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And the cops could have just made sure they had the right address in the first place. Yes the homeowner would have been wiser to call 911 and report a possible home invasion. And the cops probably would have just broken in the door while the guy was on the phone. Sloppy police work shouldn't be an excuse for an unnecessary shooting.
The fact he came to the door with a gun would be serious enough to warrant entry by the police in any country. Whether he would have been shot in other countries is debatable.
If the police come to your front door and you grab a weapon they are going to take action and force entry in to the property.
A door spy hole and simple door chain could have avoided the situation.
You just said yourself there was an assault suspect who fled to that particular building.
That's a pretty good reason to answer the door with a gun don't you think?
But the residents of the apartment complex didnt know that did they.
If I believe a fleeing suspect is on the loose and there is a knock on my door, I'm just not going to open the door, I'm not going to open it holding a gun.
There are other articles besides the one linked in the OP. The cops story is the gun was pointed at him, the girlfriend says no it was pointed at the floor. He said, she said.
One thing that's not disputed is the cops had no reason to be at the guy's house in the first place. If the cops are going into a situation where there is a good chance that they will use lethal force, then they have an obligation to make sure their info is 100% correct and to know what the hell they're doing.
The police officer who shot him.
Good grief did anyone follow up on this.
I try to look at multiple articles because of reporting bias. The actual police report if I can find it.
It happened in 2012. Regardless of whether the gun was pointed down as the girlfriend said or pointed at the officer as the officer said the court found the officer did not violate protocol In the first hearing (civil). The appeals court upheld this finding.
Erm... no citizen can walk up to a home knock on the door and if the owner is pointing a gun at him/her shoot him/her. Only the police can do this, and they spin everything as reasonable.
Cops, while I respect the nature of their work, have become spin doctors themselves. This makes it possible for some really bad ones to get away with really bad deeds.
You led off with the premise that somewhere it may be legal, and then said you're "pretty sure" a court would be lenient if you shot that person.
Sorry, no. Any stranger knocking on a door at 1-2-3-4am should very well expect there will likely be a gun behind that door.
Conversely, if said person knocks on that strange door at 1-2-3-4am and is armed and kills the occupant of the home for wielding a gun... that is murder, and most likely premeditated.
Cops are not supposed to be above the law. Seems to be heading that way though.
There are stand your ground or castle laws. Many states have extended this to any place you are legal to be. Yes I would say some judges would be lenient if you shot someone who had a gun to your face regardless of where that was as long as you were not engaged in criminal activity. You can disagree if you like.
IDK, I wouldn't expect a gun to be pointed at my face if I knocked on someones door at that hour. Might I expect them to have a gun, sure, maybe but not pointed at my face. I certainly hope this is not common behavior where you are from, I know it isn't here.
I go to my neighbors barn at odd hours because my horses are there. I know she has at least 56 guns. I wouldn't doubt that at times I'm there at odd hours she could be pointing a riffle at me from the house window thinking it could be an intruder. I never expect to turn around and have a gun in my face.
If a person knocks at that hour, they could be broke down or otherwise in trouble. When someone points a gun at you and you fear for your life, often under the law you can use deadly force to protect yourself. That is not premeditated murder.
In any event cops especially have leeway in the law for shooting someone who draws or points a gun at them. This is not above the law and its not a secret so best not to point a gun at a cop.
But the residents of the apartment complex didnt know that did they.
You don't know that for certain, and neither did the cops. He could have had a police scanner, or seen something out his window. A neighbor could have called him to let him know something was going down.
As long as the gun is legal and the owner is on private property, it's perfectly legal to answer the door with a gun in your hand.
They were doing a door to door in an apartment building looking for an assault suspect. Cops dont normally use their emergency lights or announce "this is the police" when doing such.
But this guy apparently routinely answers his door with his gun pointed at whoever is on the other side?
Guess he thought it was girl scouts or Jehovah witnesses.
At any rate no, cops cant come to your home and legally shoot you if you have a gun in your hand but if you open the door with a gun pointed at their face they can legally protect themselves as citizens can in many jurisdictions.
1) It was at night. The police were probably banging very loudly on his door, possibly even twisting the knob? And I doubt he had a peephole. He probably thought it was some crazy person outside trying to get in his house.
2) It doesn't say that he pointed the gun at their face, only that it was pointed towards them. He probably had the gun out in front of him as he opened the door(as you would expect).
3) When he realized it was the police, it says he backed away, and lowered the gun(not sure if he turned away from the police as if to run away?). But they shot him dead.
It would be interesting to find out how much time there was between the moment he opened the door, and when they shot him, and how many shots were fired.
Obviously if he had the opportunity to shoot, but didn't, and was "retreating" when they shot him. Then it is difficult to justify shooting him.
One thing that's not disputed is the cops had no reason to be at the guy's house in the first place. If the cops are going into a situation where there is a good chance that they will use lethal force, then they have an obligation to make sure their info is 100% correct and to know what the hell they're doing.
They were doing a door to door looking for a suspect that was by all indication in that apartment building. The suspect fled on a motorcycle. The motorcycle was found at that building. It is not unheard of for the police to go door to door looking for a fleeing suspect. Its not against the law, against protocol or for no reason.
Good grief how do some of you think the cops should find suspects. If an armed and dangerous suspect fled and was hiding and entered a residence, perhaps took the residence hostage or their lives were in danger, If a child has gone missing in an area and its believe the child may be hold up in a residence near by you think the cops should not have the authority to go house to house looking and inquiring if anyone had seen anything?
If a suspect injured or killed a citizen you would be yelling how the cops should have done something to prevent it and that they weren't doing their jobs. If you want cops to do their job there needs to be a little cooperation from the community.
Okay Scott had a gun. The offcers probably shot him because he wasn't obeying officers order, that happens. When you point a gun at a police officer they have that right to protect themselves.
He didn't point a gun at them.
Last edited by hbdwihdh378y9; 03-22-2017 at 08:28 AM..
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