19 Year Killed FOR WHAT!!! (Des Moines: college, live, safety)

[DeliciaFreeman]

Reading the story today about the 19 year old, a crying shame that this young man was killed. And don't get me wrong I know that Officers also have to protect themselves but did they have to kill this young man, from what I am reading he didn't have a weapon so why was a gun even fired? If they wanted the vehicle to stop he could have saved two bullets and shot out all four tires it is just that simple, but hey maybe my thinking is all wrong.

[CSD610]

Police generally do not shoot out the tires of a moving/speeding vehicle.
They could have used the tire strips however, without a link to the story
there is no way to know exactly what you are talking about.

[DeliciaFreeman]

Unarmed Iowa man, 19, shot, killed by police | www.ajc.com

[atler8]

FYI: This tragic story is getting national attention now. I would be surprised if pressure doesn't build to reopen the investigation as from a distance it comes across that the "all's clear" given to the officer yesterday looks a bit premature.

[capitalcityguy]

Here is a link to the dashboard footage:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/vid.../2816267433001

I guess I changed my mind a bit after watching this...or at the very least it gave me a different perspective.

When I see all the college kids this idiot could have hit, the busy intersection he drove through (again...could have kill/maimed someone), and then deliberate attempts to continue to run into the cop car, I feel a lot less sorry for him.

Doesn't mean he deserved to die, but as I watched this video and saw his reckless consideration for other people's lives, it definately changed the way I feel about the situation. I feel more sad, then mad (which was my initial reaction upon hearing the story). Video is powerful.

[econboy]

The shots were fired the third time he tried to ram and run down an officer. Plus, he was on a campus which at any moment could have had students streaming out of the classrooms walking onto the main lawn and moving to their next class.

Not only was he a deadly threat to the officers, but also the students as well.

I can just see if he would have killed someone the reaction would then be "Why didn't they stop him"?.

[capitalcityguy]

FWIW...not sure why this was posted to the Des Moines subforum. Maybe admin can move it to Iowa?

[CincyIowan]

If you're driving without any care for other peoples safety and trying to ram the police vehicles with your car, you're using the car as a weapon..

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by DeliciaFreeman

from what I am reading he didn't have a weapon so why was a gun even fired?.

Originally Posted by CincyIowan

you're using the car as a weapon..

I see nothing wrong in how the officers handled the situation. The way he drove thru that residential area and how he ran thru those intersections...I would have been surprised if they didn't use their guns.

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by DeliciaFreeman

Reading the story today about the 19 year old, a crying shame that this young man was killed.

A classic case of seeing all the evidence before deciding what is and what isn't a crying shame.