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The problem with situations like this is you have very charged situation with the adrenaline flowing and the cop needs to make split second decisions. I'm not saying the cop was right or wrong but put yourself in their shoes. They can be right 99.9% of the time in their career but when they make one mistake they or someone else ends up dead. Making mistakes is two way street.
I can put myself in his shoes. Someone tells me that he thinks there is a car being stolen and the car is driving away. As an officer I have absolutely no clue whether it's being stolen or not. As far as I know the one who called is just mad at someone or there is a misunderstanding (people allow others to use their car and then get upset at them at some point and claim they stole it).
So what I do is hits the lights and stop them. Yeah, maybe they run but then you have something a little more substantial to go on.
You do not shoot someone just based upon the word of someone else that it would seem wasn't even sure there was a crime. According to the articles, no one has confirmed there was one either. The only times an officer should be firing a weapon is when there is an immediate threat to another life. There was none here.
You cannot shoot someone for breaking into your car even if you see it on-going. Inside your home is a completely different story.. blast away. Now, if some perp is breaking into your car and attempts to drive away .. you say halt and jump out in front but he continues.... yeah blast him. Even if you give chase after someone with a gun who just robbed or broken into your car if you tell him to halt and the minute he turns around to face you (while being armed) blast away too.
This cop didn't understand the parameters of deadly force justification, but I don't feel sorry for the perp either.
In several states, you can. Georgia does have a "cross the threshold" castle doctrine, however.
In several states, you can. Georgia does have a "cross the threshold" castle doctrine, however.
There is precedence in GA for this. Many people there have shot intruders in their homes and it is legal to shoot an intruder who breaks into your home in GA.
However, breaking into a car is very different from your home. Unless you are in your car at the time, there is no legal basis for killing someone for stealing a car - one of the most frequent crimes in the country BTW.
Also, by the article, I'm not certain if this man actually was stealing the car. Was he or wasn't he? I wouldn't be surprised if he was, but I lived in Atlanta for a long time and know a lot of men who were walking through parking lots, biking through parking lots, or getting into their own cars or a friend's car and who were questioned about car theft or intent to break into cars when they were not doing those things.
There is precedence in GA for this. Many people there have shot intruders in their homes and it is legal to shoot an intruder who breaks into your home in GA.
However, breaking into a car is very different from your home. Unless you are in your car at the time, there is no legal basis for killing someone for stealing a car - one of the most frequent crimes in the country BTW.
Also, by the article, I'm not certain if this man actually was stealing the car. Was he or wasn't he? I wouldn't be surprised if he was, but I lived in Atlanta for a long time and know a lot of men who were walking through parking lots, biking through parking lots, or getting into their own cars or a friend's car and who were questioned about car theft or intent to break into cars when they were not doing those things.
Yes, exactly. The states I have lived in are not that way, however. The law views protecting personal property in the same light as ones life.
I don't know about the last part. Hopefully due process and the investigation will suss all that out properly.
We had a neighborhood Crime Watch meeting and the police told us that if we shoot anyone who is trying to break into our property, be sure to drag them inside before we call 9-1-1.
But that's an aside issue. If the cop in question is guilty of a crime, I hope they throw the book at him. No one should abuse the power of position - not a cop, and not a politician.
I can put myself in his shoes. Someone tells me that he thinks there is a car being stolen and the car is driving away. As an officer I have absolutely no clue whether it's being stolen or not. As far as I know the one who called is just mad at someone or there is a misunderstanding (people allow others to use their car and then get upset at them at some point and claim they stole it).
So what I do is hits the lights and stop them. Yeah, maybe they run but then you have something a little more substantial to go on.
You do not shoot someone just based upon the word of someone else that it would seem wasn't even sure there was a crime. According to the articles, no one has confirmed there was one either. The only times an officer should be firing a weapon is when there is an immediate threat to another life. There was none here.
Getting tired of the gung-ho attitudes on here that say all crimes, real or perceived, should be solved with a bullet. For all the faults that the Left has, and here are A LOT, I don't like this direction the Right has been taking, an increasingly authoritarian tone
We had a neighborhood Crime Watch meeting and the police told us that if we shoot anyone who is trying to break into our property, be sure to drag them inside before we call 9-1-1.
Then that policeman was a moron. You should report whoever said that so that they can be fired.
Here's what cops usually say about that, and I've been told this personally by a cop: If you shoot someone and then move the body, it will be very obvious to the investigators. Moving the body is in itself a crime. Trying to change a crime scene only serves to make you look suspicious - as if you were trying to cover up a murder.
When the prosecuting attorney asks you why you moved the body, how would you answer?
Then that policeman was a moron. You should report whoever said that so that they can be fired.
Here's what cops usually say about that, and I've been told this personally by a cop: If you shoot someone and then move the body, it will be very obvious to the investigators. Moving the body is in itself a crime. Trying to change a crime scene only serves to make you look suspicious - as if you were trying to cover up a murder.
When the prosecuting attorney asks you why you moved the body, how would you answer?
I could be wrong, but I think the cop was just joking. Lighten up a little.
I could be wrong, but I think the cop was just joking. Lighten up a little.
There is nothing to lighten up about. His instruction should be that you can NOT shoot someone that is outside of your house. Period. It's not funny for a police officer to joke about how one should just do something illegal.
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