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Court Affirms Immunity for Cops Who Tased Gasoline-Soaked Man and Burned Him to Death

Crakhobarbie

Crakhobarbie

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Police officers responded to a 911 call that Gabriel Eduardo Olivas was suicidal. When Officer Jeremias Guadarrama and Sergeant Ebony Jefferson arrived on the scene, Olivas had doused himself with gasoline and was threatening to burn the house down while other people were inside. Despite warnings from another officer on the scene, Officer Guadarrama tased Olivas; as expected, Olivas burst into flames. Olivas died from his injuries, and the house burned to the ground. The other inhabitants escaped. Olivas Family sued. Guadarrama and Jefferson argued that they were immune from the lawsuit. A panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit agreed and the lawsuit was dismissed. So even though the officer was warned not to taze the suspect ( because he was covered in gasoline) the officer did it anyway. And then successfully hid behind qualified immunity. Welcome to the home of the free. https://lawandcrime.com/civil-right...-gasoline-soaked-man-and-burned-him-to-death/
 
Crakhobarbie said:
Police officers responded to a 911 call that Gabriel Eduardo Olivas was suicidal. When Officer Jeremias Guadarrama and Sergeant Ebony Jefferson arrived on the scene, Olivas had doused himself with gasoline and was threatening to burn the house down while other people were inside. Despite warnings from another officer on the scene, Officer Guadarrama tased Olivas; as expected, Olivas burst into flames. Olivas died from his injuries, and the house burned to the ground. The other inhabitants escaped. Olivas Family sued. Guadarrama and Jefferson argued that they were immune from the lawsuit. A panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit agreed and the lawsuit was dismissed. So even though the officer was warned not to taze the suspect ( because he was covered in gasoline) the officer did it anyway. And then successfully his behind qualified immunity. Welcome to the home of the free. https://lawandcrime.com/civil-right...-gasoline-soaked-man-and-burned-him-to-death/
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I'm not sure what the cop is supposed to do here. What do you think his best course of action is?
 
The court seemed to do the right thing, following the law; the problem is the law, the doctrine of qualified immunity.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
"Despite warnings from another officer"

Maybe pay attention to warnings?
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But he was threatening to light himself on fire and burn the house anyway?

What else can he do besides nothing?
 
Cork said:
But he was threatening to light himself on fire and burn the house anyway?

What else can he do besides nothing?
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The cop had no other less lethal means at his disposal? Are you saying his training was that shit?
 
Cork said:
But he was threatening to light himself on fire and burn the house anyway?
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It's like a suicidal person threatening to jump.... So you push him. Not only that, they are immune from prosecution.
 
Questerr said:
The cop had no other less lethal means at his disposal? Are you saying his training was that shit?
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The cop could have at least taken a basic class on how their weapons work if they didn't know that sparks + gas = fire. That kind of stuff is just basic knowledge.
 
Cork said:
But he was threatening to light himself on fire and burn the house anyway?

What else can he do besides nothing?
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What do cops do when someone is standing on a ledge of a roof threatening to jump?

my God man, cops need better training (and have that in some jurisdictions) on how to deal with suicidal people.

The END RESULT may have been the same, a dead man and a burnt down house, BUT the way THIS cop handled it, you can take the "may have" out of the equation.

What if there was a civilian present, and NO cop? The civilian would have only two choices, turn and run to save themselves, or try and talk down the person threatening to light themselves on fire.

THIS COP DIDN'T TRY!!!
 
tacomancer said:
The cop could have at least taken a basic class on how their weapons work if they didn't know that sparks + gas = fire. That kind of stuff is just basic knowledge.
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and used compassion and de-escalating techniques.
 
Questerr said:
The cop had no other less lethal means at his disposal? Are you saying his training was that shit?
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You don't know the circumstances.

Why do you guys always point out there's always a way out where no one gets hurt?

You don't know the distance between the cop and him. It's not like the cop had all day to think about what's the best way to get out of it.

He had limited time and he took a gamble thinking the guy wouldn't light on fire.
 
Crakhobarbie said:
I bet these cops are still on the street.
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Lets hope so, they have families to provide for and their services are sorely needed in this increasingly lawless society. IMO.
 
Cork said:
You don't know the circumstances.

Why do you guys always point out there's always a way out where no one gets hurt?

You don't know the distance between the cop and him. It's not like the cop had all day to think about what's the best way to get out of it.

He had limited time and he took a gamble thinking the guy wouldn't light on fire.
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Distance is irrelevant if he had training on how to handle suicidal people.
See my last rebuttal to you.
 
SNOWFLAKE said:
and used compassion and de-escalating techniques.
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Did you know if he tries to de-escalate the situation and the guy didn't wanna listen?

I don't like cops much but you guys turn every situation where someone dies it's always the cops fault.
 
Cork said:
You don't know the circumstances.

Why do you guys always point out there's always a way out where no one gets hurt?

You don't know the distance between the cop and him. It's not like the cop had all day to think about what's the best way to get out of it.

He had limited time and he took a gamble thinking the guy wouldn't light on fire.
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Lotta Armchair QB's.

They always put the responsibility on the cop. The cop should have figured out some magical way with no possible bad outcomes to hear them tell it.
 
Cork said:
Did you know if he tries to de-escalate the situation and the guy didn't wanna listen?

I don't like cops much but you guys turn every situation where someone dies it's always the cops fault.
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Despite warmings from another officer on the scene, Officer Guadarrama tased Olivas, THERE is your answer, sheesh!
 
PeacefulWarrior said:
Lets hope so, they have families to provide for and their services are sorely needed in this increasingly lawless society. IMO.
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Increasingly lawless?

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There is a spike, but lets see how it lasts once life settles back down after the COVID disruption.
 
Cork said:
You don't know the circumstances.

Why do you guys always point out there's always a way out where no one gets hurt?

You don't know the distance between the cop and him. It's not like the cop had all day to think about what's the best way to get out of it.

He had limited time and he took a gamble thinking the guy wouldn't light on fire.
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Forget "no one gets hurt", how about "no one gets killed"? The cop could have broken the dude's arm and it would have turned out better.
 
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