Police Shooting in Bellaire (Houston, Bryan: appointed, house, school)

[grindin]

Originally Posted by tstone

This type of mentality & behavior (disrespecting authority) is the result of a cultural problem above all else. It starts in the schools and is ultimately taken to the streets.

I guess you're trying to imply that this was some ghetto kid smarting off to the police. Riiiiiiiight...

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by grindin

No, the error was that the didn't cop run the plates in the first place. The situation would've been avoidable then. What was the probable cause to do this?

But this is a situation where we can all sit here and say "I he would've done this, none of this would've happened," but how do we really know from the comfort of our keyboards? I can imagine this was a chaotic situation, and no one knows what someone is capable of doing in the heat of the moment. Thy guy sees his mother being thrown against a wall, and any son worth anything probably would've reacted the same way. This sounds like an arrogant cop drunk with power determined to put some black folks in their "place"

You make a good point here. We don't know what happened.

I've been manhandled by the Bellaire cops before (I was totally unmistakeable for anything other than a white, upper-middle class student-athlete). I was in high school driving around with a bunch of friends after a football game, generally acting stupid. A Bellaire squad car had observed us acting stupid, pulled us over, pulled us out of the car, cuffed us, and worked us over a bit while we were face-down on the pavement covered by drawn sidearms.

There was no dignity in the situation I was in and every fiber of my nature wanted to fight back. I didn't. As angry as I was and as unfair as the situation was, it was pretty clear that failing to hold still and keep my damned mouth shut would be an excellent way to make matters worse.

It was our fault. We were minors being stupid and engaging in activities that the law of the land does not protect. We should have been more aware of our surroundings and exercised more caution. I've never been hassled in Bellaire for driving the speed limit while not blaring music, not having expired tags, not having burned-out signal lights, not hanging out the window and not swerving. In other words, you don't get pulled over for being quiet and inconspicuous.

I'm not a fan of the Bellaire cops, but to suggest that this young man was pulled over, hassled and then shot for "driving while black" is a bit of a stretch for me. I would be extremely surprised to learn that this young man had not made some decisions or taken some actions that contributed in large measure to the evening's ultimate result.

[Hayato]

Its weird they had to show a younger picture of him yesterday. They have pics of him grown up now on CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/08/...hot/index.html

[tstone]

Well, it looks like Quannell did come out of the woodwork for this one...

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by tstone

Well, it looks like Quannell did come out of the woodwork for this one...

I am so shocked. Not.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

I am so shocked. Not.

I'm sure they paid him quite well.

Didn't someone here said it wouldn't happen? (I think the quote was removed.)

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by icon7

cops in Bellaire in general are ***** ***** just like cops in Meadows Place....they were losers most of their lives and found an organization where they can hide behind a badge.

Let me guess, you rolled a stop on Kirkwood I got into a very stupid accident at Kirkwood and Dorrance a few years back. It was completely my fault. I was tired and crashed into the rear of some young college age kids pickup truck as he was turning left at a four way stop. His mother did not want the Meadows Place police involved whatsoever even though the accident was 100 percent my fault. She was afraid they would ticket him also or look for reasons to "cause problems".

One difference is I've never known Meadows to profile. This is probably because a lot of blacks (and non-whites in general) are moving to Meadows Place. It's quickly becoming a racially diverse city full of ex-Alief residents.

[LostInHouston]

Originally Posted by Hayato

Its weird they had to show a younger picture of him yesterday. They have pics of him grown up now on CNN
Questions surround shooting of baseballer's son - CNN.com

Here's the part of the story that has me scratching my head:

"As they walked up the driveway to their home, Anthony Cooper said an unidentified man emerged from the darkness with a flashlight and a gun pointed at them."

So the officer obviously saw them getting out of the car, probably saw him lock the car with his keyless entry (someone said this is the "ghetto" right?) and saw these two walking nonchalantly up the driveway with fast food bags. At what point did the officer think "Hmmm, these guys aren't acting like car thieves."

And as for those posters suggesting the shooting may have been accidental... ummm, one shot maybe an accident, three shots? Not so much!

[coog78]

Originally Posted by LostInHouston

Here's the part of the story that has me scratching my head:

"As they walked up the driveway to their home, Anthony Cooper said an unidentified man emerged from the darkness with a flashlight and a gun pointed at them."

So the officer obviously saw them getting out of the car, probably saw him lock the car with his keyless entry (someone said this is the "ghetto" right?) and saw these two walking nonchalantly up the driveway with fast food bags. At what point did the officer think "Hmmm, these guys aren't acting like car thieves."

And as for those posters suggesting the shooting may have been accidental... ummm, one shot maybe an accident, three shots? Not so much!

Exactly! None of us were there and none of us know exactly what happened. But we all know that three shots was not meant as a warning nor self defense. It is attempted murder plain and simple.

[sbhubbell]

It certainly does not look good to me. Have you seen the movie Crash? Something to think about.