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Self Defense

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#21
This is why I'm hesitant about getting into journalism. The first article was poorly written and the second was an opinion piece. Makes me glad I have ethics, and an ability to write clearly.

That said, I believe the cop overreacted. He could've just gotten out of the way, gotten the plates and radioed for backup or something, or gone after them, but he didn't need to just open fire. Hmph.

Note: Opinion may change depending on whether good journalism is actually conducted, whether new info is revealed.
 
#22
In almost any other country that cop would go to jail for life. To be honest, I hope he at least goes for 5 years.

Drink driving is inexcusable, but then so is opening fire on a car full of teenagers. Had he just got out of the way some cops would have picked them up down the road anyway, and given them a reasonable punishment.
 
#23
simpy1 said:
In almost any other country that cop would go to jail for life.
Click to expand...


SUUUUURE... lets make more statements that cant be disproved...

Please provide us with example cases where it was ok for several ADULTS to rob a place, get in the car drunk and then try to run someone over... And after all that a person they are trying to murder has to spread it and take it like a man... great... just great... I think for my next vacation I want to visit that dream country of yours... I always wanted to know what it feels like to run someone over...

simpy1 said:
Had he just got out of the way
Click to expand...

Good point... next time I wont stop for pedestrians trying to cross... I will run them over... hell I’ll even aim for them... and then when in court I will say "they should have gotten out of the way”.
 
#24
If a 2000 - 5000 lb. motor vehicle isn't a deadly weapon, I don't know what is. It is not incumbent upon the officer to get out of the way of criminals. It is the fault of the driver who got his friend shot. Bad judgement: Skipping out on the tab. Fleeing the scene. Attempting to run down an officer. The driver, most likely, will be charged with some form of homicide. For example, if you and a friend rob a bank, and a cop shoots your friend while you are trying to escape, YOU will be charged with the murder of your friend.

Since I wasn't at the scene, I cannot definitively say that I would have taken the actions the officer did. No one can say for sure unless you were in his shoes. However, if I am in a parking lot and someone attempts to run me down, I would do the same thing.

Unless you've been in that position, you have no right to second-guess the cop's actions. The lack of responsibility and consideration of the public safety made the driver a danger to the officer and anyone in his path. Had he continued on, he could have run over someone else, or been involved in a crash that killed innocent people. It is unfortunate that the passenger was hit with a bullet rather than the brain matter of the driver.

I have no sympathy for criminals. If it comes down to me or some lowlife criminal who has the potential to take me away from my family, I will pull the trigger in a second. He makes that decision, not me. And the DRIVER made the decision in this case that took that kid's life.
 
#26
Drunken robbery and not stopping for a uniformed officer... lame! Just for the record, it can take no more than a second or two to pull the trigger five times on a pistol. 5 shots doesn't really seem excessive- panicky, yes- but exessive, no.

I suspect we'll be hearing a lot more about this.

edit: he probably pulled his gun so that the car WOULD stop. Pure speculation here though. If you're dumb enough to continue moving your SUV toward a police officer that's pointing a gun at you, well...
 
#27
#29
mixed feelings.

it's a sad event that happened.

kids shouldn't have skipped out on the bill (or have been drunk and driving)

cop shouldn't have shot.

try to get the license plate.

if worse comes to worse, they get away with it in skip out on a bill probably under 50 bucks.

50 bucks for a teenage life lost, when he wasn't even the one driving. for all we know, he could have been telling the driver to stop.
 
#32
The kid wasn't killed over $50.

The kid was killed because his acquaintance tried to run down someone with a several thousand pound vehicle while attempting to flee the scene of a crime. He was unfortunately in the wrong place when the officer being targeted attempted to neutralize the threat to himself and others who could have been endangered by the dangerous activities of the driver.

If the cop stood by and didn't stop him, and the driver took a turn and ran over a child while attempting to flee, everyone would want to know why the cop didn't stop him when he had the chance.

Choose your friends carefully. And don't play 'chicken' with a law enforcement officer.
 
#34
morf said:
I think if the cop had the time to pull out his gun he had time to jump out of harm's way.
Click to expand...

There's a point I've been wondering about: Does it matter that the officer was off-duty? Does he still have the duties/responsabilities of a police officer, or his simply a citizen wearing a uniform?

Self defense laws vary from state to state, but the laws are usually very strict on using a deadly weapon for self defense. IIRC in VA, you have to flee, if possible before using deadly force, and you can only use it if your life is in danger. EG: you can't draw a weapon in a threating way or fire on someone because you saw him/her run out on a check at a restaurant, but you can if you're being mugged. It seems that weather the officer's actions were irresponsible or justified depends on whether he was able to get out of the way of the vehicle. He wasn't being chased by a psychopath in an automobile. He stepped into the path of the vehicle.

Another thought: let's say the officer hit and disabled the driver, and he really had no time to get out of the way. Wouldn't he still be struck by the moving vehicle, which now has no way to stop?
 
#36
Davidoc said:
Another thought: let's say the officer hit and disabled the driver, and he really had no time to get out of the way. Wouldn't he still be struck by the moving vehicle, which now has no way to stop?
Click to expand...

very good point.

Diggler, I see your point. But I don't like to play the "what if" game. Sure, anything could have happened. But it didn't, what DID happened was a teenager lost his life when he probably didn't have to.

No, i'm not saying the kids weren't at fault at all, because they were. But i don't think that skipping out on a bill is worthy of capital punishment. Maybe the officer had time to get out of the way, maybe he didn't. Either way, he didn't have to get IN the way in the first place.
 
#37
Diggler said:
The kid wasn't killed over $50.

The kid was killed because his acquaintance tried to run down someone with a several thousand pound vehicle while attempting to flee the scene of a crime. He was unfortunately in the wrong place when the officer being targeted attempted to neutralize the threat to himself and others who could have been endangered by the dangerous activities of the driver.

If the cop stood by and didn't stop him, and the driver took a turn and ran over a child while attempting to flee, everyone would want to know why the cop didn't stop him when he had the chance.

Choose your friends carefully. And don't play 'chicken' with a law enforcement officer.
Click to expand...
This makes a lot of sense.
 
#39
Davidoc said:
There's a point I've been wondering about: Does it matter that the officer was off-duty? Does he still have the duties/responsabilities of a police officer, or his simply a citizen wearing a uniform?

Self defense laws vary from state to state, but the laws are usually very strict on using a deadly weapon for self defense. IIRC in VA, you have to flee, if possible before using deadly force, and you can only use it if your life is in danger. EG: you can't draw a weapon in a threating way or fire on someone because you saw him/her run out on a check at a restaurant, but you can if you're being mugged. It seems that weather the officer's actions were irresponsible or justified depends on whether he was able to get out of the way of the vehicle. He wasn't being chased by a psychopath in an automobile. He stepped into the path of the vehicle.

Another thought: let's say the officer hit and disabled the driver, and he really had no time to get out of the way. Wouldn't he still be struck by the moving vehicle, which now has no way to stop?
Click to expand...

A police officer has law enforcement powers on and off duty, 24/7.
 
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