Also good police work.
Tag: police-involved shooting
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Good (but not for tourism)
Here’s to Sgt Kelly and his good Times Square shooting!
The man was carrying a card that said: “I feel sorry for a cop if he think I’m getting into his paddy wagon.”
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Maurice Clemmons shot dead
Good shooting. Good riddance. Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper has a good analysis:
Clemmons, nursing a two-day old bullet wound to the stomach, having killed four cops already and facing at least life in prison, frantically searching for a way out of the state if not the country, and packing one of the dead officers’ sidearms, would have beyond a shadow of doubt murdered again. There and then.
He was denied that chance. Whether Clemmons was seeking cover to pull the gun and fire, or about to flee, the officer did precisely the right thing. It was not a “cold-blooded murder,” as at least one reader has asserted. It was a courageous and necessary act.
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Three Cheers for Police Sergeant Kimberly Munley
She did her job. And then some. And more.
Update(November 12, 2009): Seems that Senior Sgt. Mark Todd did a lot of what was first credited to Munley. Oh, the fog of war.
Regardless, three cheers to both of them.
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Baltimore police officer shot in robbery
And the apparent robbery walks into a hospital with a gunshot wound.
The off-duty officer, a 16-year veteran, was shot in the abdomen last night outside his home and is in serious condition after surgery.
Update:
Was moved Tuesday morning from Sinai Hospital to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and has been downgraded from serious to critical condition, police said.
Detective Aaron Harris, 39, has had at least five surgeries as he slowly recovers from a bullet wound to the stomach, police said.
Two teenagers accused of shooting Harris were denied bail Monday. Kevon Wilson and Craig Tillett, both 16 and charged as adults, will remain in custody. Police said they attempted to rob Harris as he entered his home.
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Harris was shot three times in the abdomen and lower left leg, and he returned fire at his attackers, according to police. -
More on Jonathan Ayers
As time goes on, I’m liking this shooting less and less.
I love how some conspiracy anti-police folks were saying there was never a woman in his car and the police made all that up.
There was.
Stephens County court records now indicate the woman riding with Ayers the day he was shot was Kala Jones Barrett, whose home is listed as a Relax Inn in Toccoa. Warrants say she was wanted for coke peddling. Her father, Joseph Jones, has also confirmed his daughter was in the car that day. But she says Ayers was only giving her a ride and providing ministerial advice.
That’s from the Village Voice and their True Crime Report.
The Atlanta Journal Constitutionreports:
Ayers was able to drive away from the Shell station but crashed into a utility pole a short distance away. It was there that Ayers, according to Carpenter, asked paramedics “Who shot me?”
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The store owner, Joe Joseph, said he didn’t know the agents were law enforcement officers and it looked like they were firing at each other.
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The agents were assigned to a task force that investigates drug cases in Stephens, Habersham and Rabun Counties. Ayers caught their attention because he was with a woman who twice sold drugs to the officers, said Bankhead.
“What they saw was indicative of drug transaction,” Bankhead said. “They didn’t know the guy. They followed him to the convenience store and tried to arrest him.”
The woman’s name has not been released because she is still being questioned about the shooting. She is being held in the Stephens County Jail on drug charges.
Carpenter [Ayer’s brother in law] said people often called the Shoal Creek Baptist Church for help.
“She was asking for cash and he brought her some cash to help her out,” Carpenter said. “Jonathan sought to do exactly what God wanted him to do.”
Gulp. What if that’s the truth?
Steve Huff on a CBS-news blog says: “According to investigators who spoke to the TV station, no drugs were found on Ayers’ person or in his vehicle.”
The cop in me is always suspicious. I first assumed Ayers had bought drugs or was getting a little something on side. That doesn’t necessarily defend the shooting, but still, it matters.
But one thing I tried to do as a cop was always keep open the slight possibility that somebody was actually, God forbid, telling the complete truth. Granted I can’t remember a single case where that actually happened. But I always liked to keep that possibility open. Maybe that meant I bought into a lie for an extra five minutes. I like to think it made me a better cop.
Now I’m starting to think Ayers was 100% innocent. He let the woman out of his car. If he had bought drugs, we would have had some on him. Maybe this really was an honest man of God trying to help somebody.
Why’s it so hard to imagine that guys jumping out a car with guns drawn scared the bejesus out of him? Why’s it so hard to imagine that plainclothes cops don’t look like cops?
Why isn’t this bigger news?
I guess there’s no Al Sharpton for white people.
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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:
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So, honey, how was your day at the office?
Check out this video. New Mexico is crazy, man (and I say that only because my wife is from there, ese)!
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No Justice
Officer Rafael Lora was trying to do his job. Now he has no job and is looking at prison. The story in the New York Times and the Post.
I wasn’t there. But I believe the officer. Why? Because why else would have Lora shot the driver?
This is one case where even an NYPD officer should have trusted a Bronx jury.
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Police officer fired for neglect, cowardice after failing to shoot at gunman
Policing is one of the few jobs where “cowardice” can get you fired. Here’s a fascinating storyby Brendan McCarthy in the New Orleans Times-Picayune about a police officer fired for not shooting a gun man.
They see a man standing about 50 feet away in the street, pointing a gun. Pop, pop.
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He chose to hold his fire and let the car crawl forward. His partner… would say later that she tried to step out, but that he ordered her back into the car. He said he thought they needed cover, that they hadn’t had time to assess the situation.Within seconds, the pops stopped. The gunman fled, with Neveaux in pursuit, his partner in the passenger seat.
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According to the New Orleans Police Department, what Neveaux did was wrong. So wrong, in fact, that internal investigators cited him for cowardice and neglect of duty. High-ranking officials conferred and confirmed. After an administrative hearing, NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley fired Neveaux.Neveaux’s lawyer is Eric Hessler:
Nine years ago, Hessler faced a similar split-second dilemma and did what Neveaux didn’t: He shot.
Hessler, then an NOPD officer, had come upon a shooting in progress.
The man firing his weapon, 23-year-old Steven Hawkins, turned toward him and fired, Hessler said. Hessler reached for his service weapon and fired back, hitting Hawkins once and killing him.
After the smoke cleared, police learned Hawkins, a carjacking victim, had been shooting at his attackers in self-defense.
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The NOPD stood by Hessler and deemed the shooting justifiable. A grand jury cleared him of criminal charges.The family of the deceased man sued in civil court, and a judge ordered the city last year to pay $700,000 to the man’s parents.
Damned if you, damned if you don’t. What would have I done? I don’t know. I wasn’t there.