# Holy shit a cop got charged for shooting someone! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 16, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951 "2013-09-16T04:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/101 "2013-09-18T20:45:10Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#): > > (No… ignoring an order from a police officer is NOT A CRIME). Perhaps it was not a crime in this specific instance, but I’m sure you don’t mean to suggest that it’s never a crime, do you? North Carolina General Statutes § 14-288.5 makes it a crime to fail to obey a lawful order to disperse, if a police officer reasonably believes disorderly conduct by three or more people is occurring. Again, that’s not the fact pattern in play here – I write only to make clear that your sentence is not correct across the board. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/102 "2013-09-18T20:45:13Z")
I just listened to the recording of the 911 call. She didn’t say the guy was knocking on her door. She said he was actively trying to break into her house. And yelling the whole time. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess he was yelling “HALP!” While on the call, she pleads for the cops to hurry up and “get him”. I’m at a loss for what the guy did wrong. I’m betting he did knock on the door pretty loudly, probably because he thought that people would be asleep and he’d have to make some racket to get some attention. But kicking down the door? After having been injured in a car accident? I’m doubtful this happened. Unfortunately her fear set the stage for what would ensue. Is the shooting her fault? Nope. But I do think anyone who says this would have happened no matter what the guy looked like are delusional. At the very least, I don’t think a woman rapping on a door would have been seen as burglar. Especially if she’d been screaming for help. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/103 "2013-09-18T20:53:31Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I just listened to the recording of the 911 call. She didn’t say the guy was knocking on her door. She said he was actively trying to break into her house. And yelling the whole time. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess he was yelling “HALP!” > > While on the call, she pleads for the cops to hurry up and “get him”. > > I’m at a loss for what the guy did wrong. I’m betting he did knock on the door pretty loudly, probably because he thought that people would be asleep and he’d have to make some racket to get some attention. But kicking down the door? After having been injured in a car accident? I’m doubtful this happened. Unfortunately her fear set the stage for what would ensue. > > Is the shooting her fault? Nope. But I do think anyone who says this would have happened no matter what the guy looked like are delusional. At the very least, I don’t think a woman rapping on a door would have been seen as burglar. Especially if she’d been screaming for help. You’re probably right. And it’s a consequence of gender roles in society – a woman is simply not perceived as a threat; indeed, the immediate reaction might be that the woman is herself being threatened and the first instinct of the homeowner might well be to help her. But a man in the middle of the night, banging on the door of a woman who lives alone, would certainly give rise to the fear that this was a ruse to gain entry to the house – no matter what race the man was. And frankly, I would not advise anyone living alone to open their door in the middle of the night. Call police and request assistance for someone who says they need help. I would open my door, but I’d be armed, and on the phone with police, when I did it. If my wife were home alone, I’d want her to call police from behind a closed door. No need for hysteria during the phone call, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/104 "2013-09-18T21:06:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, you said, “And yes, I discount an officer’s use of the magic words ‘I thought maybe I saw him make a furtive movement’ since here in Nevada, that’s all they have to say to legally excuse their actions.” > > To me, that reads as though you expect the officer to excuse his actions. I’m wondering if that’s a correct assumption on my part. In other words, must the officer prove something to you? Your question still makes little sense to me, and as usually it seems as tho you are trying to lead me into saying something that you will be able to try and use as a “gotcha!” statement. This would be easier if you would simply make your point. However, I’ll try and answer you as best I can. The officer, under the law as we it stands, has only to say “I believed he might have been dangerous or might have become dangerous” and then he is off the hook. Evidence does not have to support his belief; it is enough, under the law, that he states that he had the belief. Note that he does not even have to actually have the belief, he just has to state that he does (or did) and then not make any statements that contradict that. It’s a Get Out Of Jail Free card. I would prefer that an officer had to show evidence or reasons for his belief of danger and that said danger be imminent\*, not remote, and that said reasons or evidence would have to be reasonably interpreted as such. This is something that the police here in Nevada have fought hard, as they argue that it would essentially put every officer who shot someone on trial. \*It’s my understanding tho, that the legal definition of “imminent” is very loose, so it would seem that that would be in need of a clear legal definition as well. What do you think about it, **Bricker**? Do you think that an officer should have to prove something to the public in order to excuse his actions, or should he simply be able to utter some “magic” words and be done with it? ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/105 "2013-09-19T01:36:54Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Well, you said, “And yes, I discount an officer’s use of the magic words ‘I thought maybe I saw him make a furtive movement’ since here in Nevada, that’s all they have to say to legally excuse their actions.” > > To me, that reads as though you expect the officer to excuse his actions. I’m wondering if that’s a correct assumption on my part. In other words, must the officer prove something to you? Self defense is an affirmative defense, correct? So the burden of proof should be higher. Clear and convincing evidence, or at least preponderance of the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/106 "2013-09-23T22:18:09Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course they harass, assault and kill black men on a regular basis, as do cops in general; that’s what cops do. As the title of this thread points out, the only surprising thing is a cop being _charged_ for shooting someone. Them _shooting_ some black guy isn’t surprising in the slightest. Considering what a small number of people, much less black people are shot to death by the police this is an exceptionally ignorant post. The truth is that most police officers, even in high crim areas rarely discharge their weapons. On the NYPD it’s quite common for policemen to go their whole careers without shooting people. I really hope you don’t make judgements about what the daily life as a cop is like based on TJ Hooker reruns. ---
**Author:** ![Sodalite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Sodalite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sodalite)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/107 "2013-11-02T09:01:32Z")
[The autopsy report has been released.](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/11/01/4432224/autopsy-released-in-fatal-shooting.html#.UnSuN-IqU1I) From the Charlotte Observer: > [@](#): > > The report released Friday also revealed no illegal drugs in Jonathon Ferrell’s system. The 24-year-old had a blood-alcohol content of 0.06, which is within the legal limit of 0.08 for driving, the autopsy results also show. He also had traces of nicotine and caffeine. [The dash cam video of the incident will not be released to the public.](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/31/4429571/judge-blocks-release-of-video.html#.UnSxleIqU1J) From the Charlotte Observer: > [@](#): > > The video reportedly captures the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, but not the shooting itself. > > Ferrell’s family and Kerrick’s lawyers have seen the footage but do not have copies. They disagree over whether it proves the shooting was justified. Police Chief Rodney Monroe has said the video clearly shows that Ferrell was not carrying a weapon and that Kerrick used excessive force. This story is kind of big deal around here but I’m not sure how much attention it’s getting nationally. I only posted an update since some Dopers had shown interest in it. A couple of weeks ago I had brief contact with a group of people who knew Jonathon Ferrell. They were discussing what happened and they were furious over some of the comments they had seen posted online. They were adamant that the drug tests would be negative because he just wasn’t that kind of person. I told them that they would be doing themselves a huge favor if they stayed away from the comments section of any new articles that came out. We had to explain the concept of trolls to one older woman. It was hard for her to wrap her head around the idea that they weren’t being assholes because he was black and the shooter was white. She found it hard to believe there are really people who sit around all day, typing hateful shit about any tragedy they find because it amuses them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951.md?page=5)