Police found guilty of murder...really?

[Tiny]

I think your "general principles" are kind of irrelevant when the subject is the details of a specific incident. Wouldn't you agree?

No, as a matter of fact, I do not agree. Yes the subject of this thread is about a specific incident, however that does not mean I cannot talk about something that's related (to me at least). If this thread is talking about some cop being too quick to shoot, then talking about the principle of how cops in general have to react fast, is relevant.

By the way, you don't get to dictate to me what I can or cannot talk about. If I want to go on a tangent, which I argue isn't what I am doing, it's fully within my right.

The simple fact is that if Mr. Parker (who is now dead) was a white guy in his own suburban home....who was mentally distressed and suicidal....and was about to kill himself, but wanted someone to pull him back from the edge of complete and total despair....and called 911 to ask for some help.....he'd almost certainly STILL BE ALIVE TODAY.

As for cops needing to make quick decisions, I agree. Problem is...."quick decisions" has become an excuse for unnecessary use of force. Where you and I might disagree is with the leeway given to cops on the use of lethal force. If cops killed unarmed white people at the same rate as they do unarmed white people, there would be no need for this discussion.

I don't see how race has anything to do with this topic, and you have the gall to accuse my general principles of being irrelevant.

....look, you're talking to a born and bred Southerner, here. I've lived and worked in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas (in addition to NYC and the Midwest ).
But with respect to politics and justice in Alabama....I do know more than a thing or two about politics, justice and society in the south.

So, if you are born and bred in the South, that means you are automatically right about everything that goes on in the South?

And I am not saying that you don't know more about the South than I do. You certainly do know more, but that doesn't mean everything you say about stuff going on down there is all automatically correct.

 

[Tiny]

Now, with that said.....what's YOUR "verdict" based upon?

Did I even say I had a verdict? Why are you attributing to me things I never said?

Well, that's just nonsense. I'm as impartial as you. The difference is that I actually have a lifetime of lived, learned experience on my side.

You're Canadian, I take it?

Yes I am Canadian. And what's your point? When a southerner and a Canadian talk about something going on in the south, the southerner is always right about everything, because he grew up there, and the Canadian is always wrong? And you having a lifetime of experience does not mean much to me. You can have a lifetime of experience and still be wrong.

I certainly do.

"Self" is to "regulation as "self" is to "dealing".

OOW, "Self-regulation" is often no regulation at all.

So how do you propose the police in your country be regulated?

I'm sorry, but when every other police officer in the room is convinced they are successfully de-escalating the situation, and ONE guy comes in like Rambo and puts a bullet between the eyes in 11 seconds....your argument, above, is just silly to me. The situation in question is not your fictional scenario. Why keep bringing up carefully crafted hypotheticals as if they anything more than that? It's silly.

The "carefully crafted hypotheticals" are meant to illustrate my point, but you are too obsessed about calling Darby Rambo to even want to hear what I have to say. You keep dodging my hypotheticals because you are unable to defend your nonsensical assertion that a suicidal person is only a threat to him/herself.

The fact that something is possible (be it rare, or frequent)...is NEVER an excuse to fail to do the job as you have been trained to do it.

It's about probability, not possibility. If a cop deems that the probability of a person harming others is high enough to justify shooting him, then yes, he should shoot. And it's not merely because he feels that it's "possible" that he might harm others. Again, cops can be wrong in judging the probability of something, but my point still stands.

 

[Simpletruther]

On himself. At no time was the cop or any other person at risk. The unhinged and unstable person is just your opinion. I have though about suicide a couple of times during my life and I certainly am not unhinged or unstable. Many others have done so as well. There are times in our life where we lose all control over our lives or something happens we cannot live with (like the death of a loved one) and consideration to taking your own life occurs. You are no judge to decide whether the person was unhinged or unstable and much less the cop at the time.

Sure it's just opinion what constitutes risk. Some peoole call skydiving risky others don't.
Some suicidal people have taken others with them. So there is a risk IMO.

I don't think it's enough to justify his actions though. I just see it as enough to allow for a misjudgment without a crime. Though I would ban him from police work.

I most any cop would eventually make a similar mistake under that kind of pressure. Most just just rarely face these situations or there would be more mistakes. Humans, even some of the most cool under pressure do not operate very rationally or robotically under potentially life threatening pressure.

 

[Luckyone]

Sure it's just opinion what constitutes risk. Some peoole call skydiving risky others don't.
Some suicidal people have taken others with them. So there is a risk IMO.

I don't think it's enough to justify his actions though. I just see it as enough to allow for a misjudgment without a crime. Though I would ban him from police work.

I most any cop would eventually make a similar mistake under that kind of pressure. Most just just rarely face these situations or there would be more mistakes. Humans, even some of the most cool under pressure do not operate very rationally or robotically under potentially life threatening pressure.

What kind of pressure was the cop under? The man was looking to kill himself! (not the cop and no one else). What kind of pressure could the cop feel?

Bottom line, the cop was found guilty in court so all your thoughts and opinions have been thrown out the window. SImply stated, you have alread proven wrong.

 

[Simpletruther]

What kind of pressure was the cop under? The man was looking to kill himself! (not the cop and no one else). What kind of pressure could the cop feel?

Bottom line, the cop was found guilty in court so all your thoughts and opinions have been thrown out the window. SImply stated, you have alread proven wrong.

I already mentioned that, some suicidal folks have taken others out with them. He had a gun out. It only takes 1 second to point and fire.

So I guess you should never discuss your disagreements with any court decision then since it always proves you wrong. You didn’t think that over.

 

[joko104]

The cop broke 2 Democratic Party laws:

1. He showed up. He should have never showed up. No police should have gone to the scene. Someone from the Health Department should have gone.

2. He refused to allow himself to be murdered as is required of all police officers. Only people who are suicidal should be police officers.

 

[joko104]

A set of jurors that believe Hollywood movies are reality.

FACT: If someone is holding a gun to their own head and you are pointing a gun at the person, the person holding a gun to their own head can shoot you. However, MAYBE you could also still shoot him. The total visual/mental calculation/speed of the nerve signal, and then muscle contraction time is - not allowing for any panic and giving advance notice - is 4/10ths of a second.

Next you had Hollywood's position that the millisecond a person is shot the person is instantly in that very same millisecond brain dead and unable to do anything. The jury agreed with Hollywood that a police officer - in 1/1000th of a second - can shoot and in that same millisecond the other person's brain then completely ceases to function and the person dead even before they start to fall.

The officer failed to meet his obligation to allow himself and the other officer to be murdered. It is that simple.

Police need to stop answering any 911 call if there is any possibility of any weapon being present or any possibility of violence. Really all police should do is fill out accident reports for fender benders. Leave all the rest to the local health department and certainly if any weapon is involved.