Or, do what I tell you and I’ll shoot you anyway.
Video shows trooper shooting unarmed man, South Carolina police say
A cop pulls a guy over at a gas station for a seat belt violation. The guy is already getting out of his SUV when the cop pulls up. The cop tells the guy to get his license, so the guy turns around to reach into the SUV to get his license. This freaks the cop out, which is understandable. He tells the guy to get out of the vehicle, so the guy backs out. He turns around to give the cop his license, and the cop shoots him. The driver was hit in the hip, and was treated at the hospital and released. The cop was charged with aggravated assault and battery, which could get him 20 years in prison.
The driver made a mistake by attempting to follow the cop’s orders. But most people don’t know how to deal with cops, in spite of the occasional advice that flows from the TV and Internet. Most people don’t think like cops, and don’t understand how their innocent actions can be misinterpreted. ‘If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.’ Most people don’t ‘carry a hammer’ all the time.
Your average citizen seldom, if ever, deals with a cop. Cops deal with non-cops all the time. They are in a position to know that almost all of the people they encounter in traffic stops are not violent, criminals, or gun-toting nutters. The cop in this story seriously over-reacted. (‘Thank you, Captain Obvious!’) How did he get that way? Were there any warning signs he was wound too tightly? Did he receive enough counselling/treatment after his previous ‘shots fired’ incident?
I think the cop was in fear for his life, and will not be convicted of AA&B. I think that a civil suit against the State of South Carolina will cost the state dearly. Even if acquitted, the trooper’s career is over; and he will lose the civil suit too. In any case, I see this as a symptom of the ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality that has been growing in law enforcement for the past few decades. We need more Andy Griffiths and fewer Barney Fifes.
