The Adventures in Policing Thread

From the cop? Nothing. From the taxpayers, OTOH . . .

 

Good point.

 

Change her status to "incarcerated"!
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/womans-facebook-post-ousts-her-probation-violation/25202496

 

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...spects-20140409,0,2484438.story#ixzz2ya3Pb1ck
"Cortijo, a 27-year veteran of the department, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was a two-time LAPD officer of the year ...
Qaneak Shaney Cobb, 33, faces a felony DUI charge, and prosecutors allege she was under the influence of cocaine in her Chevrolet Blazer when she rear-ended Cortijo as he was stopped at a traffic light"

 

So that would seem to belong in the "shit happens" column? The cops had to make a split-second decision on limited and shaky information, and they got it wrong.

The whole thing would have been over before they had the chance to see either "bloodied" or "not holding anything"-- and "bloodied" would have seemed confirmatory. The obvious inference seems to me to be that the wounded guy was hit by accident, not design.

Seems like a tragedy, not an atrocity.

 

I could be persuaded, but that is not currently the context the cops were operating in is it? Not fair to condemn them in hindsight, as though they were being careless...

 

There will obviously be an official inquiry, and the family of the unfortunate victim will probably receive a large settlement. A fatal mistake by the deputies will most likely not lead to any criminal charges, although it may lead to internal charges.

I don't think anyone "emptied a clip" into anyone.

No reason that it should.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Empire_State_Building_shooting \
August 24, 2012 ... Jeffrey Johnson ... pointed a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun at a former co-worker's head, and fired one round ... stood over him and fired at him four more times, killing him. ...
When confronted by the two officers, Johnson raised his weapon, but did not fire. The officers fired a total of 16 rounds, killing Johnson and injuring nine bystanders, none of whom suffered life-threatening wounds. Three of the bystanders were directly hit by police gunfire, while the rest of the injuries were caused by fragments of ricocheting bullets, or by debris from other objects hit by police. Johnson's handgun, which held eight rounds, still had two rounds remaining when he was shot ...
surveillance video of the shootout ... shows Johnson wearing a suit, holding a briefcase, and raising his handgun at the officers, who then responded with gunfire. Johnson is shown being struck by the police's bullets, dropping his briefcase, and falling to the ground"
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/justice/new-york-empire-state-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

Tell ya what-- if I'm running close in front of a guy who is chasing me with a knife, and the cops--or you-- wound me in the process of shooting him off my back, I ain't suing anybody; I'm sending "thank you" cards.

Your mileage may vary, but it seems pretty obvious that is what these cops were trying to do. They just misidentified due to the need to do something instantly.

 

"The deputies, all department veterans, were removed from patrol after the shooting but were expected to return to full duty next week, sheriff's officials said."
Doesn't mean that it will happen. OTOH, LASD marches to its own drummer. My experiences with them were not positive.

 

I don't have a problem with bad decisions being made in an instant. Cops are (mostly) human. I have a bigger problem when they execute people for no ********ing reason whatsoever, as Albuquerque PD did to James Burke a few weeks ago.

 

Maybe this needs a "The Adventures In DAing Thread" but IMO we should seriously consider penalizing prosecutorial misconduct.

To wit, http://www.propublica.org/article/b...rt-cleared-of-murder-after-24-years-in-prison

There is no doubt whatsoever that prosecutors knew this man was innocent and withheld exculpatory evidence. But there's virtually no penalty for a DA to withhold information. We can't leave something as important as providing evidence to the honor system.

 

I assume you mean James Boyd?

While I don't endorse the behavior, characterizing it as an execution is pretty disingenuous; the situation went on for hours, the man was entirely noncompliant and confrontational, he drew edged weapons, non lethal means were attempted and failed, and he appeared to be about to attack a police dog.

It is true the police efforts could reasonably be characterized as amateurish, and the situation seemed to allow room to attempt a non fatal shoot, and didn't seem to call for a volley of fire-- no officer other than the canine was in immediate danger-- but an execution, it was not.

Of course you may have an entirely different case in mind; APD has been spilling blood fairly freely of late, and investigations are under way; without a correct name I'm not going to be able to comment.

 

Yes, James Boyd.

At the risk of enabling click-baiters, here's the video:
http://krqe.com/2014/03/21/video-apd-releases-helmetcam-footage-of-shooting/

That's an execution.

 

Not by any definition I understand. Unnecessary shooting, sure...

Hell, I'm a little surprised they even hit him...

 

In further news, the federal investigation has concluded, to no one's surprise, that the APD has exhibited "a pattern of excessive force" in the recent past.

Which is regrettable and improper, but still not the same thing as "executions."

 

Officer injured during Boston Marathon events died while back on duty yesterday:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...l-emergency/4Cg93lvhdmzcwTy0SPicKJ/story.html
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/25...er-medical-emercency-at-boston-police-academy
RIP, Officer Simmonds.

 

I don't know the family in question, but I suspect that if they were asked, they'd prefer to have their family member back than any "large settlement."

 

Of course. But, they'll still sue, unless he had a will & left his estate to charity.

 

Sure. But that's irrelevant to any discussion of the severity of the tragedy.

 

Sentiment among the public is that this is routine, normal police behavior and that they consider it appropriate. It is also assumed by the public, despite hidden agendas and plausible deniability, that this is why so many police object to having their behavior recorded.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/arti...l_wins_acquittal_for_defendant_desk_duty_for/

Desk duty? Lets play prosecutor and see how many criminal charges we can think to pile on these fine public servants.

Then, lets talk about parallel construction.