Sometimes Minding Your Own Business Isn't Enough

[togor]

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/12/0...ection=Related

I tell my kids to conduct their business and their fun in ways that won't draw the attention of the police. You mind your business and let the police mind theirs. So far so good with all of them.

This incident really bothers me because the guy is in a hotel room, not doing anything. Someone sees something through a window and then calls 911. They call the guy out into the hall. The cops are amped up and he's got a few beers in him. They shoot him even as he tries his damnest to not get shot. Defense lawyers says the officer followed all procedures, and the jury agrees. Cop, with two arms full of tattoos, gets fired anyways.

If I ran Hollywood I'd make TV cops act out the real thing, the way these shootings go, with none of the scripted heroics ("Sir, please, put down the gun!") Then maybe we'd have a proper national discussion about whether or not we're getting the policing we really want.

Think about it. One minute this guy is in his hotel room minding his own business. The next minute, shot dead by the police. He didn't threaten anybody.

[leftyo]

perfect example of an out of control dickhead on a power trip that was just itching to kill someone! i dont think the cop having tattoo's has any bearing on anything, but his actions were less than stellar, and he should rot in prison for murder.

[dryheat]

The tattoos tell a story. A young(I think 25 or so) idiot with an ego/self confidence problem. The whole stupid "mother may I" routine is easy to screw up and if you make a mistake you get shot. I like cops, I don't like "Mall Cops".

[S.A. Boggs]

From watching it I saw two possible wrongs. First was lack of proper training, the AR IMHO was too much for the situation and the lack of open area. The far worse was the fear in the officer and the need to rush. Cops are scared and rightfully so with the ambushes, this is where the training kicks in. This shooting could have been avoided from watching it but what was going thru the cops mind?
Sam

[Dick Hosmer]

I'm only a poor (and thus despised by some macho jerks) "citizen", with zero LE or military experience, but that was one of the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed, period. That cop should have been publicly executed, and speedily so, in front of a assembly of his peers, in the same manner. I almost didn't want to watch the end of the video, because I could see where it was going to end. What a dick-head!! How did he ever get a badge?

[barretcreek]

A friend is NYPD Ret. He likes to point out when he was 'on the Job' if an officer emptied his Model 10 in a shootout there better be at least two bad guys down.

"We" can't be trusted with anything more advanced than a flintlock? This guy shouldn't have been armed with a Super Soaker. My guess is he wasn't into protecting the citizenry, or maintaining order but boosting his ego. I'm not LE but he reminds me of the guys at work who were into the whole authority trip (we had a lot) and getting things done was way down the list.

No doubt he would have shot me too.

[Marty T.]

Wouldn't it have been a lot easier just to have him lay on the floor spread and then deal with him instead of telling him to "crawl" toward the officer? That's just asking for trouble. And the AR, I also see that going through walls and hitting someone not even involved in any of it.

[dryheat]

The guy that got shot left behind a beautiful wife, it's just heart breaking.

[barretcreek]

Officer DH was trying to find an excuse to shoot the guy, he basically stated as much. Yes, the whole "mother may I" was intended to cause the individual to make a mistake, thereby justifying the 'need to shoot'.

Can't believe the jury bought it. The South Carolina jury gave Walter Scott more justice, but it won't bring him back.

[clintonhater]

Can't believe the jury bought it.

I can't either, but more likely than not the judge told the jury that if the miserable little coward felt "any fear for his life," he was justified in "protecting" himself by shooting to kill. Whether a properly trained officer in that situation should have had some legitimate, reasonable, cause to "fear for his life" is a question that's NEVER asked, and can't even be raised before the jury! So the more gutless the cop, the greater his freedom to commit murder!

[bruce]

Have seen the video before. Share the sense of outrage. Did not realize the officer was set free. I live in a small town. I routinely spend time with the local police officers as well as the deputies. We know one another well. I support them. They are very fine men. This sort of thing ... it is bad for everyone. It is only my opinion, but the officer in this video should not have been allowed to walk free. Regardless of all the talk about safety, etc., there is no excuse for what he did. None at all. I would have the same opinion of any citizen who did exactly the same thing to someone he thought was a threat to him. Is there nothing else that can be done to try to get at least some justice for the husband and wife who this officer victimized? I don't know. Do hope there is something that can be done. This just isn't right by any estimate at all. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

[S.A. Boggs]

Have seen the video before. Share the sense of outrage. Did not realize the officer was set free. I live in a small town. I routinely spend time with the local police officers as well as the deputies. We know one another well. I support them. They are very fine men. This sort of thing ... it is bad for everyone. It is only my opinion, but the officer in this video should not have been allowed to walk free. Regardless of all the talk about safety, etc., there is no excuse for what he did. None at all. I would have the same opinion of any citizen who did exactly the same thing to someone he thought was a threat to him. Is there nothing else that can be done to try to get at least some justice for the husband and wife who this officer victimized? I don't know. Do hope there is something that can be done. This just isn't right by any estimate at all. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

Civil suit perhaps?
Sam

[barretcreek]

Not trying to make light of this. If the dead citizen was a minority Eric 'Wiener' Holder would come out of retirement to file a Civil Rights Violation against the officer, a criminal violation. Hopefully some attorney will do so on behalf of the citizen and his survivors.

I find it hard to believe this is the first example of this guy's unsuitability for duty as a sworn officer. It appears he was SRO at the incident so he must have a track record. Hindsight I admit. The rest of the Mesa PD are going to bear the heat, especially if there is not a serious investigation into WTF is going on with their training and evaluation policy.

[clintonhater]

Civil suit perhaps?
Sam

NO question about that! There'll be lawyers pushing & shoving each other to get a piece this case. Hope they win a settlement that will bankrupt the city or county. Unfortunately, though, because the killer was whitewashed by the original idiot jury, that verdict will be used by his defense to try to exonerate him in the civil case.

[JB White]

Sorry guys, I just watched it and something is terribly wrong here. Never see or hear anyone until they are queued. Body cam video is the smoothest I have ever seen. There is normally some sort of jitter. The victim was responding to certain instructions before the words were completed. The entire procedure was just WRONG. Too much time elapsed on this arrest and the room was never cleared. No other officers to be seen or heard from unless (again) queued to speak. Why do all five exit wounds emerge from the same spot behind a cleanly cut shirt?
This entire thing screams staged to me. After posting this I'm going to search for others sources on the wire.

OK, this was new to me but a quick search proved my hypothesis wrong. The incompetence is overwhelming. Bad cop playing Hollywood. There was no reason Shaver could not have been restrained without all the dramatic gung-ho bullxxxx.