Unarmed man charged with wounding bystanders

[cb1000rider]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/nyreg ... .html?_r=0


I might be able to understand a LEO shooting someone for reaching in his her pocket. PDs should advertise more effectively though - it might lead to fewer deaths: "If you don't follow directions and reach into a pocket, we will try to kill you". I'd rather see that on police cars rather than "protect and serve". It's a much more attention grabbing motto.

I don't understand why you take a shot at someone that you haven't confirmed as a deadly threat with a backdrop full of people. Maybe it's because I haven't been in that adrenalin fueled type of event? Before you even raise a gun, aren't you going to think about the backdrop?

And lastly, I don't understand a criminal justice system that charges an unarmed guy with assault when he clearly was not a deadly threat. If you follow that to it's logical conclusion, any action that I might take that results in LEO gunfire, I'm inherently responsible for, regardless of how justified or unjustified that use of force was. It's no different than having an offer club me and accidentally hurting someone else, then charging me with two crimes.

I'm calmed down by recognizing that hopefully this is a pretty isolated incident in day to day public/police interaction.

[cb1000rider]

Looks like joker beat me to it by minutes:
viewtopic.php?f=108&t=70391

[jmra]

Sounds like this is more an attempt to move liability away from police and onto the suspect than it is about justice.

Let's take this a step further. You are going 7mph over the speed limit. An officer is parked on the side of the road. As he pulls onto the road to stop you he pulls out in front of a car and kills the driver in the other car. You are now charged with vehicular manslaughter?

[Oldgringo]

Nobody messes with the police union in the Big Apple, Bean Town, etc. Don't y'all watch "Blue Bloods"?