I think it’s a bit too early to condemn the cops as being trigger-happy psychopaths; while I understand Diogenes’ cynicism, let’s remember that Strickland wasn’t entirely a doe-eyed innocent either – as MagicEyes pointed out, he was charged with assault a few months prior, and he was reknown to neighbors for having excessively loud and rowdy parties in the past. Throw in the fact that Strickland was already known to own several firearms, and the possibility that his dog might have attack the officers (and was shot in the process), and it’s not a big stretch that maybe – maybe, mind you – the cops genuinely believed they were in danger.
Cop goes into a guys house who is under suspicion of producing pirated DVD’s, see a shiny object in his hand, knowing nothing else about the guy, and with no other reason for shooting, would be in the wrong.
Cop goes into the house of a known violent person regarding an alleged ARMED ROBBERY by the suspect have suspect turn towards them with an object that could be mistaken for the same weapon used in the armed robbery, unless proven otherwise, are probably in the right. If you just comitted an armed robbery chances are yopu still have that gun at least in your house, right? And quite possbily on your person.
In general, once a cop 100% determines the item in a guys hand is in fact a gun, its probably too late.
If the reports of the dead guy beating the shit out of someone for something as minor as a video game console, I say it doesn’t matter if he was holding his dick in his hand, one less piece of shit thug in the world. Another example of someone, who had they not committed an (alleged) VIOLENT CRIME would be alive and well.
In the other thread it was said that the police yell something to the effect of “this is the police open up!” before bashing down the door. Perhaps the guy was doing what they said and they burst in before he could open the door. Maybe he heard some commotion on the steps outside the door and went to see who was out there because he wasn’t expecting anyone? Maybe he was opening the door to get some fresh air?
It seems that the officers had cause for concern of facing an armed situation. I don’t feel this alone absolves them - it is only one point in their favor.
I’m giving the cops the benefit of the doubt on this one. If it was my husband or dad knocking on the door of a violent criminal known to be armed, I’d sure as hell want him to shoot the guy if there was even a hint of him holding a weapon. I’d much prefer the good guys survive at the end of the day.
I think everyone wants the good guys to survive at the end of the day. However, not all police are the good guys, and not all those on the receiving end of a bullet are the bad guys. When good guys make catastophic mistakes, no one wins.
That’s the thing. Why announce yourself when you are going to make a potentially dangerous arrest? I don’t believe it’s required by law in this circumstance. Why command a suspect to “open up” microseconds before “opening up” for him. Of course the suspect would head for the door in that instance, and just might have something innocuous in his hand that looks like a weapon.
Certainly all possibilities. Of course we’ll never know. But I can’t wait for the officers’ testimony.
And if my son or brother was answering the door holding a PS3 controller with his dog at his side, I’d sure as hell want them to excersize some restraint and good judgement. If it turns out the cops did something stupid, like bashing down the door even though they heard the dog barking & the kid saying “Give me a second to get the dog under control!” (ie - making a reasonable attempt to cooperate) then I’m going to say they deserve murder charges. If they go around bashing doors down when they have a reasonable expectation that action will put them in danger, and then shooting whatever happens to be on the other side of that door, they are not the good guys. They’re gun-happy buffoons and/or gun-totin idiots, and deserve to be treated as such.
Now, if the kid was defiant & yelling things like “You’ll never take me alive!!” that’s a different story. That’s why I wait for more evidence before assigning labels like “good guys” and “bad guys”.
What if your husband or son got shot by the cops for holding a video game controller in his hand as he went to the door? Would you still be so willing to give the cops the benefit of the doubt?
I was just rereading this thread and I think we need a cite or definition for this statement. “Staggering”? How many such incidents are there? Can you name more than two or three?
While I agree that a single mistake that leads to someone being shot is a tragedy, it is actually incredibly rare. In the US, law enforcement makes hundreds of thousands of citizen contacts every day. Tens of thousands of these contacts could be considered high-risk or high-stress. Yet I can think of only a few well-known incidents where the police shot someone who was actually not armed.
It seems obvious to me that these incidents are staggeringly rare, not staggeringly common. When such an incident occurs, it becomes national news instantly. That should tell you how rare they really are.
Further news here. The deputy who shot has been fired, the autopsy suggests the victim was shot throught the door, the internet photos were a “prank”, the beat(down) goes on …
Actually, further research shows that three cops fired their weapons … to me the problem is the increasing use of “no-knock” warrants. While they were were looking to arrest the guy for a robbery, no gun was used in the robbery, it was a “6 inch blunt object”.
What they also had was a photo of the guy holding a gun. As someone who has held guns many times, this seems awful thin … oh, they also say they had “information” he was was known to carry a gun. We’ll have to wait and see on that one.
So, now I’m leaning toward ‘it was murder’. If this incident justifies firing the deputy, surely it justifies criminal charges. I really hope the state doesn’t hold back due to “previous service” or some crap like that. Breaches of trust like this deserve the harshest penalties possible, not coddling.
Oh, get off it, Diogenes. Kill with impunity, my ass. In your utopian world, all cops would wait until they knew with 100% accuracy whether or not someone had a gun. Of course, by then at least one of them would have been shot.
Until someone is secured and handcuffed, ANYTHING in their hands is a weapon. As a cop, you cannot think otherwise. Unless, of course, you want to be referred to as the late Officer Whoever. And if I had come through that door and someone turned toward me with something in their hand like that, I’d have dropped him, too.
The county sheriff’s deputy, Cpl Chris Long, who shot the fatal bullets, has been fired. According to the autopsy report, bullets passed through the (apparently) closed door before hitting Strickland. The German Shepherd dog was killed outside on the front stoop. No details yet released on whether it had been let out of door or not or if the boy was ever seen by the deputies before the shooting. The boy’s lawyer father is going to “let the system work”.
Please. This rests on the complete bullshit perception that being a cop is exceptionally dangerous. Police officer doesn’t even make this list of dangerous occupations (or this one, or this one). It is the perception of their line of work that escalates many of these situations, not reality. About 150 cops are killed on duty every year. Only about a 1/3 of those are from shootings. The likelyhood that a cop will be killed on duty is pretty slim. About 400 cops are injured by firearms every year. That means that 450 are injured or killed by guns every year (out of about 850k). About the same amount will get colorectal cancer. The number is not insignificant, but not common enough to assume every person you investigate or confront with something shiny in their hands in gonna shoot you. Especially when the suspect is not known to have a gun, and has only committted assault.
Probably not many, but I would bet most that have shot have also been brainwashed by this notion that their lives are in mortal danger at all times. Which makes it all the more reasonable in thier mind to shoot first before pausing to discern all the facts.