[TXSTYLE]

Without turning this into a "flame fest", I simply would like to know/discuss you guys opinion of this based only on the VIDEO. Anyone can "speculate". I'd like to simply discuss based on what you "see and hear", if Deadly Force was justified or overly excessive...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/08/us/sou...630aVODtopLink

I'll start: With only seeing and hearing what is present, and watching and listening many times over including pausing and rewinding, the Officer does NOT appear to be or been in any type of situation where he was being assaulted. His reflexes are quick, his posture while firing appears upright and stable. He proceeds to walk towards the victim in a brisk and non injury fashion while speaking thru his radio in a normal tone not trying to catch his breath or anything. That is what I see and hear.

[squishy]

Not a single sound argument could justify the officer's actions.

That's a fact.

[kscarrol]

Agreed! Does not matter what happened before the video, the guy is running away. Shooting definitely not justifiable...

[g_petko]

Extremely excessive and unjustifiable force - The officer was not in any danger whatsoever ... hell he didn't even try and run after the guy (who clearly wasn't running fast at all)!

[monkeybingo]

there is a full length video which cop's try to plant the stunt gun next to the victim.. and you don't shoot people that are running away... Based on the initial interview, cop lied that the victim took his stunt gun and tried to use on him. So he was feared of his life and shoot him. I don't see any fear in the video nor trying to fight back.

[monkeybingo]

DEATH PENALTY.. EXECUTION STYLE.. sorry you have to pay for your stupid actions

[monkeybingo]

I am no black nor white... so I am not biased on my opinion

[TXSTYLE]

Do I have the solution? Unfortunately no. But I do have suggestions:
Better "mental and emotional evaluations" of Police Officers on a regular basis. Not just upon hiring but regularly to see where their heads at. And I definitely believe the need for Body Cameras is clear. It protects ALL involved. But especially can clear or defend these types of deadly situations.

[monkeybingo]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

Do I have the solution? Unfortunately no. But I do have suggestions:
Better "mental and emotional evaluations" of Police Officers on a regular basis. Not just upon hiring but regularly to see where their heads at. And I definitely believe the need for Body Cameras is clear. It protects ALL involved. But especially can clear or defend these types of deadly situations.

But here is the reality.. those are just some vague tests that you can't force to quit the job. Let's say you fail the tests and lose the job, the cop will sue the shit out of that police department. Bet lawyers will line up on the police station to get a piece. There are truly no way to fix this issue. May be the body cam might help to avoid from stupid decisions like this but there will be ways to manipulate. stop recording.ect..... This race issue in America will be getting worse and worse........................ I have no hope and I myself avoid going to the hood with my kids.. Not because I am racist. but because I want to avoid any risk of getting hurt/robbed/ect. Yes it's a stereotype but this is the reality of America.

[pukicabuki]

The fact that police forces can and will reject candidates that score highly on IQ tests tells you a lot about the people that are policing our communities.

[upstatedoc]

I watched that video several times and just don't get it. What was going thru the officer's mind when he shot 8 times at someone with his back to him? How could he ever think that was justifiable?

Next point, he was charged with murder. My guess is that he will not be convicted of it.

[monkeybingo]

Originally Posted by pukicabuki

The fact that police forces can and will reject candidates that score highly on IQ tests tells you a lot about the people that are policing our communities.

source? You mean people with high IQ prob tends to apply at FBI/CIA? To be honest, here in philly, only people with no jobs/dropped out of highschool apply for Philadelphia Police. That's wrong right there. It should just like the other professional jobs. Have 4 year degree/pass the interview/ pass the tests/ect

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by pukicabuki

The fact that police forces can and will reject candidates that score highly on IQ tests tells you a lot about the people that are policing our communities.

^^this happens. I know for a fact. Agencies don't want you to think, they want you to react using your training. Studies show people with above average intelligence get bored with policework.

[ASAP]

If you look at policing around the world... the problem with the cops in the US is obvious within minutes. There isn't anything to argue. We have an offensive mentality towards policing...

[pukicabuki]

Originally Posted by monkeybingo

source? You mean people with high IQ prob tends to apply at FBI/CIA? To be honest, here in philly, only people with no jobs/dropped out of highschool apply for Philadelphia Police. That's wrong right there. It should just like the other professional jobs. Have 4 year degree/pass the interview/ pass the tests/ect

http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836

There were 27 others rejected for the same reason in this same testing session.

I know someone personally who was rejected for this reason by a local police department.

[UncleWede]

TXT,

I appreciate your willingness to have this discussion, but I would argue that the context of the last few seconds of video is EXTREMELY important.

Let me preface this that I don't have anywhere near enough evidence to even begin to pass judgment on the actions in this video, but do have some "devil's advocate" questions to consider.

Some questions the above comments raise:
Is it only OK to shoot someone who is facing you? So if a guy caps a few rounds from 15' away behind a bush, then turns to run for better cover and officer return fires and strikes him, that is somehow murder?

IF the video showed a black officer taking exactly the same actions, would popular opinion change? Should that make ANY difference?

While it was probably the officer's taser that was moved, possibly to protect his equipment from falling into the wrong hands, the officer probably did violate the crime scene. IF the weapons were reversed (guy went for gun that was dropped and officer tased him), would you expect the officer to leave his firearm on the ground 15' away while he secure the suspect?

[KingOfJericho]

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks this shooting was justified. Even the cop's lawyer told him he was on his own.

Also, there are situations where shooting in the back is justified (running toward a crowd with a weapon, etc), so you can't pass judgement solely based on where the guy was shot. However, that was certainly not the case here. The guy was slowly lumbering away from the officer and he made literally no effort to give chase.

[kevinbahnz]

this guy is done. No one in the force is backing him up, his lawyer left him high and dry.

[g_petko]

White/Black/Yellow/Green - regardless who has what skin, the outrage at one of those whose aim is to protect the community doing something like this should be the same from all sides. I don't agree with need to insert Person A was of this colour and Person B was of this colour - that is the media wanting to further stir the pot.

I have been in the states (never lived there), I understand that the are strong racial issues with a minority of people, however I believe the media do an amazing job at projecting these negative views to the masses and are enticing people to choose 'sides', tit-for-tat etc.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks this shooting was justified. Even the cop's lawyer told him he was on his own.

This. No justification for that whatsoever.

That said, I'm struck by how often these seemingly minor issues turn into deadly confrontations. Look at all the recent spate of similar shootings and only one or two involved the use of a gun by the deceased. In one of those cases, the gun was a toy. In all of these cases the situation would have resulted in, at most, an arrest followed by a release on personal recognizance or minor bail. What makes people want to resist and provoke an armed cop? And to be clear, I'm not trying to justify any of these shootings. But only one of them involved a victim who had not escalated the situation (Tamir Rice) and in most cases the deceased had violated some law, giving the cops a legit reason to detain and question them.

My wife and I were both cuffed and hauled off to cells at the Canadian/US border some years ago. I knew it was a case of mistaken identity and so did the customs cops. Still, I did what they wanted and was soon on my way. If I had flipped them off and resisted, it could have turned into one of these nightmare episodes. Does it make sense to escalate the situation?

[KingOfJericho]

What I am going to say next IN NO WAY justifies the actions of the officer:

It looks to me like the guy in green was grabbing something (taser?) which the officer swatted from his hand (you can see it bouncing on the ground as the perp turns and the officer draws). At this point, we should all be acutely aware of the consequences of resisting arrest and non-compliance. It appears that this gentleman thought he was being pulled over for dodging child support and wanted to avoid going to jail (the words of his own father). Best case scenario, when you turn your back and run from an officer, you will be chased and tackled with force. That poses risk of injury to both you and the officer and adds a high level of stress to an already stressful scenario. Once again, the officer was ABSOLUTELY in the wrong for shooting this guy as he lumbered away but this situation would never have presented itself had he not made the decision to try and evade. It's a VERY dangerous game to play.

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by M_Six

This. No justification for that whatsoever.

That said, I'm struck by how often these seemingly minor issues turn into deadly confrontations. Look at all the recent spate of similar shootings and only one or two involved the use of a gun by the deceased. In one of those cases, the gun was a toy. In all of these cases the situation would have resulted in, at most, an arrest followed by a release on personal recognizance or minor bail. What makes people want to resist and provoke an armed cop? And to be clear, I'm not trying to justify any of these shootings. But only one of them involved a victim who had not escalated the situation (Tamir Rice) and in most cases the deceased had violated some law, giving the cops a legit reason to detain and question them.

My wife and I were both cuffed and hauled off to cells at the Canadian/US border some years ago. I knew it was a case of mistaken identity and so did the customs cops. Still, I did what they wanted and was soon on my way. If I had flipped them off and resisted, it could have turned into one of these nightmare episodes. Does it make sense to escalate the situation?

Man, if I had known you were going to type this all up I would never have wasted all that time typing virtually the same thing...