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Tag: bad shooting

  • “This one is different”

    An op-ed of mine to appear in Sunday’s Washington Post:

    This one is different.

    Walter Scott was killed — shot multiple times in the back — by North Charleston, S.C., police officer Michael Slager last weekend. Scott, already running away, was no threat to the officer when the first shot was fired. He was even less of a threat when Slager paused and fired the eighth and final round.

    To non-police, Scott’s death may look familiar: Not even a year after Eric Garner died during an arrest in Staten Island, N.Y., and Michael Brown died in a police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., here was another black man killed by police.

    But to law enforcement officers observing the North Charleston tragedy, the case is nothing like “another Ferguson” — and that’s where the police perspective and the civilian perspective on these events diverge.

    Click through to keep reading.

  • Well this look bad.

    Very bad. For a lot of reasons. A man is wanted for arrest for unpaid child support. A cop shoots the man while the man is running away and clearly, at that moment, is not a threat. The officer then apparently picks up and moves and drops his Taser closer to the dead body? Oh, it’s all bad.

    The North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer is being charged with murder.

    The NYT has the video.

    As if the first seven shots weren’t bad enough… the pause and the eighth shot? That last shot, as so often happens, will doom the cop. Though in this case it’s not like the first seven were justified. But even if they were, cops have to justify all their shots. And a pause indicates a reassessment of threat. And then he shot again?

  • S.C. State Trooper arrested for bad shooting

    Here’s me on Chris Hayes last night talking about the shooting of Levar Jones.

    And yeah, that’s my bolo tie. You got a problem with a little New Mexico sunshine on TV? Didn’t think so.

    Update: The officer pled guilty

  • ABQ Police Protests

    “Check it out, esse…. shit’s going dowwwn.” (That’s an Albuqueque accent, just FYI, as dictated to me by my Albuquerquean wife).

    There are some anti-police protests in the Duke City.

    A police-involved shooting of James Boyd, caught on police video, sparked the protests.

    If you’re right wing, watch this version:

    If you’re left wing, watch this version (if you’re in the middle, watch the right-wing version because it provides more dialogue.):

    It’s also good to watch both versions and see the political convergence of right and left come together in the face of what is a pretty morally indefensible police-involved killing.

    Perhaps how this is how police are now trained, but I hope not. I do not like what I see.

    These are not effective tactics (though it worries me that the officers seem well trained). This shooting also demonstrates why we should not provide police with military weapons willy nilly. The police use almost every toy at their disposal. What’s the point of having less-lethal weaponry if you never get to use it? The desire to use less-lethal weaponry — flash grenade, dog, “bean bag”  — contributes to a bad death. When police shoot a guy with a knife (or two), I’m generally pretty sympathetic to police. But not in this case. I know the 15-foot rule, but this guy wasn’t about to go billy-goat ninja on the side of a mountain.

    First of all, and I know we didn’t see the first few hours, but this guy was complying. At least until police fired a less-lethal round near here. But regardless, one the guy is down, you can go up to the guy with a night stick and wack him if he moves. You don’t need to fire three less-lethal rounds at his ass and sick the dog on him. Sure, he might be playing possum, but I think you can assume he won’t be fighting at 100%, if you know what I mean. You’ve already shot him and you’ve got lethal cover.

    There’s something particularly morbid about shooting a dying guy with a bean bag and letting a dog bite him because he failed to comply… after you done shot him.

    I’ve written about this “hands-off” movement in police training, and I do not like it. When did cops become such wimps?

    I’m also not at all clear why police fired a flash grenade at a complying individual. In all seriousness, could somebody please explain to me what is the S.O.P. now in training and the use of flash grenades? Is compliance no longer enough to prevent use of force?

    Since 2010, ABQ police officers have been involved in 37 shootings, 23 of them fatal. By comparison, the NYPD has been involved in perhaps about 70 shootings since 2010. But, just to remind you, New York City has far more than 10 times the population of fair Albuquerque. In terms of police-involved shootings, Albuquerque is roughly on par with Baltimore, but Baltimore has much more crime.

    I think this was a bad shooting.

    But what really worries me is that perhaps the officers performed exactly as trained. If so, we need to change police training (and not make scapegoats of the officers).

  • Mehserle Convicted of involuntary Manslaughter

    This is the officer who shot and killed Oscar Grant on the BART train platform.

    He could be been convicted of the more serious charges of Voluntary Manslaughter or Murder. He also could have been acquitted. I didn’t follow the trial, but this seems about right to me.

    I certainly believe it’s much more likely that Merhserle meant to Taser Grant and made a horrible and lethal mistake more than I believe that he just decided to become a cold-blooded killer and kill somebody in front of a big crowd.

    Merhserle faces two to four years in prison.

    For what it’s worth, back in January I wrote this:

    So let’s just say that the police officer is put on trial and says, “I plead no contest. I didn’t mean to do it. But I did. All I remember was that there was a large crowd yelling and a man was struggling. Next thing I know I hear a gunshot and look down and discover it was my gun. I didn’t ever realize I was holding my gun. I feel terrible for the victim and his family. I’m sorry. I beg the court’s mercy.”

    What should happen to the police officer? What is appropriate justice in a case like this?

    That basically became his defense. The Oakland Tribune reports:

    “I didn’t think I had my gun,” Mehserle said last week as his face turned red and his lips started quivering. “I heard the pop. It wasn’t very loud. It wasn’t like a gunshot. And then I remember thinking, What went wrong with my Taser?

    “I remember looking at my gun in my right hand,” Mehserle said as he broke down in sobs. “I didn’t know what to think. It just shouldn’t have been there.”

    So I guess the answer is conviction for involuntary manslaughter and two to four years.

  • Undercover Cops Kill Jonathan Ayers

    In an off-topic comment to another post, “Badge Licker” (is that like Holster Sniffer?) wrote:

    “Undercover narcotics agents take out the trash this week.”

    I clicked on the link and realized this was talking about Jonathan Ayers. That got me thinking.

    Here’s a later report [dead link removed] from the same Fox News station.

    [dead link removed]

    I replied to Badge Licker:

    I assume by “trash” you mean “Christian” and by “taking out the the trash” you mean “undercover officers killing a man who thought he was getting car-jacked because the cops weren’t in uniform?”

    I’m actually shocked that Pastor Ayers is white.

    Maybe Ayers was involved in a little something something. But maybe not. We don’t know. But we do know he wasn’t the target of the raid. And the woman who was, was charged with (gasp) cocaine possession.

    Badge Licker said:

    The undercover narcotics officers announced, so that automatically means Reverend Ayers heard and understood and believed they were police and knew that it was not a car jacking as you implausibly suggest, PCM. Because Reverend Ayers knew they were police and tried to run them over anyway that means that Reverend Ayers was involved in some type of crime. Ergo, trash was taken out by them. The video shows how undercover narcotics officers help keep Georgia safe.

    A guy with gun yelling police isn’t necessary convincing. What is convincing is a guy in a police uniform yelling police.

    PCM said:

    It is certainly not unreasonable to consider the possibility that that Ayers thought he was being carjacked.

    We don’t know how clearly the officer announced they were police. And we certainly don’t know if Ayers understood. The owner of the gas station said he had no idea they were police. So they didn’t announce themselves *that* clearly. This is a problem that happens again and again with undercover. Sean Bell comes to mind (and Bell was less innocent that Ayers). So does the killing of Agent Michael Cowdery.

    And what justifies shooting at the car as it’s driving away (this is after the officer pulls the very cool roll-off-the-car-and-land-on-your-feet move)? Ayers was no longer a threat and, at least according the police department, he was not a suspect in their investigation.

    Perhaps others also have thoughts on this shooting?

    Above link is dead. But this onestill works.

    And without the news-broadcast audio:

  • BART Shooting (II)

    Here’s a link to a The Raw Story and clearer video of the police-involved shooting of Oscar Grant on a Bay Area BART station. Thanks to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s blog for the link.

    In court, the officer’s actions will be judged by the standard of a “reasonable police officer.” It does not matter what the people shouting for the BART train felt. In fact, their shouting undoubtedly contributed to the general sense of danger the officer felt.

    My guess… but I don’t know (let’s remember that none of us know; we weren’t there)… My guess is that the officer will be charged and criminally convicted of something like manslaughter that is based on negligence but not dependent on intent.

    Is this a racial issue? Yes and no. No, police don’t go out saying let’s kill black people. In this situation, would white frat boys have been treated differently by police? Who can say for sure. It always depends on the situation. But it’s very likely.

    Anybody who thinks that police behavior isn’t affected by race and class is crazy. In different neighborhoods, both the the public and the police act differently. Don’t think for a second that all police act like the police you know and see and deal with.

    A few points on guns:

    1) Police handguns (at least all the ones I know) do not have a safety.

    2) Guns fire when the trigger is pulled. You may accidentally pull the trigger. But guns don’t “accidentally” fire. That’s important to remember. Your finger shouldn’t be on the trigger unless you’re taking aim and are seriously considering shooting. As a police officer, you are responsible for each discharge. Period.

    3) In most jurisdictions, pulling a gun from the holster is not considered “use of force.” In my time on the street, I probably had my gun out of its holster every other shift. But I only pointed it at somebody two or three times. And I never pulled the trigger.

    I was free to pull the gun out whenever I felt the need to. That was very often (say when searching a vacant building).

    But when dealing with suspects, the gun is often just an intimidating bluff. If the suspect calls your bluff and nobody’s life is in immediate danger, you can’t shoot them. You have to holster up and pull out something you can actually use as a compliance device. In my case that was mace. And even that I only used once. (But I wasn’t on the street for long.)

    Look, this shooting certainly looks terrible. Facts may come out that justify the officer’s action. But I doubt it.

  • BART Shooting

    The big police news of the week is probably the police-involved shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant (a black man) at a Bart Station in Oakland. Riotshave followed. I hate riots and those who justify them. Like there’s any justification to bust up a hair salon called “African Braids”.

    And here’s to Oscar Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson. She is quotedas saying: “I am begging the citizens not to use violent tactics, not to be angry…. You’re hurting people that have nothing to do with the situation. Please stop it, just please stop.” That’s a very noble thing to say after your son is killed.

    At the time of the shooting, I was just across the bay in San Francisco. I actually heard a few gun shots in Noe Valley. But not these shots.

    There are tons of You Tube clips about this shooting. Just search for “Bart Shooting.” This is probably the best report:

    From what I’ve heard, this guy was unarmed. But it could very well be justified to shoot an unarmed man. I’ve also heard he was handcuffed. He wasn’t (best I can tell).

    Like it or not, police will assume you might be armed until you prove otherwise. Especially on New Year’s Eve when you hear the constant crackle of gun fire.

    If you’re pointing a gun at somebody and telling him to freeze and he’s fighting and then his hands are under him and then he doesn’t freeze and out from under his body come his hands holding something you think is a gun…. As the cop with the gun you either do nothing and get shot or shoot.

    If police think you might be armed and you won’t follow orders… well, it’s on you. Sorry. It may not be right, but that’s just the way it is.

    For the record, once I was brawling with and unable to controlan unarmed handcuffed man (lesson: never arrest anybody when you’re alone). Still I didn’t shoot him.

    I’ve heard that perhaps the cop thought he was Tasing the guy. I don’t know. I’ve never held a Taser, but I don’t think you can mistake a Taser for a gun.

    But really, this shooting looks terrible. From the officer’s reaction immediately after firing, it looks like he’s surprised and didn’t mean to fire. That makes it both a horrible mistake and a crime.

    And whether or not the cop fucked up, and odds are he did, I hope all those schmucks yelling at the police from the train take a second to think about how they too contributed to this man’s death.

  • Police kill white people, too

    But you usually don’t hear about it. I call this the Al Sharpton effect. There is no white version of Al Sharpton.

    As the trial of the officers involved in the Sean Bell killing begins, I’ve been thinking more about police-involved shootings and race. Given media reports, it certainly seems like police only kill black people. But I know this isn’t true.

    I did a little research. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports from 2000 to 2004, police-involved “justifiable homicides” kill about 350 people a year, 99 percent by shooting. [Update: That UCR data is horribly flawed. Some updated information starting here. And continuing here, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Also this post.]

    Virtually all police-involved killings, most for good reason, are categorized as justifiable. Of those killed by police, 32 percent are black and 64 percent are white. While the percentage of blacks killed is high compared with the black percentage in America (13%), it is low compared with other indicators of violence, such as the percentage of homicide victims and offenders believed to be African American (both 48%)

    Perhaps it is more useful to compare police-involved shootings with those killed by non-police officers. Among “justifiable homicides” by regular citizens—about 210 a year—African-Americans are 40 percent of those who kill and 56 percent of those killed. Compared with these numbers, police seem restrained in their use of force toward the black community.

    Of course the numbers do not tell us the race of innocentpeople killed. And numbers are no solace to the family of any victim of police bullets.

    Update (December 2014): Here’s a video of a black officer shooting an unarmed white person. (A disabled vet, for what it’s worth.) It happened in March, 2014. I didn’t hear about it till much later. Unarmed white people who get shot by police just do not become national news.

    Though horrible, and in hindsight wrong, I think the shooting was justifiable. Though not exactly a good shooting… but when that guy gets out of the pick-up truck and the long hard object goes up and into my face — and keep in mind I’m watching a youtube video and I *know* it’s not going to be a gun — I still felt my ass pucker.

    Would a reasonable officer have feared for his or life in that situation? Yeah, potentially, probably, I think so.

    It would have been great if the cop had known it was a cane. It also would have been great if the guy hadn’t gotten out of his truck on the highway and reached for his cane.

    A mistake. But I think a reasonable one. I’d let that cop off.

    And just in case you think this is the only unarmed white guy shot by police, here is a second case. Despite what some people think, it’s really not that rare for an unarmed white person to be killed by police.

    [Update: Here’s a 2014 post with racial data on cop killers and those killed by police.

    And in 2015 I discovered better non-UCR data.]

  • “Unfortunate accident”?!

    This was five years ago and more than an unfortunate accident, it was bad policing and a bad shooting:

    “Here you got two of the sweetest kids on the Earth going to the mall and having Slurpees, getting shot through the car window. It’s a mess. Yeah, I’m angry,” Harkum said from his Pasadena home.

    It goes down something like this: After a bank robbery, FBI agents make a car stop, perhaps their first ever car stop. One agent orders the passenger to unlock the door. The other agent demands to see his hands. Joseph Charles Schultz, the passenger, listens to the first FBI agent and gets shot in the face by the by the second. Oops. Also, it was the wrong car. Schultz and his girlfriend really were just minding their own business.

    In July 2007 the government settled. The agents were absolved.