Do we having a running thread for citizens killed by police yet?

[bigpern23]

Because here's another one, in which a 72-year-old deputy shoots an unarmed suspect who has been tackled to the ground by another officer after a brief foot chase. The deputy says he mistakenly thought he was using his stun gun. Suspect later died in the hospital.

Video shows Tulsa man shot by deputy who meant to stun him - NY Daily News

I mean, I get that we shouldn't be fleeing the police, and this guy was a suspected felon, so I don't expect there to be much of an uproar over the death of a suspected gun dealer. But, come on. The guy was shot after he had been detained on the ground.

The cop in pursuit did the right thing - ran the suspect down, tackled and subdued him - and this part-time asshole just shoots the guy because he didn't take care to know what weapon he was using? It's absurd that this senior citizen was given authority by anyone to use deadly force and even worse that the department apparently has no plans to even investigate further.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

The department really can't do anything because it and the city know a lawsuit is coming. I guarantee you the first thing primary counsel said was, "Don't admit anything."

 

[93Devil]

This guy was a walking accident waiting to happen.

Shooting or no shooting, I cannot imagine how they are going to justify giving this guy a gun and putting him the line of duty.

 

[LongTimeListener]

This is exactly what happened in Oakland (the movie "Fruitvale Station" came from it). Guy on ground, handcuffed, shot in back. Cop said he mistakenly pulled out his Taser. That was after cops initially said the guy was causing a ruckus, only to be contradicted by video.

The cop was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years. Served 11 month in county jail and was released for good behavior.

I don't expect the cop here to get much more than that. Probably less.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

He paid to be a cop. Well, reserve cop. He donated a couple grand to the sheriff's re-election campaign, so he got to play police officer.

 

[MisterCreosote]

They've already deemed it "excusable homicide."

The sergeant who reviewed the investigation called the SHOOTER the true victim.

Oh, and dontcha know, the camera only caught the bad stuff and mysteriously shut off before they started CPR and giving the guy medical attention.

 

[TyWebb]

I'm afraid I won't know what to think about this one until I get Ruben's take.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

I'm afraid I won't know what to think about this one until I get Ruben's take.

Was just wondering if he ever lived in Oklahoma.

 

[JC]

Maybe Roscoe didn't die last week and is a Tulsa cop.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

This is exactly what happened in Oakland (the movie "Fruitvale Station" came from it). Guy on ground, handcuffed, shot in back. Cop said he mistakenly pulled out his Taser. That was after cops initially said the guy was causing a ruckus, only to be contradicted by video.

The cop was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years. Served 11 month in county jail and was released for good behavior.

I don't expect the cop here to get much more than that. Probably less.

Yeah, shooting someone in the back is never going to end well for a cop.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Oh, I'd say an 11-month jail sentence was a much better ending for the cop than it was for, say, the guy who got shot in the back while handcuffed.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

Oh, I'd say an 11-month jail sentence was a much better ending for the cop than it was for, say, the guy who got shot in the back while handcuffed.

No doubt, but shooting a suspect in the back is almost the only way a cop is going to get jail time for one of these messes.

 

[poindexter]

This is exactly what happened in Oakland (the movie "Fruitvale Station" came from it). Guy on ground, handcuffed, shot in back. Cop said he mistakenly pulled out his Taser. That was after cops initially said the guy was causing a ruckus, only to be contradicted by video.

The cop was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years. Served 11 month in county jail and was released for good behavior.

I don't expect the cop here to get much more than that. Probably less.

Wooah.... You are saying that a video came out later and contradicted a police report? That boggles the mind!!

 

[MisterCreosote]

"Reserve Deputy Bates did not commit a crime. Reserve Deputy Bates was a victim, a true victim, of 'slips and capture.' "

Basically, a "heat of the moment" defense.

"Slips and capture" might be the new "stand your ground."

 

[Batman]

I've been thinking about this, and I wonder how much of this trend can be blamed on Tasers.
Two reasons.
1) You've obviously had a few incidents like this one where in the heat of the moment the officer pulls the wrong weapon. These incidents seem to be rare, but there's examples of them happening.

2) Ever since the Taser became standard issue police gear within the past few years, I think there's both a sense that it's not that dangerous and that it's a last line of defense. It's not a lethal weapon, so the cops are quicker to use it. Considering the stories of suspects shaking off the effects or the prongs not attaching properly or whatever, there also seems to be an issue with its effectiveness that we don't hear much about.
It's supposed to be a super weapon, a nuclear bomb of non-lethality. You hit somebody with it, and they go down.
Until they don't. And what do you do then?
At that point, for an officer who sees his super weapon fail him, the next logical step -- and the next emotional step in an adrenaline- and fear-fueled mind that suddenly thrusts itself into a life-or-death situation -- is to use the weapon that you know WILL put somebody down. And since he's already tried and failed to use the nonlethal weapon, he can justify it in his own mind and to everyone else who has bought into the hype that the Taser is a 100 percent effective weapon.

In nearly every one of these incidents, there's been some mention of a Taser being used and not working to some degree.
Logically and emotionally -- not to mention as someone who still believes in the American way of life -- I refuse to believe there are armies of racist cops willing to risk torpedoing their career and life just for the thrill of shooting black people. There's dozens of reasons for this wave of shootings beyond "RACISM!" and one of them might be the weapons of choice.

 

[LongTimeListener]

In nearly every one of these incidents, there's been some mention of a Taser being used and not working to some degree.

What do you mean by this? Darren Wilson didn't carry a Taser. The Staten Island cops didn't use one. This one in Tulsa, the Taser was never used.

So what are the "nearly every one of" incidents you're referring to?

 

[DeskMonkey1]

Didn't the story I read on Yahoo! News (which I always take with a grain of salt) quote the other deputy of saying "**** your breath" when the victim said he couldn't breathe? After being shot, no less?

 

[Batman]

What do you mean by this? Darren Wilson didn't carry a Taser. The Staten Island cops didn't use one. This one in Tulsa, the Taser was never used.

So what are the "nearly every one of" incidents you're referring to?

Here's four from the Seattle area last year:
Tasers ineffective in four recent officer-involved shootings | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

The shooting of the homeless man on Los Angeles' skid row earlier this year:
http://www.newsweek.com/la-homeless-shooting-taser-310572

Another from Colorado in 2013:
Thornton police officer kills man after Taser proves ineffective | FOX31 Denver

Miami in February:
Man Shot Twice With Taser Before Fatal Police-Involved Shooting: Miami Gardens Police Chief | NBC 6 South Florida

New York State in March:
Police: Officer Fatally Shoots Theft Suspect Fleeing in Stolen Car With 2 Kids Inside | Lindenhurst, NY Patch

And that's from just the first two pages of a Google search. If "nearly every one" was too strong a description, then I think we can at least agree it's a "common thread."

 

[Vombatus]

I like the idea of this being a "running" thread, but "running" is almost always a bad idea around cops.

Maybe it could be a "shouldn't be running" thread?

 

[LongTimeListener]

Sure, but I don't know how common Tasers really are. Those came up because you were looking for them. It doesn't seem like it's a central issue in a lot (most?) of the stuff we've heard about.