Topic: cop shoots man in the back (Read 2244 times)

Yes, it is practical. We can stop giving local police departments Bearcats and tanks and use those funds to equip them all with mandatory bodycams. It will require no more manpower to monitor, as it would only be to review in the case of incident, the same as dashcams now. They just run and run and the only time it matters is when there is an incident to review. Since the funding will come from things police departments are currently buying and don't need (military-grade weapons and vehicles), it will cost no further funding as well, and may even save money in the long run as police brutality complaints and lawsuits decline when officers start behaving because they're being held responsible for their actions.

You're speaking with the benefit of hindsight now knowing the cop murdered the guy and having seen video of it. In the moment, you don't have the capacity to assess the situation, and you will never possibly have enough information to make a determination that you would be justified to shoot at a cop who is pursuing a suspect. Your vigilante intervention would not have been justified. Cops are supposed to be equal under the law, but they are given the power to enforce it, which like it or not, is a superior position in society. When they abuse that power, there are channels to deal with that properly, and vigilante justice is not one of them.

Saw the video associated with this. It still amazes me how this one video is the only reason the police will be brought to justice. Without video, planting evidence becomes far too easy and the story made about the taser that was planted seemed all too plausible without the footage. Many police departments are ordering body cams that will keep the police in check.
Video for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LNO_y9Dge4

I wonder how popular a man that used to be a cop but who murdered an average joe is in an ordinary jail.

This is absolutely disgusting and intolerable. He just killed him, that's all, he decided to kill him out of fucking nowhere! and you can't refute that video evidence. I hope someone takes payback time on that fucker.

What do you think about wearing your own personal body camera, perhaps even concealed. And perhaps also in the car. Would it be foolish to reveal this fact to the officers stopping you. For instance:

"There're numerous cameras here, all recording live to an internet feed, everything you do will be monitored and recorded, and any breach of the law will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible".

I guess that would be showing attitude.. Some cops might be scared off, others might shoot you, I don't know.

I do know for a fact that treating people badly does not yield respect. If a person is treated with respect, he will give respect back. Not all people are good people, some are low life scum that deserve to be in jail, but even a thief does not deserve to be shot in the back.

Also, corruption and power abuse will erode the trust the general public has with the police. So, instead of calling the police when something is wrong, you hesitate and rather walk away, because you cannot be sure what the outcome will be if you make the call, maybe you are the one that ends up with trouble.

I assume the only sane way to behave when you're stopped by police is to comply and smile, as anything else might end you in jail, even if it's not justified at all. In my view, the fact that officers can use deadly force against people "that do not comply" is very very wrong. Esp. when a suspect is under control, there's no need to further attack him.

That being said, being a police officer is no joke, and they put their lifes in danger every day, but they should protect the public and not be an aggressor, which seems to often be the case, unfortunately. Accountability is important for being able to keep them in check. If a cop goes out of line, there's nothing to stop him except his own conscience, and if he does not have that, there's nothing to stop him.

Police departments and police academies gets their funding and guidelines from politicians. There is enough knowledge and experience in the world today to create a better police force, and to screen candidates, such that candidates that are not fit will be rejected, also there must be some kind of continuing monitoring to ensure a good cop does not turn into a bad cop.

Too often it seems like the police are most concerned with protecting themselves and not the public. When there's no willingness to let bad actions have consequences, then there will be no change. It seems to me that changes today happens mostly after a lot of pressure, esp. in the press. Politicians and high ranking officials "need to act" to show strength once something comes out in the press. So the press becomes a force that pressure the officials to act better, not because they genuinely want to, but because they do not want to lose face.

Of course there's many good people in the police and law enforcement agencies, who's only concerned about doing "the right thing", but the bad apples spoils the whole bunch.

Exactly, cop cams should be compulsory. Ideally all video recorded would be stored and monitored by a trusted third party, maybe even a non-profit organisation (wouldn't put it past the cops to delete vital evidence if it suited them). They would also has to pass laws preventing police from covering their cameras, I've seen plenty of cops at protests covering their ID numbers so they can't get reported for beating up activists.

Is it practical to give them all guns and tasers and pepper spray. Cameras are badly needed to stop them from murdering innocent people or just straight up abusing their powers. I'm not from the states but even in my country the cops abuse their powers and hassle you for no good reason. Of course you must comply and if you give them any attitude back they just abuse their power even more to hassle you further. Cameras will really keep them in check and help them with their own safety as well as others.

Link is dead, try this instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KIKUEjn3Z0

This only reinforces my impression that cops in general can do whatever they want and get away with it. Seeing that so many cops attack this man that's on the ground points to a cultural issue that is approved from the very top. If this is not excessive force, I don't know what is.

Such culture does not evolve in a vacuum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu5RxyOzd7Y

There are many things to take into consideration. But given that cops in general would behave better, and that less civilians would get shot, I think such a system would be a good idea. In the cases were a cop is alone with a suspect, the cop is God. With eyes on him, he would no longer be God.

Of course there're challenges in regards to logistics. I guess a more scientific report could give better results. As the situation is, I think wearing bodycam, dashcam should be mandatory for everyone interested in their personal safety, as the words of the common man against the words of a police officer has no value.

Are you really serious? Is this their work system? So when they shoot they must always kill a person instead to 'stop' him (for example with a shoot to the leg). Another country that I should not visit :/.

It is a good suggestion to keep the cops under surveillance. But is it practical to make all of them wear body cams? The initial cost, as well as maintenance will be huge. And there is no guarantee that they will not damage / tweak them. Also we need more manpower to manually monitor all of them.

This is some bullshit.  If anything crimes commited by cops should be punished much more severely as they are in a position of authority.  At some point we won't be able to tell the difference between honest cops, nut-job cops, and serial killers in a cop uniform.

I'm not usually for mass surveillance, but I've seen reports of successfully altered behavior by cops who wear body cameras. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have all cops wear such cameras as a mandatory prop as long as they're on duty.

It's funny how accountability alters the behavior of certain people.

What's worse is that the cop probably would have gotten away with this if he was not filmed.

The most scary part is however how casual it all is. Like the citizen's life has no value.

More importantly it is illegal to shoot some one in the back as they are running away in most states (if not all) because it demonstrates clearly they were not in an active attempt of attacking you (the only legal reason to shoot some one unless in defense of another life).


I used to know a former cop. You know what he told me? If you have to use your gun in self defense, make sure you empty the clip into them and they are dead. People who survive are witnesses, and witnesses send you to jail or sue you. Dead people don't. This is why when they kill people, they turn them into Swiss cheese, not just disable them.

why the fuck must they bring race into it? was the killing of eric garner with the black female sergeant on the scene about race or the shooting of that french homeless guy by a black cop? any time its a white person doing wrong it must be racial.

It hurts to watch the video, as he kill him with nothing more, helpless, he should receive life imprisonment

Luckily someone recorded everything, it is a clear proof of his crime

Really? It makes me feel happy that the cops are not the only ones with guns.
That video shows a clear case of murder. There is no situation where it is legal to shoot a fleeing unarmed person. In fact, if someone with a CCW had been there, he/she would have been justified to shoot the cop dead as he shot at the suspect. The cops here are not our superiors, I see them as back-up for when I can't handle a criminal by myself. 

News:

The shootings have stirred debate across the country about police conduct and race relations, also drawing into the discussion President Barack Obama, who an aide said has seen the Scott video. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice are investigating Scott's shooting, which has drawn strong reaction from political leaders and on social media.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, along with U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, all Republicans, decried the shooting, with both senators releasing statements calling the video "horrific."


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/09/us-usa-south-carolina-shooting-idUSKBN0MY28220150409