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Come on CD, where is the justice in this case. I am all for police officers doing their job correctly, but this cop should have not been acquitted of this crime. Goes to show that when you are a cop, you can do anything and get away with it.
The all-white jury found Sgt. Joseph Chavalia not guilty of misdemeanor charges of negligent homicide and negligent assault. He had faced up to eight months in jail if convicted of both counts.
Chavalia shot 26-year-old Tarika Wilson and her year-old son she was holding, killing her and hitting him in the shoulder and hand, during a Jan. 4 SWAT raid on her house. One of the child's fingers had to be amputated.
Small time drug dealers serve more time than what this officer was going to do, if he was found guilty. SAD
Not much in the way of evidence to properly conclude everything, but from the news article (which by the way is dripping with the fallacy of racial association) I would say that in terms of the officers actions, it was poor in that he emotionally reacted to the sound and sight rather than logically assessing the situation.
Its a tough call at times as hesitation is something they teach you not to do. It really is a touchy subject as even the instruction on basic procedures can be vague. For instance, they will tell you that if you hesitate, it can cost you your life, yet at the same time they tell you that you BETTER be sure than when you do respond, you do so legitimately and with concern for the safety of your surroundings. Not really helpful is it?
Anyway, there should have been better organization and communication between the officers and like I said, this may have been the case as we don't get to see the actual report.
My beef with this news report and the reactions from the family and public is that they are turning this into a racial issue which even with the vague information given in that report, it is obvious the officer had no clue who was in that window, just that he thought the shadow was shooting at him.
Though by the public turning this into a racial issue, any real issue with this action will be swept under the table to chase after some elusive bogus claim when the real attention should be focused on proper police procedures and better methods of approach that can reduce mistakes like these while still insuring the maximum practical safety of the officer.
Im sorry for the woman and her child. When your mixed up in drug dealing eventually the cops may get wind of it. It is against the law. What should the police do, just ignore it. Im just sick of everything being turned into a racial issue and how Jesse Jackson feel it necessary to get involved. What makes people feel the officer would have reacted different if he were black.
I agree that this isn't a racial matter at all. It has to do with our justice system.
Also if they were doing a raid surveillance of the home should have concluded that the guy wasn't there and that there were children in the house.
And what they charged him with was a slap on the wrist anyway.
The justice system does, and has to, allow the police to defend themselves when they feel their life is in danger. If not, we would either have a lot of dead officers or nobody willing to go into difficult situations.
I don't know enough of the details in this case to draw any real conclusions, but the article seems to convict despite the jury not convicting.
I agree that this isn't a racial matter at all. It has to do with our justice system.
Also if they were doing a raid surveillance of the home should have concluded that the guy wasn't there and that there were children in the house.
And what they charged him with was a slap on the wrist anyway.
Good question. Hard to say though, I personally would like to have read the all officers reports as well as the investigating report as well. All too often these types of cases are only half shown to the public by the media. There is always two sides to every story, I like to hear them all and see what matches up.
When a forced entry is made, self-protection is the role of cops. I agree with other posters who condemned this cop's failure to assess the situation. None of us were there, so we do not know what the cop saw. I generally support law enforcement, but the jack-booted thug mentality irks me. Unlike this woman and her baby, I am armed and will not hesitate if you fail to adequately (in my judgement, since it is my home) identify yourself.
but he reacted to shadows and the sound of gunfire coming from down stairs. IMO if he was scared he shouldn't have been there in the first place.
What was he suspose to react to. He was raiding what he was told was the home of a known drug dealer which usually consists of drug dealers and guns. He had no way of knowing there were innocent women and children there, she could very well have been and armed man. He was being apprehensive. Often these things get out of hand and communication is not what it should be.
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She put herself and the children in danger, yes, but if this officer could have controlled himself this would not have happened.
A lot of what if's. Why didnt the woman shout out, that might have prevented the tragic mistake.
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Ok I will try an find some more articles on this...sit tight
