According to the article, when the car started rolling backwards after he opened the door, the door hit him and that was (apparently) enough for him to feel attacked and start shooting. That doesn’t come through in the body cam footage.
The article also said that because he was a new officer in a probationary period, the department isn’t bound by the same (union?) rules and just immediately up and fired him. They did blame it all on him, and stated that there was no need to revise their training procedures.
Matt_W
3119
Weirdly my first response to a car door pushing me slightly is not usually to draw a gun and start shooting. It happened so fast there it seemed like a trained response to me.
When are we ever going to apply criminal culpability to cops for shit like this. Nothing will change until we do.
It’s true. Throughout my career, whenever my new trainees killed anyone, I was always sure that it was despite, and not because of, my training program. Every single time.
KevinC
3121
Not in our lifetimes, most likely.
Didn’t see this posted previously:
Did LAPD officer Houston Tipping die during an alleged ‘mob simulation’? – Daily News
Note that prior to being beaten to death, he was apparently investigating (at least) one of the officers for a gang rape, at least per the family’s lawyer…
Timex
3123
While that cop was definitely in the wrong for freaking shooting at a car that posed no threat, I did notice after watching it again that the kid DOES in fact consciously flip the car into reverse and try to back out… which was… dumb.
Although I’d say that the first dumb act was the cop just walking up and yanking the door open. Pretty sure that on its own isn’t something cops are allowed to do.
Timex
3125
He definitely does it at the 9 second mark. You see him look down, grab the gearshift, flip it into reverse, and then grab the wheel.
What are you saying bullshit to?
LockerK
3126
Fuck off for any sort of apologist talk towards the cop that approached, reach into the car, and then fired shots at a minor who was probably scared for his life (rightfully so). The only thing he consciously did was try and get away.
Timex
3127
No, I’m capable of finding fault in the kid’s actions, while still condemning the cop.
Putting the car in reverse and backing up while the cop was there, was in fact a dumb thing to do.
Does that justify the cop’s actions? No, obviously not. But the kid’s actions were still dumb as shit.
To be clear, I’m not saying that the kid driving away after the cop started shooting was wrong… that part is NATURAL.
The kid flipping it into reverse before the shooting started, and trying to back out? No, that was dumb.
But how provocatively was he dressed?
Timex
3129
Again, just since lots of folks seem to think that finding fault in anyone other than the cop in these situations means it justifies what the cop is doing… that’s not the case.
The cop was obviously wrong, to a ridiculous degree once he pulled a gun.
But if a cop gives you an order to get out of your car, and you respond by shifting your car into gear and trying to drive away, THAT IS DUMB. It’s illegal. You can’t do that.
When I first watched the video I didn’t even notice that the kid did it, but after watching it again and noticing it, I was like, “That was dumb, kid.”
Thrag
3130
Isn’t trying to get away a pretty rational response when someone expectedly tears opens your car door? For all the kid knew he was about to be carjacked. The officer did not announce himself and came up behind the guy. He may not have even seen the uniform before he panicked.
Seems once again we are demanding perfect responses from citizens in order to avoid being murdered.
Timex
3131
Eh… I dunno man. The kid clearly looks right at him, and then looks down at his gear shift and flips it.
The cop was in uniform… I don’t think that was a normal response from the kid.
Again, this isn’t a justification for the cop, but no, that action by the kid was not correct.
Thrag
3132
So yes, you demand perfect responses from startled teenagers in order not to be killed by trigger happy police.
I mean yeah, why didn’t that kid make a perfect and rational judgement in the whole second he had after he was surprised by his car door being ripped open by a stranger.
The kid was eating a goddamn burger and panicked. That is not a death sentence. What was the goddamn crime?
How is this any different than picking apart a rape survivor’s actions?
Timex
3135
No, because I agree that the cop’s response was obviously wrong, even in the face of that problem.
But, if we were to imagine that the cop wasn’t crazy and didn’t open fire… the kid flipping the car into reverse and driving away after being ordered by the cop to get out of the car, would have been illegal I think. So it would have been dumb and resulted in a bad thing for the kid, even if the cop wasn’t insane.
Thrag
3136
I do love how the cop, after firing his own weapon at an unarmed teenager, starts shouting “shots fired!”
Thrag
3137
Again we must truly ponder why startled teenagers do not make the best decisions.
