is a cop allowed to shoot at a fleeing criminal?....
You tell me, is that one of your argument points?
Wouldn’t it be quicker for you to just make your statement of fact rather than play 20 questions?
Sometimes, yes, if there's an imminent threat or the crime is bad enough, I suppose.
Is a cop allowed to shoot at every fleeing criminal?
Most definitely not.
Especially if he blatantly lies about the circumstances, until the video comes out. You're talking tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice, all under color of law.
It doesn't look good. The state and the People will have their pound of flesh this time.
Would you want to be this particular cop, in this particular situation, with this particular video?
Even if he's not convicted of murder, he's probably going down for some kind of manslaughter at the very least. The kind of manslaughter which gets you a very lengthy sentence.
I feel sorry for the guy. But he f----d up big time.
is a cop allowed to shoot at a fleeing criminal?....
...
In some circumstances, but not just because they are a fleeing criminal.
I’ll bite.
Yes, IF the cop has reason to believe (to put in colloquial terms) odds are the fleeing suspect is likely to cause imminent harm at least equal to the shooting required to stop him.
There was no reason to believe this guy was going to gravely harm or kill anyone while he was fleeing, nor that he would proceed to do so once escape was successful. Insofar as he had arguably & debatably put the officer at risk by tazering, that risk was clearly past.
Well who knows what those unarmed guys who are behind on child support might do if you let them go?
Of course, there was a time when officers of the law just chased down middle-aged fat guys on foot and cuffed them. Not this officer however. He knows how to handle a deadbeat dad.