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City coughed up $100,000 to the deceased's relatives.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/broo ... xNASFJ6hwL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm sure they'll put it to good use.

Legal issues with the officers have not been settled.

- Jim

The situation is not so binary. These cities are allergic to handguns and firearms in general. Bear spray, walking sticks, socks filled with coins, and other such unclassified weapons are legal (Massachusetts seems to have a problem with pepper spray).

Also, the equivalent of shoot, shovel, and shut up in these places is shoot, duck, run, and shut up.

- Jim

ELB wrote:And finally, I have to say my sympathy for the officers is severely mitigated by the fact that had I shot some some nut to keep him from beating me to death with a chair in a NY City parking lot, those same officers would have arrested me in a heartbeat for various felonies and testified against me to put me in a NY prison for defending myself.

True enough.

Maybe my attitude is formed by having been born and raised in Chicago. No single citizen in New York, Chicago, or any such place can change the law. The operative phrase is "you can't fight city hall." Your choice is to work the system or leave.

Many residents of these cities enjoy living there.

I left.

Police officers in Texas enforce laws that I find unconstitutional, but no one here cares much.

- Jim

The incident occurred in November in New York. The clothing that someone might wear in that climate might defeat a taser.

It's easy to imagine evading and triangulating the guy, tripping him, conking him on the head, etc.—but we weren't there.

Judge not harshly and all that.

- Jim

And it also smacks of double jeopardy.

The fifth amendment to the U.S. constitution says, "... nor shall any person for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb*."

This has been interpreted by the courts to refer to criminal prosecutions. The decision of a police internal-affairs investigation is not a finding of fact as required by court rulings.

In this case, the officers are not subject to criminal prosecution. As things stand now, they could at worst be fired for failing to follow policy. I am assuming (though I could be wrong) that the union will cover any legal defense and the agency's liability insurance will cover any settlement.

That said, the subject line expresses where my sympathy lies in this case.

BTW, among the numerous facts that we don't know are the layout of the scene, the timing, and the deceased man's physical profile and affect. A 300-pound guy on a psychotic rampage is pretty scary, compared to a skinny cross-eyed drunk.

*This curious phrase, "life or limb," suggests that amputation could have been considered as a legal punishment. It has never been interpreted that way in the U.S.

- Jim

Long story short: In New York City in 2008 a man was acting irrationally while he was alone in the parking lot of a church. When two female police officers showed up to investigate, he charged them with a wooden folding chair. One officer fired a single 9 mm hollowpoint shot that proved fatal. The deceased was one foot away from the officer when she shot, and he literally landed in her arms.

The man's motives, whatever they were, are unknown. He had no previous criminal record.

A police board found the officer's actions justified. The shooting was not referred to a grand jury.

Later, another internal investigation found the officers at fault for failing to follow procedure in the use of force. The officers will face a disciplinary hearing later this month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/nyreg ... ss&emc=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim