[parentologist]

New Britain Herald - New Britain officers were justified in shooting Zoe Dowdell WITH VIDEO

So the dashcam video is finally out now, after it was determined that the shooting was justified. From watching it, I would say that the cop who emptied his revolver at the fleeing car from behind the car was least justified, but on the other hand, this car and its occupants had just been involved in armed hijackings, armed robberies, and had fired shots during these, so the chance of them committing another armed hijacking in the next few blocks in order to get away was very high.

It's hard to feel sympathy for the families. These were violent criminals, who could have easily killed someone in the very near future. I'm praying with you, Mayor Stewart, praying that the Town and State hold firm and don't pay a penny to the parents who raised these violent criminals. Anyone else have a tremendous sense of relief and gratitude to the New Britain Police Department for getting these kids out of society before they killed someone?

[kidyankee764]

There is no most or least justified. There is only justified or not. They were fleeing violent felons which, according to case law (Graham v. Connor), allows officers to use deadly force. These officers did an excellent job and should be commended by their community for possibly saving lives down the road.

Regardless, I assure you, these families will sue and they will walk away with a nice check. It’s abhorrent.

[Tetto]

A great service to the community was performed by these officers. “Gangstalicious” is no more.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Tetto

A great service to the community was performed by these officers. “Gangstalicious” is no more.

They got rid of some trash, just as sanitation men do daily.

[Minethatbird]

We had a police shooting this past week here in Danbury. Someone called it a public service homicide, courtesy of Danbury's finest.

Mother of "victim" is in ICU, and the family has retained an attorney.

[CT_Native]

From the video, the driver attempted to use the car to run over police officers in an attempt to escape. So not only are lives immediately in danger, but the assailants have repeatedly demonstrated they are willing to commit violent felonies onto others without any hesitation. Thank goodness the assailants were stopped before they terrorized someone else.

[MrGompers]

The first time I watched the video its looks like the police were in the wrong. The report also seems to contradict the video with this statement



"Fairfield State’s Attorney John Smriga indicates that Detective Christopher Kiely and Detective Kyle Jones were in the path of Dowdell’s car as he tried to flee officers who had boxed his car in. Kiely and Jones were able to get out the way and each fired a few shots at the car, which kept moving. They were justified in their use of force because it was possible they believed their lives were in danger"


If the police were able to get out of the way, why did they need to shoot ? How were their lives in danger if they were able to get out of the way like the states attorney wrote in his report ? Even worse an officer fires at least 7 shots at the car from behind while it is driving away. These police are lucky they didn't shoot and/or kill any bystanders. IF this happened during the warm summer months I can guarantee people would have been out and about on that street.


The perps won't get any sympathy no matter what anyways, but this video is very disturbing.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

The first time I watched the video its looks like the police were in the wrong. The report also seems to contradict the video with this statement



"Fairfield State’s Attorney John Smriga indicates that Detective Christopher Kiely and Detective Kyle Jones were in the path of Dowdell’s car as he tried to flee officers who had boxed his car in. Kiely and Jones were able to get out the way and each fired a few shots at the car, which kept moving. They were justified in their use of force because it was possible they believed their lives were in danger"


If the police were able to get out of the way, why did they need to shoot ? How were their lives in danger if they were able to get out of the way like the states attorney wrote in his report ? Even worse an officer fires at least 7 shots at the car from behind while it is driving away. These police are lucky they didn't shoot and/or kill any bystanders. IF this happened during the warm summer months I can guarantee people would have been out and about on that street.


The perps won't get any sympathy no matter what anyways, but this video is very disturbing.

I encourage you to read what constitutes deadly force; case law is referenced above. Legally, and case law abiding, the police did everything they were trained to do. Move along now.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

The first time I watched the video its looks like the police were in the wrong. The report also seems to contradict the video with this statement



"Fairfield State’s Attorney John Smriga indicates that Detective Christopher Kiely and Detective Kyle Jones were in the path of Dowdell’s car as he tried to flee officers who had boxed his car in. Kiely and Jones were able to get out the way and each fired a few shots at the car, which kept moving. They were justified in their use of force because it was possible they believed their lives were in danger"


If the police were able to get out of the way, why did they need to shoot ? How were their lives in danger if they were able to get out of the way like the states attorney wrote in his report ? Even worse an officer fires at least 7 shots at the car from behind while it is driving away. These police are lucky they didn't shoot and/or kill any bystanders. IF this happened during the warm summer months I can guarantee people would have been out and about on that street.


The perps won't get any sympathy no matter what anyways, but this video is very disturbing.

Nice; so the officers should just let them go to rob and possibly kill some innocent person? The police in this case performed their jobs exactly as they are trained to. You should be thanking them profusely for taking these pieces of garbage off the streets.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by Tetto

Nice; so the officers should just let them go to rob and possibly kill some innocent person? The police in this case performed their jobs exactly as they are trained to. You should be thanking them profusely for taking these pieces of garbage off the streets.

No thanks, I don't bow down to authority I question it. The police work for me and society at large, I and society don't work for them.

The worst part of that video is the cop firing at least 7 shots at the car while its driving away. His life was not in danger if the car is driving away.

They are very lucky they didnt shoot or kill a bystander. This is mostly due to the time of day and season the crime took place. If this happened at 1pm in September there would have been people on the street.


Chamberlain elementary school is also in that area. IF a stray bullet killed your child you wouldn't be praising the police.


The end of the report also states that they could not determine which [police] gun fired the shot that killed the perp. That is 100% BS. That's what ballistics are for. And if they are going to tell us that they can not find the bullet that killed the perp, they needed to look harder.

These are the questions lawyers and juries should be asking, not a bunch of fools on an anonymous internet forum. In the current political environment, the families most likely will not get that chance. Since if local prosecution will not prosecute the case, the next step is the Justice Dept. That's not going to happen though with Trump et al in charge.