, when the gunshot goes off. And if he had tazed the guy, wouldn’t the other police officers had caught some of the buzz (or whatever it is called)?
I’m all for citizens volunteering for the benefit of their community, but they shouldn’t be in situations where they can kill someone (whether suspect, a bystander, another officer, or themselves). Seems to me that opens up all kinds of liability issues for the police department. If this officer had been killed in the line of duty, would his family be entitled to the same benefits as a paid officer’s? Just curious.
Mr. Bates would REALLY like to tell us all about it but sadly for him his attorney won’t let him. Shucks.
And the spin is already heavy with this one. To be further reviewed pending new evidence, of course.
Give a guy a taser, and he wants to use it.
It seems to me that treating this as a “mistake” is completely wrong. Pulling out your gun and shooting someone is no ordinary mistake. It’s a textbook case of involuntary manslaughter.
I wonder if Mr. Bates will testify at his second-degree manslaughter trial.
If precedent is anything to go by, he’ll get involuntary manslaughter at most, that being the established punishment for a white police officer shooting a black man in the back when he’s lying face down on the ground.
Essentially, second-degree would presumably be the OK equivalent (culpable negligence element).
Well how about that, second degree manslaughter for… shooting someone dead. On purpose. Huh.
I have some friends who are officers in Tulsa (and the surrounding towns), and I’ll be very interested to see if they offer any commentary on this story. I’m sure it will be fascinating and even-handed. :rolleyes:
One of them posted a Facebook status on how, after his shift was over, he was going to fill up SuperSoakers with urine and take aim at protesters, back in the “Occupy ____” days. I was shocked that he didn’t think twice about saying such a thing in a public forum, but instead the post gathered a bunch of “likes” and support from his other friends saying that they’d join him.
This guy was an actual mall cop right after high school & before joining the force, and has the stereotypical mindset & demeanor of someone who wasn’t really respected growing up, so he wanted a position of authority so he could feel powerful. I’ve always wondered if he’d be involved in a shooting. When I saw the headline, I half-expected to find mention of his name.
Haven’t seen a link to this story yet but apparently everyone already knows.
Posted jimbuff314, living in (regrettably, at the moment) Tulsa.
ETA : Sorry. Bates charged with 2nd degree manslaughter.
The police probably were just looking for an excuse to steal the car. Asset forfeiture, you know.
Pfftt… he was the coordinator of his neighborhood watch man! That was all the power and respect he needed.