Anger in San Francisco over subway police shooting

[Bangkoktraveler]

This was murder.

 

So somehow you know that the officer intended to kill? How?

 

 

Did you watch the videos? It is hard to believe that somebody could construe what was recorded as anything but murder.

[Bangkoktraveler]

This California cop had no such excuse. Maybe he thought he was Dirty Harry.

 

It is not surprising yet it is still utterly disgraceful that so many on this thread refuse to allow for even the possibility that the BART officer simply made a tragic mistake of some sort; i.e. that he never intended to use deadly force on the suspect.

 

 

Have you ever fired a gun? Have you been trained on how to handle a hand gun?

 

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

 

1. He did not have a legal right to pull out his gun, but he did.

2. He deliberately took his trigger finger off the trigger guard and put it on the trigger. He had no right to do this.

3. He pulled the trigger and shot the man.

 

I find it hard to believe anybody could possibly believe that this was a tragic mistake.

[rogueyam]

When I see a kid downtown, I can tell immediately from his demeanor if he's a thug or just a regular kid. Cops can't. At least the rookies couldn't. The veteran cops could.

 

This cop was a 2 year vet. Not enough time. I'm not making excuses for him. Not at all. He should go to jail. He overreacted and probably grouped all black kids into the same category. In his job he sees the worst kids. The good ones look the same but he doesn't come across them as much. When he does he treats them the same as the bad kids.

 

We don't really know yet how good or bad this kid really was, do we? Apparently he was unarmed so that is not as bad as it could be. But what was he doing right before he got shot? What was he doing before the cops showed up? This is all yet to be determined so far as I can see.

 

As for the cop's attitude toward the kid, you are going even farther out on a limb. We don't even know yet whether the cop intended to use deadly force. What evidence is there that the cop thought the kid was worse than he actually was?

[rogueyam]

Did you watch the videos? It is hard to believe that somebody could construe what was recorded as anything but murder.

 

Of course I watched the videos.

 

I saw a scene of confusion, yelling, physical confrontation and struggle, and mob behavior, all taking place at a time and place of high volatility and risk.

 

Because I am not insane I do not look at those videos and conclude for certain that the officer intended to use deadly force against the kid who was shot. My rationality and knowledge of human nature are sufficient to allow for the possibility that the officer made some sort of mistake.

[rogueyam]

Have you ever fired a gun? Have you been trained on how to handle a hand gun?

 

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

 

1. He did not have a legal right to pull out his gun, but he did.

2. He deliberately took his trigger finger off the trigger guard and put it on the trigger. He had no right to do this.

3. He pulled the trigger and shot the man.

 

I find it hard to believe anybody could possibly believe that this was a tragic mistake.

 

Just because the law or someone's training forbids something that does not mean that they can't have done that thing unintentionally.

[Guest lazyphil]

have you been to thailand?

[Flashermac]

Why does one draw a pistol on an already subdued prisoner? I was taught by the military - just as the police are also taught - that you never point your weapon at anyone unless you intend to use it. The video shows the policeman draw his pistol and point it at the "offender". So what was the "tragic mistake"? He didn't mean to pull the trigger? (A possibility ... )

 

 

 

p.s. My grandfather was a policeman, as was my grandmother's father. I am not at all anti-cop, unlike some people posting in this thread.

 

 

 

 

[liquidflux]

From all indications so far the BART cop is in the wrong, accident or not. I'm guessing BART knows this since they've been conspicuously quiet on the whole issue.

 

Everyone loves to bag on the police, but I doubt many people would want to step into their shoes for a day. The stresses they put up with are no excuse for what happened, but you can't lump them all into the 'pig' category.

 

The 'protest' and riot that ensued was bullshit. In typical Oakland style more damage was done to the cause than good. There's close to 200 murders a year in Oakland, most of it black on black gang violence, yet there's never any public outcry over those, no protests to get rid of the gangs, no pleas for calm by the mayor. The whole thing was political grandstanding.

[rogueyam]

Why does one draw a pistol on an already subdued prisoner? I was taught by the military - just as the police are also taught - that you never point your weapon at anyone unless you intend to use it. The video clearly shows the policeman pointing his weapon at the "offender". So what was the "tragic mistake"?

 

Determining that the weapon was pointed at the offender is a bit of a foregone conclusion. The bullet did find its way into the kid's body after all.

 

But no, I do not know whether there was a mistake nor, if so, what it was. Neither do I know that there wasn't one.

 

Further, I do not know that the kid was "subdued".

 

It seems to me that folks here are getting way ahead of the known facts. That's all I'm saying.

 

 

[Bangkoktraveler]

Why does one draw a pistol on an already subdued prisoner? I was taught by the military - just as the police are also taught - that you never point your weapon at anyone unless you intend to use it. The video clearly shows the policeman pointing his weapon at the "offender". So what was the "tragic mistake"?

 

 

 

p.s. My grandfather was a policeman, as was my grandmother's father. I am not at all anti-cops, unlike some people posting in this thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, most if not all police officers are trained not to break leather unless the situation warrants it. Brandishing a weapon for no reason is generally against the law. There is no reason to pull a gun on a person who has their face pressed against the pavement. The video seems to indicate the person may have been handcuffed.

 

What is really pissing, is the cop then executed the person by shooting him in the back.