BLIMEY, Woman Officer Fires Pistol, but thought she had her Tazer drawn!

[chrisjpainter]

2 hours ago, Rewulf said:

I disagree .

 

A casual look at the above could easily make the reader believe that Amidou was randomly targeted by 4 cops, in an open area , who fired 41 rounds at him with poor accuracy , and continued to fire once he was down.

The reality is that he was up a flight of steps in partial cover, it was dark, in a crime ridden neighbourhood.
One cop believing a suspect was armed, opened fire, then fell down the steps.
Other cops thought the shots fired came from the suspect, and had hit and incapacitated the first cop.
Resultant ricochets and confusion, made them believe fire was being returned at them , so continued firing, as is their training , until the suspect was down,
The use of FMJs , although probably killing Amidou early on , left his body in a position where this was not obvious.

So , a 50 % hit rate , at 1am in an adrenaline fueled confrontation , where you believe you are being shot at, with one of your buddies already believed down ?

So yes , I thought it needed some clarity.
 

If someone hadn't died, your version of events would be hilarious. You'd just need the Benny Hill theme and you'd be there. First cop pulls out his weapon, fires then falls backwards down some stairs. His buddies jump in and start shooting too, none of them realising that they were shooting at no threat at all whilst thinking they were being shot at thus returning their own fire with more fire, and so perpetuating a cycle of shooting at themselves whilst defending themselves from themselves? What next, backup coming and ploughing through some cardboard boxes placed there for some inexplicable reason?
@clangermanis spot on. Confirm the threat, then act on it. Shoot first and ask questions later should be left to the movies - and bad ones at that. Cops need to be more professional than Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

[Rewulf]

26 minutes ago, clangerman said:

have all the clarity we need when someone gets shot for having his hand in his pocket unless you SEE a firearm you have no right whatsoever to fire on someone time after time same story as always people being shot and killed BEFORE confirming there even IS a threat i thought he had a gun it was dark someone called gun excuses excuses excuses 

I wont get into the mechanics of armed confrontations with firearms, but suffice to say , if you get to see the gun , theres every possibility the gun is not far from being ready to fire in your direction.
In this particular case, the cops were more exposed than Amidou, so perhaps felt vulnerable ?

However, they messed up, and a man died.
They messed up because one of them perceived a gun, a gun that wasnt there.

A lot of this cases weight is based upon the number of shots fired, the reason for which I outlined previously.
Would it have made a less impactful headline if they had fired one or two shots that killed him ?
However it works out , like in a lot of these tragic cases, the story is weaponised by the media, and 'figures' like al sharpton, to gain political points, and to stimulate the race war that pays their wages.

9 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

If someone hadn't died, your version of events would be hilarious. You'd just need the Benny Hill theme and you'd be there. First cop pulls out his weapon, fires then falls backwards down some stairs. His buddies jump in and start shooting too, none of them realising that they were shooting at no threat at all whilst thinking they were being shot at thus returning their own fire with more fire, and so perpetuating a cycle of shooting at themselves whilst defending themselves from themselves? What next, backup coming and ploughing through some cardboard boxes placed there for some inexplicable reason?
@clangermanis spot on. Confirm the threat, then act on it. Shoot first and ask questions later should be left to the movies - and bad ones at that. Cops need to be more professional than Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

I dont see what you find hilarious, far far stranger things have happened in armed confrontations.

Could I ask how many firefights you have participated in ?
Video games or paintball dont count by the way. 

[Scully]

It’s all down to conditioning through training in high stress situations, and not just the female of the species. 
Again, this hilarious one was from Guns & Ammo sometime in the ‘80’s. 
A Ranger working Border Patrol had gone into the toilet of a restaurant and removed his 1911 from its holster for whatever reason, and hung it on the coat hook on the back of the door through the trigger guard. 
On removing it, it discharged a round into the ceiling and in his panic and confusion to get it off the hook it discharged another two before he realised what was going on! 
Being a single action semi auto, it was quite common practice to carry this make of pistol cocked and locked, thereby removing the necessity to rack the slide to chamber a round when time was of the essence, but some officers had got into the habit of carrying the pistol cocked but not locked, regarding it perfectly safe due to the way the guns safety was designed, namely having a grip safety in addition to a manual safety. 
You can apply the safety on a 1911 and pull the trigger and it won’t fire. You can disengage the safety and without depressing the grip safety, pull the trigger and it still won’t fire. You have to properly grip the pistol, disengage the manual safety and then squeeze the trigger before it will fire. 
When the Ranger went to remove it from the coat hook he depressed the grip safety and the trigger coming into contact with the coat hook did the rest! 
He had admitted to colleagues that for a split second thought his gun possessed, but then realised what he’d done. 🙂

Fortunately no one was hurt. 
I owned a 1911 A1 back in the day, and also a S&W New Model Departure Hammerless Safety with the same grip safety, commonly known as ‘lemon squeezer’.
It’s a good design in my opinion, and one which H&K still employ on some models I believe. 
 

[scolopax]

If the chap had obeyed the officer’s instructions he would not have been shot. An accident brought about by his own actions. 

[Scully]

52 minutes ago, scolopax said:

If the chap had obeyed the officer’s instructions he would not have been shot. An accident brought about by his own actions. 

This. 

[mel b3]

1 hour ago, scolopax said:

If the chap had obeyed the officer’s instructions he would not have been shot. An accident brought about by his own actions. 

You can write a million words , and have a million opinions .  But this is still the answer to it 👍.

[Dave-G]

Exactly and the BLM movement seems like its intended that black criminals should be allowed to resist arrest and destroy other peoples property and businesses if any of them gets shot.

[paulinlincs]

55 minutes ago, mel b3 said:

You can write a million words , and have a million opinions .  But this is still the answer to it 👍.

Yep. 

[enfieldspares]

13 hours ago, Centrepin said:

First of all, no such thing as accidental. It's either deliberate or negligent.

What he says. It is also very easy to draw your pistol INTENTIONALLY and at the same time shout "Taser, taser, taser" in order to then give oneself an alibi for using lethal force. Just the same as deliberately punching someone first and unprovoked whilst shouting "Don't hit me".

[clangerman]

3 hours ago, scolopax said:

If the chap had obeyed the officer’s instructions he would not have been shot. An accident brought about by his own actions. 

you don’t have the chance to comply when your being KILLED because some clown thinks not sees but THINKS you have a gun had the forty odd shots killed a bunch of children we would be hearing a very different song from excuses 

[oscarsdad]

BBC all day on the radio...police have fatally shot unarmed 20something black man. 
 

A better description is that a man with an outstanding warrant for his arrest, violently resisted arrest, was accidentally shot during the struggle and then drove off. 
 

Don’t resist armed police officers and you won’t get shot. 

[WalkedUp]

11 hours ago, chrisjpainter said:

I remember one from a while back. The police were getting all sort of aggro from youths standing around videoing it. Some yelling 'Is this a police state now?' and 'Police brutality!' Then the officer pulled a machete out of the suspects trousers. It turns out most police do actually know what they're doing!

 

That’s the video I was trying to find!

[henry d]

Yeah, don't come back from visiting your wife's grave with your sons and not expect to have your leg broken by a racist police officer looking for black suspects.

[12gauge82]

22 minutes ago, henry d said:

Yeah, don't come back from visiting your wife's grave with your sons and not expect to have your leg broken by a racist police officer looking for black suspects.

And what has that got to do with this thread? 

[WalkedUp]

25 minutes ago, henry d said:

Yeah, don't come back from visiting your wife's grave with your sons and not expect to have your leg broken by a racist police officer looking for black suspects.

Appropriate and swift justice against an errant and racist police officer.

But not really relevant to a negligent shooting nor the stress caused to officers by crowd aggravation. 

[henry d]

1 minute ago, WalkedUp said:

Appropriate and swift justice against an errant and racist police officer.

Indeed, unfortunately for a lot of black people in Minnesota, and other US states, the police get away with killing black people, take Philando Castile as yet another example. Most telling is what his girlfriend's daughter said as her mum was cuffed and Philando was left to die; "Mom, please stop cussing and screaming 'cause I don't want you to get shooted".

[WalkedUp]

The gun laws and gun crime in America are awful. The police are understandably jumpy, unfortunately with badly trained and heavily armed police there will always be needless killings. 

Watch this for police brutality 

 

Whilst watch this to see what the police deal with:

 

[Centrepin]

7 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

The gun laws and gun crime in America are awful. The police are understandably jumpy, unfortunately with badly trained and heavily armed police there will always be needless killings. 

Watch this for police brutality 

 

Whilst watch this to see what the police deal with:

 

I see no problem with the first one, the guy on the floor needs to listen and obey. Why does the Policeman need to risk his life. Its a narrow corridor if another Policeman was to pass him, they'd both be at risk. Absolutely no brutality, not far from text book.

Second one, easily justified shooting and well carried out. Top marks to the police lady.

[dogone]

Cop woman has done the usual. Retired . Pulling pension and hoping to hide from consequences. 
     I don’t understand how someone running away needs murdering. I hope she at least has many unsettled years till this works through the courts. Time in jail is probably to much to hope for.

[WalkedUp]

1 hour ago, Centrepin said:

I see no problem with the first one, the guy on the floor needs to listen and obey. Why does the Policeman need to risk his life. Its a narrow corridor if another Policeman was to pass him, they'd both be at risk. Absolutely no brutality, not far from text book.

😳 The guy was completely innocent and asleep after a long day working and driving, he was just wearing boxers and obviously not a threat to anyone. The instructions given to him were contradictory. If someone came and woke you up in the middle of the night after you had been out for beers and started playing ‘Simon says’ it would be a struggle to last that long. 

Officer “I said keep your legs crossed” 

Me: erm... no you didn’t 

[WalkedUp]

1 hour ago, Centrepin said:

Second one, easily justified shooting and well carried out. Top marks to the police lady.

Completely, imagine that being your life though. Living every moment on duty feeling a millisecond away from being shot at by a random dude you are trying to help. 

[Rewulf]

8 hours ago, Centrepin said:

I see no problem with the first one, the guy on the floor needs to listen and obey. Why does the Policeman need to risk his life. Its a narrow corridor if another Policeman was to pass him, they'd both be at risk. Absolutely no brutality, not far from text book.

Again ,Ive got to disagree, as did Mesa County , who (unsuccessfully) prosecuted the 26 year old cop for 2nd degree murder....You do know the cop opened fired on the man on the floor shortly after the video ends, putting 5 rounds into him at 5 yards ?

Power tripping cop aside, the 26 year old father of 2 , being made to crawl on the floor in his boxer shorts and t shirt was perceived to be 'going for a gun' and was drunk.

Cop was retired with full pension, and is currently trying to sue Mesa county for PTSD caused  to him from the incident.

[Centrepin]

50 minutes ago, Rewulf said:

....You do know the cop opened fired on the man on the floor shortly after the video ends, putting 5 rounds into him at 5 yards ?

No, but up to the video finishing I see no problems. Confined space, he perceived an armed threat and acted accordingly.

The problem with all videos like this, we don't see before and in this one we don't see after. I simply can't comment on why he opened fire.

[dogone]

    Retired lady cop being charged with manslaughter. As I hoped. A great start for her retirement years. But even in jail she would still get the pension.

[ordnance]

 

Quote

 

7 hours ago, Rewulf said:

....You do know the cop opened fired on the man on the floor shortly after the video ends, putting 5 rounds into him at 5 yards ?

No, but up to the video finishing I see no problems. Confined space, he perceived an armed threat and acted accordingly.

The problem with all videos like this, we don't see before and in this one we don't see after. I simply can't comment on why he opened fire.

 

Seriously, its OK for police to shoot people because they perceive a threat  She messed up and will have to pay the price, as it should be.