Dallas officer involved in fatal shooting (Plano, Mesquite: 2015, low crime, home)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Nn2036

But her key is in the lock. So she had to know that she was in a wrong apartment since her key cannot open the door

Sure maybe she was fiddling with the lock and Mr. Jean opened the door right then.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Sure maybe she was fiddling with the lock and Mr. Jean opened the door right then.

That would be my guess. She thought it was her apartment and was fiddling with the lock. He heard the noise, went to the door and opened it. She saw a black man in what she thought was her apartment, panicked and shot him.

None of this excuses her actions. She has shot and killed a law-abiding man in his own home. At the very least it is manslaughter. As I said earlier, I don't see how she wriggles out of this. There are a couple of powerful constituencies (e.g. PwC, the Government of St. Lucia) which will be taking a very close interest in how this unfolds.

[Johnhw2]

I can understand how her key got into the lock with confusion. But what on earth lead her to believe she was in danger and needed to shoot him?



If the door was locked and he opened it she should realize it might not be her apartment as the key did not work. So she shots him? Sounds like worse than man slaughter to me.



If he left the door unlocked and she got in ok so no notice it was not her place maybe? So she shoots without thinking its the wrong place?



Did she leave the door unlocked when she left and remember she did not lock it? Hard for me to see. Could it open and she did not realize it was not her key but something else like he left it unlocked that allower her in?


We need more facts but it is hard for me to over look that she shot and he died.

[Ralph_Kirk]

I don't sympathize at all with the officer because as someone has already said, I've used up my sympathy on the poor man who was minding his own business in his own apartment and got shot for some reason he never even realized.

It's difficult for me to determine any way I could erroneously try to enter an apartment and my initial thought would not be, "Wait, crap, am I at the right door?"

I carry a concealed weapon myself, and I'd still think that way.

But I suspect it's a factor of current police mentality that they must shoot quickly, shoot first, shoot at the first indication of trouble.

A couple of years ago, the chief of police of Plano TX proclaimed on television that there was a War on Police, and that his police force had to take that into consideration with every incident involving civilians.

Now, Plano, TX, USA, is a town that has been named several times the best place to live in the USA. There isn't anything going on in Plano, TX, USA. There is no need for the chief of police of Plano, TX, USA, to be drumming up fear in the minds of his officers.

That's how people get killed for nothing.

But Plano is not the only place that's happening.

[Rakin]

One of the problems I would suspect with any big city is the need for new recruits and the lowering of standards.
We can all speculate on the pros and cons of lowering the bar on who the police will accept.

The victim sure was a nice guy. Whatever the reason, I'd hate to be in the cops shoes today.

[biscuitmom]

The story is still developing.

According to https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crim...man-apartment:

Dallas police originally said they were seeking an arrest warrant for manslaughter in Jean's death.

But Hall said Saturday that a judge had not signed a warrant because Texas Rangers who are interviewing the officer have learned new information and want to investigate further before a warrant is issued.

She declined to explain the new information.

[cordata]

If there is no arrest I have "faith," as it were, that the DA will send the case to the grand jury.

[TrueDat]

According to this DMN story, they did not know each other:

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dall...ooting-suspect

[Nn2036]

Originally Posted by TrueDat

According to this DMN story, they did not know each other:

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/dall...ooting-suspect

This officer seems to be too trigger happy.

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

I can understand how her key got into the lock with confusion. But what on earth lead her to believe she was in danger and needed to shoot him?

If the door was locked and he opened it she should realize it might not be her apartment as the key did not work. So she shots him? Sounds like worse than man slaughter to me.

If he left the door unlocked and she got in ok so no notice it was not her place maybe? So she shoots without thinking its the wrong place?

Did she leave the door unlocked when she left and remember she did not lock it? Hard for me to see. Could it open and she did not realize it was not her key but something else like he left it unlocked that allower her in?

We need more facts but it is hard for me to over look that she shot and he died.

Based on several online news sites(unofficial), it seems that the door was locked, the suspect tried to open the door but the key did not work. She continued trying and the victim opened the door. So the door was not unlocked.

Unfortunately, based on what I've read from previous shootings, police have been trained to "pull the trigger whenever they feel their lives are at risk." The reason behind that mentality is that any potential criminal could potentially have a gun with them so police need to "preemptively attack" to protect themselves....That, according to some reporting, is the reason officers are rarely charged for shooting unarmed people as long as they have justification that they fear their lives are at risk. I'm not saying that is the right mentality or guideline but that is simply the current sad reality.

If the reporting is accurate, I think what we can learn from this tragedy is that
"never open the door if a stranger knocks on your door or attempts to unlock your door."
I kept telling my family members do not ever open the front door for the strangers who claim to be doing surveys or claim to be door to door salesperson. Anyone who comes in can potentially have a gun and may rob or even worse kill you. Best also to have a panic button that can automatically call 911 for you if someone keeps trying to unlock the door.


I don't like guns, but I accept that guns are part of the American culture and I do not think that would change. So we have to face the reality and have the proper measure to protect ourselves. In this particular case having a gun may not save you because you simply cannot shoot back without getting into trouble. The best way would be to call 911 when someone keeps trying to unlock the door...