What in the world was this California Cop thinking?
(possibly semi-not safe for work)
The first person that can make sense of this one is more than welcome to 10 points and a bit of a tip!
In case it's not clear enough, at the 1:24 marker of the video, a cop pulls out a gun on an unarmed guy who is being held face-down by another officer, and then shoots the guy in the back. The normal-sized video you get by following the link to YouTube makes it a good bit clearer.
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M$7 Answers
I don't know if its a case of lack of training or lack of checking for mental and emotional issues, but when so many police officers are taking inappropriate actions and seem to be acting on complete impulse instead of proper training, I think there deserves to be an issue made of it.
Take for example, another recent news story where a group of undercover police officers apprehended a 12 year old African American girl when they were on a sting for three WHITE prostitutes. They ambushed the girl and ended up beating her because she (naturally) fought against a group of plain clothes men trying to take her away.
http://abajournal.com/news/girl_12_mistaken_for_prostitute_sues_over_alleged_police_beating/
Maybe there is a shortage of cops, and the requirements for acceptance into the academy have been loosened. Or maybe there are just people that are somehow slipping into the force that absolutely do not deserve to be there. But either way, the case you mentioned, and the case above show that there is a serious problem with police officers crossing the line while on duty and not practicing proper procedure.
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M$"Engineer Devinder Grewal specializes in failure analysis and accident reconstruction. Tuesday, he examined videos obtained by KTVU that seem to indicate Mehserle drew a Taser at least once before the fatal shooting. Mehserle’s actions raise questions about whether the officer was confused about which weapon he was holding when the gun fired."
I can't imagine any officer deliberately shooting a man in the back no matter how mad he is. So, I believe that, in the confusion of everything, the officer believed he still had his taser when he fired.
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M$
You're right. However, if you watch the video, you'll notice that the other officer starts to back up right before the shot and we can't hear what the officers are saying. Then, the officer that had fired the shot, looks down at his weapon twice before looking over at the other officer. Then he puts his hand to his head. This body language suggest to me that he didn't realize he was holding his gun and made a mistake.
1:27 Shot
1:29 Officer looks at his weapon (1st time)
1:32 Officer looks at his weapon (2nd time)
1:33 Officer puts his hand to his head
I've heard this excuse, but I don't think I can buy that one either for the simple reason that he didn't even warn the cop that was holding down the suspect. It seems that a cop touching the suspect could've been affected some small bit by a taser shock -- even if that potential "collateral shock" would be very minor, I'd assume there's still some sort of protocol for warning a fellow officer that the suspect he's holding is about to be tasered.
There is some speculation on CNN that the officer may have grabbed his gun instead of his taser accidentally. Whether or not this is the "accident" that took place, how many people would feel that even a taser was necessary in this instance?! They are not completely safe... still unnecessary force in my opinion.
The only other thing I can think of is anger/rage. Perhaps this cop had had an earlier run in with this man and was taunted by him or otherwise made to feel stupid which in turn changed his response in this incident?
cnn.com
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M$
At least this one doesn't have comments below it containing the home addresses of every person with the same name as the policeman
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M$
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-bart-shooting7-2009jan07,0,1962746.story
That's crazy, in the article they reference that the officer thought he had grabbed his taser...I don't buy that.
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/binary/3516/45_0000_taser.jpg
I GUESS there is a mild similarity between the two, but I honestly can't imagine the two of them being confused...even in the heat of battle(which quite honeslty wasn't that ferocious).
My personal guess is that the guy smarted off to the cop. That pissed him off, so he stepped back, drew and capped him...
I doubt much will come of it. There will be a brief flury of news about this, the officer may stand trial and get a couple months...most likely not, but MAYBE...and lose his job, then all will be forgotten until the video is dug up after someone else is killed.
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M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I think you're spot on with this. I can't tell you the number of complete idiots I've seen wearing uniforms. Of course that's what you get when you pay a new officer $22k per year (at least in my city)...not many good takers for that kind of job at that kind of pay.
Probably a mix of poor background checking and poor training. When budgets get cut, the first thing to go is usually training.
But in this video...AFTER the shot, the cops don't use their radios, half-heartedly drag the guy a few feet, and generally just stand there. That speaks volumes about training right there...not to mention...why was a taser even necessary when the victim was face down on the ground already? Idiot doesn't begin to describe him.