Quote:
Originally Posted by jewel25
I don't have to worry about that. I will never be carrying a firearm out in the open.
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In this day and age you DO NOT have to be carrying a firearm to be shot by police. Ask Roy Middleton...a black man who was shot by police in FL back in August in his own driveway. The police suspected he was a car thief (for some unexplained reason) and when he exited his own car parked in his own driveway...because they ordered him to...they fired 15 shots at him because they thought the flash of metal they saw was a gun...but it was not a gun it was just his lighter...which he was not wielding as a weapon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rray
All they had to do is call for backup in case the kid tries to run if after 30 seconds the kid don't surrender. They could hide behind there car if worried the toy was real...
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They actually did call for back up. The first call made from the patrol car was to report a suspicious person and call for back up. But instead of waiting for back up...the 25 year veteran decided to escalate the situation before any witnesses could arrive. The second call was placed 10 seconds later to report that shots had been fired and all shots had be fired at that point. Over the next 16 seconds the boy was ordered to move away from the weapon as he lay dying on the ground...and when he failed to comply...the officer cuffed his lifeless body before calling for medical aid. And before anyone feels the need to inform me...I am well aware that this is standard procedure...I just wanted to paint an accurate picture.
The reason the FBI is investigating this case is due to a huge discrepancy with the timeline and the officer's story. If the officer did actually issue the order to drop the weapon twice...that alone would take approx. 6 seconds and 1 second to discharge the weapon...so that leaves less than 3 seconds for the boy to respond...and since the boy was not given a chance to turn around and see who was addressing him...all the bullet wound entries were on the side of the boys body. And of course the biggest question of all...why didn't the sheriff wait for the back up already en route...which should have been standard procedure unless there was an imminent threat. I don't know why everyone is so gungho to believe that the teen was raising his pellet gun as he turned...because that scenario makes very little sense...but it makes all kind of sense for the officers to say it happened because if they don't they're going to lose their jobs.
Will the officer that fired the shots lose his job...I doubt it...there isn't enough evidence to disprove his account. Should he lose his job just because he made a mistake...I don't think so. We all make mistakes and luckily for the rest of us...someone else is willing to put their life on the line every day and make those tough choices for us.