Community Chat

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@RoughDraft wrote:

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@Lindsays Grandma wrote:

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@bathina wrote:
@Wsmomthe police officer didnt even get all the words out of his mouth before he fired the first shot. I think hes been on the force for 1 year. I understand it's a dangerous and often thankless job, but I feel like this officer couldnt have been properly trained.

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@bathina@Wsmom I'm sure he was properly trained.  The problem no doubt was that he ignored  what he learned and decided to do exactly what he was taught not to do.

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I'm not sure anymore of what being properly trained means.  The other (female) PO couldn't even tell she was on the wrong floor and didn't recognize it was not her apartment!   I sure as heck know my own house when I see it!

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@RoughDraft ...Training had nothing to do with the female officer who killed her neighbor, that is a whole other story and I'm not sure I believe her version of what happened, and I guess the jury didn't believe it either.

[RoughDraft]

@Lindsays Grandma  I honestly don't know what to call it... poor training, mental instability, drug use, exhaustion, egocentricity?  

Whatever is the cause of these killings, something is desperately wrong.

[pitdakota]

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@RoughDraft wrote:

@Lindsays Grandma  I honestly don't know what to call it... poor training, mental instability, drug use, exhaustion, egocentricity?  

Whatever is the cause of these killings, something is desperately wrong.

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Hi @RoughDraft!  I am not sure what to make of all of this either.  In a way this reminds me of eons ago when police first started making a big effort on the "drug war".  This was back just as cable was somewhat new so there wasn't endless coverage about these types of news stories.

I remembered being dismayed by a documentary that HBO did.  Remember back in the day when they had really good documentaries?  Anyway, they did a program on how innocent people were being gunned down in their homes all across the country because police departments were following up on drug informant tips without verifying.  Consequently the vice squad units were storming into homes of people in the wee hours of the morning and countless times they were bad tips.  But not only were they bad tips, the innocent people in their homes were being shot and killed by police.

It made an impression on me, but I thought maybe the documentary was a little biased?  Then it happened in my local community.  Bad tip from a drug informant.  They stormed this guy's house around 2 am.  Turned out it was a respiratory therapist that was totally asleep.  He was stumbling to the front door as the squad was breaking down his front door.  An officer shot him dead in his own foyer when he was only wearing his underwear.  No weapons or drugs in the house.  Turns out I knew who this guy was.  It was heartbreaking.  He was engaged, had bought the home with plans for his bride to move in.  Great guy, never been in any kind of trouble.  They did press manslaughter charges against the officer.  The trial was moved out of the county and they found him innocent.  Family took pictures of the house and had news coverage to show the photos.  His house was totally ruined as they looked for drugs or some type of contraband.  You know the story, mattress sliced up, couch cut up, ceiling tiles removed in the basement.  They left no corner unturned trying to find the drugs that obviously weren't there.

That brought back the flashback of that documentary.  This was happening all over the country.  I support law enforcement and have police officers in my family.  But this was just plain wrong.  And none of them defended the actions of these vice squads.  All kinds of civilians defend the police, when even a number of officers said the policies and training needed to be reviewed. 

As time went on and multiple agencies were sued for wrongful death cases, there was a national movement to change policy about how drug tips were verified and how they were to handle approaching these situations.  It did bring about change.

So maybe it is a combination of someone needing to review departmental policies of how to handle situations to ensure everyone's safety and a change in training as well.  What I do know is just as those many years ago, defending the cases in which there was just no common sense defense did not bring about the changes.  I sometimes wonder how many innocent lives would have been saved if they had changed policy, tactics, and training years before they actually did.

It is scary to think you can be a law abiding citizen, in your own home, doing nothing out of the ordinary and be fatally shot by a police officer.

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@RoughDraft wrote:

@Lindsays Grandma  I honestly don't know what to call it... poor training, mental instability, drug use, exhaustion, egocentricity?  

Whatever is the cause of these killings, something is desperately wrong.

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@RoughDraft ... I hear you.  There have been too many stories reported of police officers committing  all sorts of criminal acts.  Those who get involved with dealing drugs of course do it for the money.  The trigger happy ones?  Do they pull the trigger out of fear, stupidity, arrogance, power or just to show they have the authority to do so?  We will never know.  There are bad apples in every bunch and overall I have the deepest respect for policemen who put their lives  on the line for us every single day.  

[RoughDraft]

@pitdakota   First of all, it's so good to "see" you.  I've missed you.

I do recall seeing that documentary and truth be known, it scared the *** out of me.

I live in an area highly populated by police officers and there was an incident on our own block with a rookie and a person who lived on the street for years.  Suffice it to say, the person was sitting on his own steps when this rookie jumped out of his car and started a mad dash at the man, pulling his gun from the holster.  The rookie and his wife had only lived on the block for a few months and his wife started screaming "put your gun away.  He's a neighbor!"

The PO was definitely unstable and when the neighbor called the police about it he was shuffled off.  A few months later, the PO was shot when he ran into a convenience store to confront the robber.  Apparently, he disregarded his senior officer's attempts to slow him down.  Tragedies waiting to happen/

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@pitdakota wrote:

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@RoughDraft wrote:

@Lindsays Grandma  I honestly don't know what to call it... poor training, mental instability, drug use, exhaustion, egocentricity?  

Whatever is the cause of these killings, something is desperately wrong.

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____________________________________________

Hi @RoughDraft!  I am not sure what to make of all of this either.  In a way this reminds me of eons ago when police first started making a big effort on the "drug war".  This was back just as cable was somewhat new so there wasn't endless coverage about these types of news stories.

I remembered being dismayed by a documentary that HBO did.  Remember back in the day when they had really good documentaries?  Anyway, they did a program on how innocent people were being gunned down in their homes all across the country because police departments were following up on drug informant tips without verifying.  Consequently the vice squad units were storming into homes of people in the wee hours of the morning and countless times they were bad tips.  But not only were they bad tips, the innocent people in their homes were being shot and killed by police.

It made an impression on me, but I thought maybe the documentary was a little biased?  Then it happened in my local community.  Bad tip from a drug informant.  They stormed this guy's house around 2 am.  Turned out it was a respiratory therapist that was totally asleep.  He was stumbling to the front door as the squad was breaking down his front door.  An officer shot him dead in his own foyer when he was only wearing his underwear.  No weapons or drugs in the house.  Turns out I knew who this guy was.  It was heartbreaking.  He was engaged, had bought the home with plans for his bride to move in.  Great guy, never been in any kind of trouble.  They did press manslaughter charges against the officer.  The trial was moved out of the county and they found him innocent.  Family took pictures of the house and had news coverage to show the photos.  His house was totally ruined as they looked for drugs or some type of contraband.  You know the story, mattress sliced up, couch cut up, ceiling tiles removed in the basement.  They left no corner unturned trying to find the drugs that obviously weren't there.

That brought back the flashback of that documentary.  This was happening all over the country.  I support law enforcement and have police officers in my family.  But this was just plain wrong.  And none of them defended the actions of these vice squads.  All kinds of civilians defend the police, when even a number of officers said the policies and training needed to be reviewed. 

As time went on and multiple agencies were sued for wrongful death cases, there was a national movement to change policy about how drug tips were verified and how they were to handle approaching these situations.  It did bring about change.

So maybe it is a combination of someone needing to review departmental policies of how to handle situations to ensure everyone's safety and a change in training as well.  What I do know is just as those many years ago, defending the cases in which there was just no common sense defense did not bring about the changes.  I sometimes wonder how many innocent lives would have been saved if they had changed policy, tactics, and training years before they actually did.

It is scary to think you can be a law abiding citizen, in your own home, doing nothing out of the ordinary and be fatally shot by a police officer.

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@pitdakota  Good to see you pitdakota, for years I enjoyed seeing you here and then didn't see you for awhile, or not as often as I used to.  Hope everything is okay with you.

[happycat]

I saw it, and I'm glad they are charging him with murder. I think they need to drug test him too.

[pitdakota]

Good to see you too @RoughDraft.   Yes, according to family members who were police officers (they are now all retired), there is certainly a blue wall in which fellow police officers are leary of reporting troubling behavior of fellow police officers.  

Maybe public pressure will bring about review of department policies and changes in training and monitoring of police officers.  After all, it benefits the police as well as the public.  

[pitdakota]

O/T:  Waving to @Lindsays Grandma!  Good to see you as well.  Everything is fine here.  Loving retirement and wonder how I had enough time to work.  LOL!

[Brisky]

They will be sued and they will pay for this mistake.
Makes me wonder how many mistakes these police actually make? They should have rang the doorbell or at least knocked. This guy was trigger happy, obviously! Makes me sick..
I know there are decent officers out there
This guy wasn't one of them.