| Author | Message | ||
     Reepicheep |
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/08/white-sc-offi cer-charged-with-murder-for-shooting-black-man/ I'm witholding judgement until all the facts are in, but the decision to arrest the officer and charge him with murder seem just and appropriate based on what we know so far. I really do think ubiquitous cameras and technology really are going to change things (some for the better, like this case, some for the worse). | ||
| Hughlysses |
Yea, unfortunately that's on my local news this morning. No excuse for shooting the guy, much less emptying a magazine into him. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Oh, and just to be clear about my first commment... Technology everywhere (like cameras) will have pretty sweeping impacts on society. In this case, I am glad somebody was there and filmed it and had the courage to share it, so it was a good thing here. A federally run system of cameras covering most public places that does facial recognition and is then weaponized (like the Obama administration and department of justice did with the IRS to target the Tea Party) would be horrible and chilling. I get the privacy advocates concerns, I really do. But once you are out in public, and interacting with someone other than yourself, a lot of your privacy rights are gone. It's the "the right to swing my fist ends at the tip of someone elses nose" argument. This is where the EU has gotten it wrong with their "fundamental right to privacy" legislation. I'm not thrilled about many companies holding and selling so much information about me, but I also benefit from it in that they otherwise wouldn't be willing to give me an affordable insurance rate for my car, or loan me money to buy a house. And let me be crystal clear about Cops and cameras... Cops are my heroes, they put their lives on the line to serve and protect my friends and family. But while they are on the clock, they are working for the people, and the people have the right to see and hear every thing they do. If the camera is on, they have all the rights and priviledges of a cop. They are welcome to turn off the camera to make a personal phone call or have a personal conversation or just get a cup of coffee in peace, but the moment that camera is off they are a private citizen subject to all private citizen laws just like you and I (including gun laws regarding open carry and weapons in schools and use of force and everything else). Its really interesting now that I think about it... it answers the age old question of "who will watch the watchers". The answer is "everyone, all the time". | ||
| Hootowl |
I wonder what the guy dropped just before he got shot? | ||
| Reepicheep |
And what the cop walked over, picked up, then dropped back by the guy after he was shot and cuffed. If the latter was the cops own tazer, then that's another potentially damning piece of evidence (and could be another crime). It suggests the cop could have tampered with a crime scene, and tried to fabricate an immediate threat from the victim where there was none. | ||
| Sifo |
This is looking pretty bad for the cop. The victim too unfortunately. I've got a feeling there's much more to this than we see in the video, but when the cop drew his weapon, he was certainly not under threat. I've been wondering when we were going to hear about this injustice from our leaders that were all over the Michael Brown shooting. This one fits their narrative much better. I'm not sure race was an issue in this case. That's never been a requirement in past race issues though. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
The video just makes me sick. Al Sharpton and his sycophants will be all over this.... and they should be. The man didn't deserve to be shot down like that. | ||
| Chauly |
Black man, white cop= race-involved. The opposite, not so much... | ||
| Hughlysses |
There's no excuse for the cop's actions, but damn. If a cop pulls you over, IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: do not get into a physical altercation and then try to run. I saw a quote from the dead guy's mom where she said he owes child support and was probably afraid he'd be sent back to jail, which is why he tried to get away. Breaking the law in ways that don't involve threat's to someone else's life shouldn't result in your death. OTOH, NOT breaking the law avoids the issue in the first place. | ||
| 86129squids |
Un-Fricking-Believable. Cop emptied his whole clip into the guy, who wasn't even running very fast... I'm pretty sure that his LEO training provides for physical apprehension without deploying any weapon- which is CLEARLY what should have been done. What a sad state our society seems to be devolving into, here lately. I've all the respect and appreciation for the job LEO's do, but they've GOT to be held to higher standards. | ||
| Sifo |
It's my understanding that the cop did try to use his taser, so he did start with "less than lethal" force. It looks like he made a very bad decision when the taser failed, then made his situation even worse by tampering with evidence and telling a story that is refuted with the video. I'm sure there was something in between the traffic stop, and deploying the taser. Hopefully there will be some honest witness testimony without the "hands up - don't shoot" propaganda. There was no threat to the cop when he pulled his weapon though. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Immediately arresting him for murder and holding him without bond is a pretty high standard... If this was murder, which it looks like it might have been, then it looks like the right people are doing the right things. And if anyone doubts racism is alive, look no further. Not at the fact that a white cop shot a black man, but that at the fact that the tone of the reporting was "racism" not "murder of civilian". In spite of the fact that the only slightest shred of evidence of possible racism was the race of the two individuals. Nothing else. We have racism, and it's perpetuated by the media. Sure they should investigate and look for racial motives, like any other motives, but not lead with that story. Here is the other thing I would really like to know. If I were a fly on the wall, I would love to first run the investigation out without the video evidence being seen. What can the forensic investigators tell? What does the cop say? Then pop out the video and see if "the system" got it right. Seems to me it would be hard to cover up emptying a clip into a guys back from 10+ yards away, and come up with any kind of plausible story about it being anything else but murder, unless you planted a gun in the guys hand afterwards. | ||
| Hughlysses |
North Charleston mayor says body cameras for all officers ASAP. Seems like a good move: http://news.yahoo.com/protest-planned-white-sc-off icer-charged-murder-092432016.html BTW, cop's wife is 8 months pregnant, as if this miserable tale wasn't miserable enough already. | ||
| Pwnzor |
This event was planned. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
How can it have be planned? It would seem fairly hard to get a cop to pull you over precisely where you have your co-conspirator hiding in waiting with a video camera. If it was "planned", did they flip a coin to see which one was going to eat the bullet? | ||
| Pwnzor |
Widen the angle on your lens, sir. This victim was no arch duke, and had no idea the role he is playing... but he is no less important. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I do find it odd that there is both a secret person taking video and another officer within just a few yards of the event. Both stroll up to the guy like there is nothing out of the ordinary. Unless the guy with the camera is wearing a ghillie suit, I can't imagine that these guys didn't notice him, and yet neither even seemed to acknowledge his presence. The gun also sounded lighter than I would have expected even from a 9mm. What if this entire event is an elaborate ruse by Project Veritas or some other group to expose bias? I don't believe that it is, but I can't even trust my own eyes any more. Lies and truth are so very difficult to discern these days. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Guns sound a lot different on the street than they do at the range... Nonetheless, place this in the context of the widely publicized and ever increasing series of events beginning with Trayvon. They couldn't quite get it going with Rodney King, that effort fizzled out even though it showed early promise. This is a grander scheme. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Well, instead of being cryptic, why don't you explain what you mean by "planned" | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
So, you're saying some white cop volunteered to deliberately shoot an unarmed black man for political reasons? Ok, what did they promise him his own private island in the Pacific? | ||
| Mnscrounger |
Pwnzor, are you suggesting the victim was "set up" by conspirators behind the camera? If so based on what evidence? DISCLAIMER: the following is NOT an attempt to excuse or justify the actions of the cop in the video, only my pure speculation at what may have been going through his mind at the time he made the worst decision of his life. My thought is if the cop had already lost one close scuffle with the victim and lost his taser in the process, it could be possible his perception of the running person is "dangerous", even when unarmed, He probably would be disinclined to re-engage. He had already lost one round of hand to hand, and likely would lose another. That might explain his mindset to pulling his weapon. Once he decided the only way to stop the "dangerous attacker" is to pull the trigger. Training takes over, and he shoots until his "attacker" is on the ground eight shots later. Next, just like in training he puts the cuffs on his suspect. With the situation "under control" The shooter is now in a traumatic shock sort of thought process. If the dropped item was his taser, then it would make sense for him to attempt to put himself back together, and gather his equipment while he waits for backup officers. He probably realized after picking it up, that it is no longer his issue equipment, but evidence that needs to be preserved, and so he drops it again. His perception of events may not have matched reality, but in a panic, perception is all you know. Reality hit him when the charges came. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
This is not going to end well for the cop, regardless of the facts. His actions are going to be really hard to defend - almost impossibly so after the court of public opinion has its way. As always we will never know the "facts". | ||
| Pwnzor |
Pwnzor, are you suggesting the victim was "set up" by conspirators behind the camera? If so based on what evidence? Not at all. The cameraman, the gunshot victim, and the cop are all innocent in the Grand Scheme. This specific incident is only one stitch in the tapestry. You have to stand way, way back to see it. Dark days are coming. The Third Seal has been opened.  | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Has someone been drinking or attempting humor? | ||
| Pwnzor |
No. I am not being funny. This is no laughing matter. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Every event now will be used to strip the populace of their freedoms. This will be as well. The push is to Federalize ALL police forces. There were 1.1M state and local officers in the United States. This would place 1.1M officers under the direct control of the President or one of the agencies that reports only to the President. It's a domestic army that doesn't violate the Posse Comitatus Act. The body cameras are just the beginning. Let no good tragedy go to waste. | ||
| Davegess |
Dude, you are quite simply nuts. End of discussion | ||
| Pwnzor |
"crazy" "lunatic" "bat shit" "conspiracy theorist" "right wing zealot" These are phrases used by the ignorant to demean those whose views are not in line with their own. Can you refute anything I've said? | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Refute anything you've said? You haven't really said anything beyond some vague reference to a planned event and something about the Third Seal being opened. You sound like Nostradamus. Why not just spit out whatever is on your mind so that the rest of us can follow your thought process. | ||
| Pwnzor |
You sound like Nostradamus. Wow, cool. I've said what's on my mind. I don't need to wax grandiloquent when I know that I won't be telling anybody anything new. When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. |
