"wrongful death" by police = another money grab (Austin: lawyers, disposal) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

sojourner77 · 06-30-2016, 01:23 PM

Taxpayers are going to pay dearly for this one. Depleting a city's budget like this creates a wonderful city for everyone to live in. Sounds like gentrification is being fought with "scorched-earth" if you ask me.

David Joseph’s family won’t take ‘token settlement’ | KXAN.com

CptnRn · 07-01-2016, 07:34 PM

I agree that this is an obvious money grab to me. What is a cop supposed to do when a large, drug crazed, adult naked man comes charging at you like that. I think the shooting was justified.

austin-steve · 07-02-2016, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I agree that this is an obvious money grab to me. What is a cop supposed to do when a large, drug crazed, adult naked man comes charging at you like that. I think the shooting was justified.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to be a cop anyone. Talk about hamstringed and scrutinized. And it's never about the "proximate cause" that initiated the event in the first place (the bad behavior of the criminal or deranged person). Instead it's always about whether the officer scores a "100%" on the "test". Hindsight and second guessing always prevails. If the officer did 99% what training says, then the 1% becomes the big payday. How did we get to this point?

Policing requires a lot of judgment call and instinct. Yes, police are trained for that and should be able to execute in the real life situations, always using the least force reasonably required. And there are a lot of Youtube videos showing police doing just that.

But having been personally attacked by both crazed humans and dogs, I know that it happens in a split second and the adrenaline rush and quickness of the event is very hard to explain and describe. You have a snap second and you simply react.

If a big crazy naked guy charged me like a runaway bull and I had a moment to react, I'm not sure what I'd do. Hopefully I'd do what I was trained to do, but if I was imperfect in my reaction in some way, and the attacker ended up dead, why should that become a payday for the attacker's family?

ScoPro · 07-02-2016, 10:23 AM

And the CoA is fixin' to spend $1,700,000 of your tax money to build some affordable housing for the blind salamanders at Barton Springs.

lol @ the nutcases running your city.

sojourner77 · 07-02-2016, 10:46 AM

The victims won't do the right thing, and punish the police officer, because the police officer was black. This isnt about creating social change, it's about money. If this keeps up, APD will pull out of North / NE Austin just like they did in Baltimore, StL, and Chicago.

JH6 · 07-02-2016, 12:47 PM

Yep, parents take no responsibility.

I wonder why this young man wasn't at a JOB doing something productive.

When the parents get the money, none of them will have to work anymore either and the cycle will repeat.

riaelise · 07-02-2016, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singing_in_the_rain

I call it the black lottery. It seems these people sacrifice one of their own for a generational money grab. There is no excuse for parents not being held accountable for their offspring.

Despite other posters trying to keep race out of it you couldn't resist could you? And who the hell are "these people"?

Return2Paradise · 07-02-2016, 02:21 PM

A whole lot of stupid on both sides here. Thanks to growing up in rough places and due to a former career choice, I've had numerous physical altercations with all sorts of idiots in my life. I Have ZERO professional training on how to deal with the mentally ill, druggies and wackos, and yet I've managed to refrain from killing anyone so far in my lifetime.

Modern police officers are supposed to be trained professionals. They have numerous non-lethal options at their disposal. Trained in hand-to-hand combat. Non-lethal restraint. Training to deal with the mentally ill. De-escallation training. According to the APD, the officer had a tazer, pepper spray and a baton. Police backup WAS on the way. Yet officer Freeman made the decision to use lethal force against an unarmed, NAKED assailant. He has since been fired due to his actions.

The deceased teen made his own bed and now he's lying in it, 6 feet under ground. But that should not absolve the officer and APD of any blame in the way the situation was handled.

I'm sure the family of the dead teen shares some responsibility, but at the end of the day, the officer killed an unarmed teen and the Austin taxpayers are going to foot the bill for a great big sack of stupid decisions.

riaelise · 07-02-2016, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austin-steve

I'm not sure why anyone would want to be a cop anyone. Talk about hamstringed and scrutinized. And it's never about the "proximate cause" that initiated the event in the first place (the bad behavior of the criminal or deranged person). Instead it's always about whether the officer scores a "100%" on the "test". Hindsight and second guessing always prevails. If the officer did 99% what training says, then the 1% becomes the big payday. How did we get to this point?

Policing requires a lot of judgment call and instinct. Yes, police are trained for that and should be able to execute in the real life situations, always using the least force reasonably required. And there are a lot of Youtube videos showing police doing just that.

But having been personally attacked by both crazed humans and dogs, I know that it happens in a split second and the adrenaline rush and quickness of the event is very hard to explain and describe. You have a snap second and you simply react.

If a big crazy naked guy charged me like a runaway bull and I had a moment to react, I'm not sure what I'd do. Hopefully I'd do what I was trained to do, but if I was imperfect in my reaction in some way, and the attacker ended up dead, why should that become a payday for the attacker's family?

Truth is, I don't know what I would do if someone ran at me in an aggressive manner. Therefore, I try to see both sides of the coin. I do support "men in blue" because I have numerous law enforcement professionals in my family. At the same time, the rise in the use of lethal force is a bit troubling. My grandfather was a 30 year veteran of NYPD, including half of that time as a detective. His precinct was located in Harlem, which makes the streets of Austin look like a walk in the park. He'd dealt with riots, drugs, you name it. Honestly, 60s-80s NYC was far worse. Yet he hadn't employed lethal force once. And I've always wondered what has changed from then and today. Hoodlums were just as bad then as they are now. There were lots of street gangs and let's not forget the blight of heroin. Officers were required to make the same decisions then as they do today. Yet, today, far more officers are prone to resorting to the worst decision, the decision that is truly a "last resort", and that is taking a human life. I'm genuinely interested as to why that is the case. I have never had a negative experience with a police offer and I'm certain neither will my children. We were taught to obey law and order. Period. However, does that mean non-compliance equals death? Should parents teach their kids that?

(Diverting from your post, Steve, just to be clear) And let's remove color from this as it is a civilian vs. cop issue not a "Black" issue. There have been incidences involving people of all colors. And I don't know one whit about the Joseph family, but I do know that predatory lawyers will say and do anything. Cases like these are paydays for attorneys..no different than other "wrongful death" cases.

clarksvillemom · 07-02-2016, 02:59 PM

I agree with Return 2 Paradise. And many times, suing and asking for money is the ONLY way things change. Business, bureaucracies and governments don't always do the right thing, and certainly don't do the right thing or change their ways unless things are exposed to the light, they are forced to make restitution, etc.