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I think that if a regular civilian (not a cop) with a gun did this, he would be in big trouble. I agree the guy rushed to his vehicle, but there was no reason to go all trigger happy.
The officer was fired last week. THis week he was arrested and faces charges of assault. This is a case of a cop that apparently passed his psych test but failed under pressure. He should have never been wearing a badge. This is a major failure for both parties as one is having to recover from a gun shot wound and the other will probably see time in jail. While it's easy to find fault with the cop, it's the testing that failed both parties.
That guy should not have suddenly reached into his car. Cops can be jumpy!
If you live in a city like Los Angeles, the police encounter some very nasty people with guns who do shoot police. I was taught to place my hands on the steering wheel when pulled over (let the officer see your hands). And ask the officer before grabbing any paperwork from the glove compartment or whatever.
I would say "My registration is in the glove compartment". The officer would say "You can get it". Then I would slowly open the glove compartment and pull out the registration.
No quick movements!
It does not matter who is right and who is wrong in these situations. Argue all you want that you were right after you are shot and killed. So they find out you were in the right... You are still dead!
That guy should not have suddenly reached into his car. Cops can be jumpy!
I was taught to place my hands on the steering wheel when pulled over (let the officer see your hands). And ask the officer before grabbing any paperwork from the glove compartment or whatever.
I would say "My registration is in the glove compartment". The officer would say "You can get it". Then I would slowly open the glove compartment and pull out the registration.
No quick movements!
It does not matter who is right and who is wrong in these situations. Argue all you want that you were right after you are shot and killed. So they find out you were in the right... You are still dead!
+1 for this.
I used to have a close friend who was a patrol cop, then detective in a major city. He told me:
As soon as you recognize that the cop wants you to pull over, hit your turn signal.
Pull over when safe.
Roll down all windows, turn on interior lights, put hands on top of the steering wheel.
Do NOT pre-reach for your wallet, or title. That can be mistaken for reaching for a weapon.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Do not make sudden quick movements during a traffic stop. Also, do not get out of your vehicle during a traffic stop unless you really want to put the officer on extreme edge. That said, it would appear this guy didn't realize he was subject to a traffic stop at first and was just getting out to run into the store.
The first thing this officer should have done was tell the guy to get back in his car, shut the door, and put his hands on the steering wheel. To tell someone who is already out of his car to reach back into it to retrieve something is to ask for trouble, either in the form of him reaching for a weapon, or you THINKING he's reaching for a weapon and overreacting just like this officer did. I'm certainly no expert on law enforcement procedure, but I thought it was standard procedure to order anyone who gets out of the car during a traffic stop or starts getting out to get his ass back in and shut the door. This officer knew damn well within seconds of pulling the trigger that his career was over, and probably worse.
Failure of training for the cop. He needs to stop watching all the trigger happy cop shows on TV. The shooting is ALWAYS justified on TV... The real world does not have script writers that justify everything in simple packages.
Everyone gets jumpy when they have a gun pointed at them. It is human nature to not be "calm" when someone has a gun pointed at you. I have had cops pull their guns on me twice. Once on my motorcycle because the cop said someone he called for backup got in an accident and once while waiting for a movie at the movie theater because a nearby store said a guy with "long blonde hair" exposed himself at the store. Now, I don't have long blonde hair and I didn't expose myself.
Cops need to get back to "community policing" and get out of their crazy "Rambo" fantasies.
That guy should not have suddenly reached into his car. Cops can be jumpy!
If you live in a city like Los Angeles, the police encounter some very nasty people with guns who do shoot police. I was taught to place my hands on the steering wheel when pulled over (let the officer see your hands). And ask the officer before grabbing any paperwork from the glove compartment or whatever.
I would say "My registration is in the glove compartment". The officer would say "You can get it". Then I would slowly open the glove compartment and pull out the registration.
No quick movements!
It does not matter who is right and who is wrong in these situations. Argue all you want that you were right after you are shot and killed. So they find out you were in the right... You are still dead!
I agree it would have been smart for the guy to have been more slow and told the officer what he was doing.
I would have been totally on board if the cop had drawn his weapon and told the guy to freeze, then told him to get out slowly and explain himself and I would have even been OK if the cop ended up handcuffing the guy while he sorted it and searched the vehicle .
Instead, the cop vastly over reacted and put the guy as well as all the innocent bystanders at the station and on the road behind him in danger by shooting without even seeing what was actually happening.
A police officer is supposed to be trained and understand when to make the decision to fire or not. In this case, the guy failed in his duty.
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