NYPD shoots bystanders; suspect charged

[VMI77]

...but it's hard to believe race wasn't a factor in the charge and the sentence if true....and that's a big if since it is an article in the "news" media, which frequently means the reality is completely different.

I think he was most likely bagged because he couldn't afford a good attorney. Sure race could be a factor, but likely the lack of enough money to afford an "adequate" defense is also in play.
And yea, the media could be reporting it totally backwards.

There are different rules for different people apparently.

Well, if the facts are as reported, this is a vicious prosecution and deliberate destruction of a good young man's life, and the prosecutor should be removed from office.

[EEllis]

It's crazy how firearm incidents are treated differently depending on where you are and who you are:

http://thegrio.com/2013/12/04/us-airman ... -25-years/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This guy was protecting himself from an unprovoked attack. He fired, hit his attacker and also managed to hit 2 other people via fragments.

The DA had to say:

“The evidence is clear here that the act of pointing a gun into a group of people, even if you’re not specifically deciding to kill them, is a crime,” said Assistant State Attorney Jack Campbell in his closing statements during the trial...

20-year mandatory minimum sentence for this guy. 10 years of it was for "brandishing". Sheesh. Not worth owning a gun in FL.

That's not how it works. Florida has a 10-20-life mandated sentencing for gun crimes. Any felony involving a gun is 10 years, firing a gun is 20 years, shooting someone is 25 or life. So, no 10 years wasn't for brandishing but what you would get if you didn't fire the gun but had it during a felony criminal act. He actually shot someone which is why he got the mandated 25.

And as an aside this was another, or should I say earlier "warning shot" case. He hit the guy with his "Warning shot" and by calling it a warning shot you are almost automatically going to get charged.

[mojo84]

NYPD still have those stupid heavy triggers on their Glocks?

The one's that make them almost impossible to shoot accurately? Yep.

They just need to practice and one can overcome a heavy trigger.

[Ameer]

It works form people shooting DA revolvers. And people shooting DA/SA pistols that don't want to throw away their first shot.

[EEllis]

NYPD glock trigger is 12 lbs. A normal DA is less than that and can be under 6 lbs. Think about the worst DA trigger you have ever fired and NYPD triggers are most likely worse.

[texanjoker]

NYPD glock trigger is 12 lbs. A normal DA is less than that and can be under 6 lbs. Think about the worst DA trigger you have ever fired and NYPD triggers are most likely worse.

We had mandatory heavier triggers on our Glocks back in CA. It was required for the on duty issued gun and even my off duty glock 27. It wasn't an issue and our dept accuracy in OIS was good. People just need to practice and be proficient with what they carry.

[Tic Tac]

A poor workman blames his tools.

[mojo84]

A poor workman blames his tools.

So do poor golfers.

[talltex]

A poor workman blames his tools.

So do poor golfers.

Not all of us...but most are soooo desperate for a "magic pill" that will somehow turn them into a scratch player that they will buy the "latest and greatest" new club every time one comes out. I play with a group of low handicap and scratch players every weekend and even most of them can't stand not having the newest club they see touted by the pros (who are getting paid millions to do so). I still play a set of irons that I bought in 1989, and I can hit them better than just about anyone in our group. I've had to reshaft them several times, but they still feel better than any of the new ones I've tried over the years. One buddy that used to gamble with me couldn't break 100 on his best day, ( I gave him strokes on every hole), and he showed up one day with a new driver that had just been introduced. He drove 100 miles to a golf shop in Dallas to look for a new driver because he couldn't hit the one he had...the salesman told him they had all makes and models, but he really needed to know what he was trying to achieve in order to help him select the best one for him. He asked him if he was looking for more distance? my friend answered " well yeah, that'd be good most of the guys hit a lot further then me"...he then asked "what about accuracy...are you looking for something that will hit it straighter?", again he answered, "oh yeah...I need that on the tight course we play". The guy told him, "well then... now, if money's an issue, I can sell you something a lot cheaper of course...but if you really want is to hit it FARTHER and STRAIGHTER, then there's really only one choice. This new -----, it's what all the pros are raving about. So he wrote him a check for $475. I looked at him and said "you do realize, that no one...in the history of golf...has EVER gone into a pro shop and asked for a club that would hit it short and crooked?" He shook his head and said "yeah...I see your point...but man, it just looked soo pretty and what he said sounded soo good, I had to try it".

[mojo84]

I was once playing with the club pro and I started whining about my crappy clubs. He switched our bags and commenced to prove to me it isn't the club/tool. It's the tool using the tool. Haven't complained about my clubs, tools or guns since.

[talltex]

I was once playing with the club pro and I started whining about my crappy clubs. He switched our bags and commenced to prove to me it isn't the club/tool. It's the tool using the tool. Haven't complained about my clubs, tools or guns since.

OUCH! that was kind of cruel of him....but he's right..."it ain't the arrow...it's the Indian"

[gigag04]

Wait...we all agree that gear matters, right?

I don't know any PGA golfers running the same garage sale clubs that I have.

[Jaguar]

Wait...we all agree that gear matters, right?

I don't know any PGA golfers running the same garage sale clubs that I have.

I agree, you don't see Olympic clay shooters using a second hand Mossberg 500 as I do, and although I am sure they could hit more birds than I do with it, they typically would use the best equipment available because it works better in real life.

It isn't like the NYPD can only afford garage sale pistols. They specify that their officers use crummy triggers because they don't have it in their budget to train them to keep their booger hooks off the bang switch. How much trigger time training do you think these same officers are mandated?

NYPD is forcing their officers to use sub-par equipment due to lack of training and yet some think they should train their way past the sub-par equipment. I don't think it will work.

[mojo84]

There's a difference between bullseye shooting and shooting human size targets. I just don't accept the triggers as being an acceptable excuse for shooting bystanders.

[EEllis]

There's a difference between bullseye shooting and shooting human size targets. I just don't accept the triggers as being an acceptable excuse for shooting bystanders.

I don't think there is ever an "acceptable" reason but that doesn't mean you stop looking at what may of played a part.