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I'm sure everyone has heard in the news that police shot and killed a man in his suv the day before his wedding. The police fired 50 shots at the vehicle, killing the unarmed man. There was a march recently to protest this action by police, and the Reverend Al Sharpton was in attendance.
Now - I say if you try to run down an officer who is on foot, and repeatedly use your vehicle as a battering ram to hit the officers car, you get what you deserve. Your vehicle IS a deadly weapon, and using it to attempt to run over an officer IS called attempted murder of a police officer.
In my opinion the police were justified in this shooting (although it shouldn't take 50 shots).
No not 50 but one good one froma sharp shooter!!!! Why are they protesting if he tried to kill a cop? Al Sharpton will try to get attention anywhere,I swear he isnt for the people but for himself and getting in the media.
Perhaps the driver thought he was about to be carjacked, it is my understanding that the police "officer" was not wearing a uniform and therefore the driver would have been justified to run over anyone holding a gun.
I'm sure everyone has heard in the news that police shot and killed a man in his suv the day before his wedding. The police fired 50 shots at the vehicle, killing the unarmed man. There was a march recently to protest this action by police, and the Reverend Al Sharpton was in attendance.
Now - I say if you try to run down an officer who is on foot, and repeatedly use your vehicle as a battering ram to hit the officers car, you get what you deserve. Your vehicle IS a deadly weapon, and using it to attempt to run over an officer IS called attempted murder of a police officer.
In my opinion the police were justified in this shooting (although it shouldn't take 50 shots).
COMMENTS?
The car didn't become a "weapon" until a presumably UNMARKED van pinned the car in. I see the victims efforts to extricate their car as self-defense -- pure and simple. If I am driving home on my wedding day with my friends and a van loaded of men (unmarked van loaded with cops) forces me off the street at 4:30 am, I think I would behave the same way. They were scared and trying to get out of a tough situation. Did the police announce that they were cops before the shooting broke out? Isn't it probable that the men did not realize that the men they may have rammed with their car were cops, since both the cops and their vehicles were undercover? Did the police really need to completely unload their guns (in fact, one cop emptied two clips) to respond to the supposed threat? Evidently bullets were flying in all directions, endangering countless people. Was the risk to (other) innocent bystanders necessary? Those cops are 1) incompetent 2) did not follow proper procedure 3) were acting on *entirely* legally insufficient grounds. However I feel there are many exceptional police officers and each of them serve my city.
Remember ppl, 50 SHOTS!!! If it were to happen to one of your family members you would not be saying it was justified or "No not 50 but one good one froma sharp shooter!!!!"-Nea1, which BTW is completely uncalled for. I expect a full investigation and I'll be interested in the results.
From the New York Times:
“It sounds to me like excessive force was used,†the mayor (Michael Bloomberg) said of the conduct of the officers, who fired 50 shots outside a Queens nightclub early Saturday, killing Sean Bell, 23, hours before he was to be wed and injuring two others. “I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired.â€
At least the mayor had the guts to say the police seemed unjustified. I doubt any jury has the courage to convict those officers though. people always side with the police in court, even when they are wrong. Personally I think anyone should have the right to run away or defend themself against anyone not clearly known as a police officer. Undercover officers should be ready to let people go if they are not 100% sure they are suspects, and just call the marked, uniformed officers to stop them for questioning.
At least the mayor had the guts to say the police seemed unjustified. I doubt any jury has the courage to convict those officers though. people always side with the police in court, even when they are wrong. Personally I think anyone should have the right to run away or defend themself against anyone not clearly known as a police officer. Undercover officers should be ready to let people go if they are not 100% sure they are suspects, and just call the marked, uniformed officers to stop them for questioning.
Totally agree.
If it was a uniformed officer he tried to run over, he deserves it.
If they made little to no attempt to show they were police, they are in the wrong.
Even if they yelled something at him, if his windows were up (for cold, wind, rain etc.) then it'd be easy to not understand them.
I would expect that at least one of them should have attempted to display a police badge somewhere clearly visible to the driver before shooting.
The car didn't become a "weapon" until a presumably UNMARKED van pinned the car in. I see the victims efforts to extricate their car as self-defense -- pure and simple. If I am driving home on my wedding day with my friends and a van loaded of men (unmarked van loaded with cops) forces me off the street at 4:30 am, I think I would behave the same way. They were scared and trying to get out of a tough situation. Did the police announce that they were cops before the shooting broke out? Isn't it probable that the men did not realize that the men they may have rammed with their car were cops, since both the cops and their vehicles were undercover? Did the police really need to completely unload their guns (in fact, one cop emptied two clips) to respond to the supposed threat? Evidently bullets were flying in all directions, endangering countless people. Was the risk to (other) innocent bystanders necessary? Those cops are 1) incompetent 2) did not follow proper procedure 3) were acting on *entirely* legally insufficient grounds. However I feel there are many exceptional police officers and each of them serve my city.
Remember ppl, 50 SHOTS!!! If it were to happen to one of your family members you would not be saying it was justified or "No not 50 but one good one froma sharp shooter!!!!"-Nea1, which BTW is completely uncalled for. I expect a full investigation and I'll be interested in the results.
From the New York Times:
“It sounds to me like excessive force was used,” the mayor (Michael Bloomberg) said of the conduct of the officers, who fired 50 shots outside a Queens nightclub early Saturday, killing Sean Bell, 23, hours before he was to be wed and injuring two others. “I can tell you that it is to me unacceptable or inexplicable how you can have 50-odd shots fired.”
No not uncalled for, what was uncalled for was the 50 shots!! One from a sharp shooter is all that is needed, if in fact he was threatening a cop (my brother in law is a cop as well as on swat so of course I would want him to protect himself if needed). Exactly why were the cops cornering him? Why did he feel the need to run or escape? Were they threatening to kill him?
There were seven (7) plain clothes undercover cops at this strip club the night of the shooting. Apparently the club had many violations for illicit activity and only needed one more violation to get shut down. The undercovers were hoping to find violations and shut the place down. They were in unmarked vehicles. The club closes, Sean Bell and his friends leave, the undercovers think he's going to his vehicle to get a gun (no weapons found in his car or on his person). Sean Bell is driving, they try to leave, the unmarked van blocks their way and Bell hits it twice, trying to get away from this unknown vehicle. After the 2nd ram into the van, 50 bullets fly - bullets from 9mm's. One officer fired 31 of those shots! Unbelievable! Personally, I think the cops were profiling these guys although they did absolutely nothing wrong inside the club. There was no reason to follow them out, yet the cops say they thought they were going after guns. Please!! Just lame excuses trying to justify their actions. I hope these cops are prosecuted. Police brutality is out of control....
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shooting...
