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 ...
Well, he was Lebanese.
Let’s see if this shooting passes my personal litmus test.
Say one of our soldiers, serving in a war zone (Iraq lets say), finds an incoherent unarmed Iraqi, pants around the ankles, middle of an intersection, messing with cars going by. By our current ROE, can he shoot him?
Why oh why, are the current police ROE less than those of our men and women serving in theatres of war? Police officers deal with American citizens, military deals with potential enemy combatants. Shouldn’t our police officers be held to a tighter ROE than our military, especially considering they are dealing with American citizens?
Suicide by cop.
I think the police training is poor. This didnt happen in the 70s. But then you didnt have all out assassins murdering random police like we see today.
So you figure anybody ought to be free to disregard what the
cops say? That's retarded. Obey the cops, don't get shot.
It's not that hard.
Should they have kept him chained up in the basement?
Why was the officer walking with his pants down?
So he deserves to be summarily shot dead? Used to be a country I still remember, when the cop would have gone up, swiped him upside the head, and said: “What the hell is wrong with you?!”
Had a case at a store near us, where some woman preparing food samples lost it for reasons what will forever remain unknown. She waved this little paring knife around. Cops came in and shot her stone-cold dead. She never actually hurt anyone.
Breaking News
Riots at Six
I also gotta wonder why he didn’t use the taser first.
It’s certainly not premeditated murder but it’s possible manslaughter. It’s obvious the officer was in fear of his life and, that alone, falls back upon who’s doing the hiring and training of the police in Houston. Whoever is doing the job is doing it poorly.
Yes, but in a shoulder or belt holster.
You mean like this guy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Daniel_Shaver
It’s a shame that when I was an irresponsible teen doing stupid shit I didn’t have to be afraid of the cops, now as a responsible clean cut adult they scare hell out of me.
And shooting him was a rational response to that?
hand up, don’t’ shoot
pants down, don’t shoot
Wait, what
Hear hear - and yet there are some on this forum who take the view that cops can do no wrong.
I think of pants down as a friendly gesture. Am I old fashioned?
It used to be that the use of deadly force required that the life and safety of the officer or of bystanders be at risk. Now you're saying ignoring a cop is grounds for deadly force? What's next? Execution for dirty looks?
He was also clearly disobeying repeated commands to lay down on the ground.
He must have been a heck of a shot, walking with his pants down and still hits his target.
He was beating Cadillacs and Subarus and he won’t stop....
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