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Houston officer kills unarmed man walking with trousers down
BBC News ^ | 28th March 2018 | BBC News

Posted on 03/28/2018 2:26:40 PM PDT by Ennis85

A US police officer shot dead an unarmed man walking in traffic with his trousers down, and his family says it looks like "premeditated murder".

Police dashcam video shows Danny Ray Thomas, 34, walking towards the officer on a road in Houston, Texas, last Thursday before a gunshot rings out.

Deputy Cameron Brewer repeatedly shouts "get down on the ground" before firing. Both the officer and victim are black.

Mr Thomas' family say he suffered from depression after his children died.

His sister, Kita Thomas-Smith, attended a Houston City Council meeting on Tuesday where she tearfully urged politicians do to something about "police brutality".

Mayor Sylvester Turner told her: "I certainly feel your pain. We are certainly sorry for any life that is taken."

Outside city hall, Ms Thomas-Smith told the Houston Chronicle of the dashcam video. "It feels like premeditated murder.

"He was clearly walking, not running, toward the deputy not trying to hurt or harm him."

Deputy Brewer, who had a Taser with him, has been placed on administrative leave as police investigate the shooting.

Houston Police Department said in a statement last week that Mr Thomas was found "walking in the middle of the intersection" of a busy road in the city.

Deputy Brewer noticed him with "his pants around his ankles, talking to himself and hitting vehicles as they passed by".

"Thomas then struck a white vehicle, and the driver exited and engaged in a physical altercation with the suspect," Houston police said.

The Harris County Sheriff's deputy saw the fracas and stopped his car to intervene.

"Fearing for his safety, the deputy discharged his duty weapon, striking Thomas once in the chest," said Houston police, which is leading the investigation.

In a different video taken by a bystander and published by the Chronicle last week,

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: death; houston; police; shooting
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To: Ennis85

Hard to say. The guy had just violently shoved another guy and was aggressively walking toward the cop. I was surprised that a guy with his pants down around his ankles could walk so fast.

You have to be real here. The cop doesn’t know what exactly is going on.

There is a physical confrontation involving a guy with his pants down.

The suspect is not far away, advancing quickly on the officer.

The officer rightly draws his service weapon. (21 foot rule)

And you want the officer to holster his weapon and pull out his taser??? TOO LATE you could be DEAD!

Woulda, coulda, shoulda, but it does appear to be a righteous shoot.


141 posted on 03/29/2018 8:31:42 AM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts)
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To: faucetman
Woulda, coulda, shoulda, but it does appear to be a righteous shoot.

So what is the deciding factor in a "righteous shoot"? Is it merely an uncertain situation where the officer may possibly be in danger? Or is it something more strict than that?

142 posted on 03/29/2018 8:34:24 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: donna
Is a cop supposed to let a man, with his pants down, walk up to the cop and grab him, or is the cop allowed to shoot the man before being touched?

What’s the training?

From what I've seen, if you're within 10', they consider you to be a deadly threat reagardless of what you are doing.

143 posted on 03/29/2018 8:49:41 AM PDT by zeugma (Power without accountability is fertilizer for tyranny.)
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To: DoodleDawg

“Hard to be barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen if we’re out there working, isn’t it?”

Thanks for making it clear that it’s not hard to be simpleminded if you’re out there “working.”


144 posted on 03/29/2018 8:54:57 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: infool7

“I don’t see officer duty assignments as a zero sum game.”

Why not? There are only so many jobs. If person “Q” has a given job, then person “R” does not.


145 posted on 03/29/2018 8:58:27 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: RegulatorCountry

“so shoot me.”

I is not a murderer, even of leftists, and you is still mistaken.


146 posted on 03/29/2018 9:04:28 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: Pravious

He was also clearly disobeying repeated commands to lay down on the ground

Precisely the behavior anyone with half a brain might expect from some in public with their pants down around their ankles. Do NOT get close, do not draw your weapon, do not scream commands, do not employ tactics designed to result in death of the one exhibiting crazy behavior. IOW it is not time to play cop. You need to dump all of your cop training when dealing with the general public. It is only required to be in evidence when dealing with crooks, criminals, and politicians, but I repeat myself.


147 posted on 03/29/2018 9:12:35 AM PDT by wita (Always and forever, under oath in defense of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.)
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To: VietVet876
That’s the way I see it. When I was small, my mother told me never to play in traffic. Guess the deceased missed that lesson or forgot about it.

When I was a little kid, not so long ago,
I had to learn a lot of things I didn't really know,
How to dress myself, tie my shoes, how to jump a rope,
How to smile for a picture without looking like a dope.
But of all the things I learned, my favorite of them all,
Was the little poem hanging on the kindergarten wall.

Of all you learn here, remember this the best
Don't hurt each other and clean up your mess.
Take a nap every day, wash before you eat
Hold hands, stick together,
Look before you cross the street.
Remember the seed in the little paper cup,
First the root goes down, then the plant grows up!

Perhaps he missed the one above...

From what details I've seen so far, I'd call it a bad shoot. Regarless of that, playing in traffic is never something that is going to turn out well.

148 posted on 03/29/2018 9:13:55 AM PDT by zeugma (Power without accountability is fertilizer for tyranny.)
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To: dsc

Who are mistaken? The royal you? Go lick some jackboots.


149 posted on 03/29/2018 9:19:54 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: zeugma
The perp was seen walking with pants down and what appeared to be a night stick hanging down below his waist...

I'm not touching that

You can count on that matter never to be raised.

150 posted on 03/29/2018 9:19:55 AM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: Fightin Whitey
You can count on that matter never to be raised.

lol

151 posted on 03/29/2018 9:37:55 AM PDT by zeugma (Power without accountability is fertilizer for tyranny.)
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To: RegulatorCountry

Go back to DU, where they appreciate dimwitted babble about “jackboots.”


152 posted on 03/29/2018 9:46:18 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc

Go back to wanking in the basement and splattering “perps” on your video games.


153 posted on 03/29/2018 9:48:59 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry

Well, I don’t see how you could sink any lower than that, so I guess my work here is done.


154 posted on 03/29/2018 10:05:13 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc
“I don’t see officer duty assignments as a zero sum game.”

Why not? There are only so many jobs. If person “Q” has a given job, then person “R” does not.

I guess that since over the 30+ years I've worked in IT I've always had job alternatives at multiple companies in multiple cities. I could be wrong but I suppose there are similar opportunities available in law enforcement.
155 posted on 03/29/2018 10:14:47 AM PDT by infool7 (Observe, Orient, Pray, Decide, Act!(it's an OOPDA loop))
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To: infool7

“I could be wrong but I suppose there are similar opportunities available in law enforcement.”

I don’t think requiring men to uproot their families is the solution to the problem. Further, it is not limited to law enforcement, but cuts across the entire economy.


156 posted on 03/29/2018 10:18:54 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc

Yes, you’re very high minded and well mannered, what with offering to poke peoples’ eyes out and smash them on their cheeks rather than blowing them away, merely for not respecting your authoritah. The very model of probity and decorum you are, lol. You’ll find yourself labeled a perp and on the wrong end of a gun one day, and pity I won’t be there to tell you “I told you so.”


157 posted on 03/29/2018 10:35:31 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: RegulatorCountry

“what with offering to poke peoples’ eyes out and smash them on their cheeks rather than blowing them away”

Didn’t intend to reply again, but this lie needs to be corrected.

The “eye” thing was an example of what an “unarmed” man can do to a policeman—or anyone, really. It demonstrates the stupidity of your argument.


158 posted on 03/29/2018 10:49:19 AM PDT by dsc (Our system of government cannot survive one-party control of communications.)
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To: dsc

The stupid argument here is that police are justified in the use of deadly force against an unarmed person. Your tagline is darkly amusing in light of the policing you advocate. You do realize that you’re enabling exactly what you purport to hate by your words here, don’t you? No, of course you don’t. Cop good. Perp bad. Grunt. That’s all you’re capable of belching out.


159 posted on 03/29/2018 10:56:43 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: dsc
I don’t think requiring men to uproot their families is the solution to the problem. Further, it is not limited to law enforcement, but cuts across the entire economy.

So are you really advocating for excluding all women from the workforce entirely?

160 posted on 03/29/2018 1:13:06 PM PDT by infool7 (Observe, Orient, Pray, Decide, Act!(it's an OOPDA loop))
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