Posted on 12/13/2017 2:13:42 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
Daniel Shaver did not deserve to die. He made an otherwise innocuous mistake, as people often do, especially in high pressure situations and after having consumed alcohol. But he did not deserve to die for it. Shaver could have been any one of our twenty-something children or siblings.
The events of the night in which 25-year old Shaver died nearly two years ago, are not in dispute. Shaver was drinking with two companions in a Mesa, Arizona La Quinta Inn. At one point that evening, likely showing off, Shaver pointed a pellet rifle he used for his job in pest control out of the fifth-floor window, prompting a report to the police from someone who observed this foolhardy act. When police arrived, things escalated . . . quickly.
The ensuing encounter between Shaver and at least two police officers armed with assault rifles was captured on police body cameras, but it essentially shows a sobbing and scared Shaver doing his best to cooperate with police barking confusing orders at him, all while threatening that he may be killed for not obeying perfectly. “If you make a mistake, another mistake, there is a very severe possibility that you’re both going to get shot,” police shouted at Shaver, who apologized through his tears for the slips, and begging the police not to shoot him.
Then it happened; as Shaver was attempting to obey one officer’s orders to crawl toward a fellow officer (who already had cuffed Shaver’s female companion), he reached back in what looks like an instinctive attempt to keep his gym shorts from falling off him. That movement prompted Officer Philip Brailsford, who had his AR-15 trained on Shaver, to instantly fire five shots, killing Shaver.
Last week, Brailsford was acquitted of charges in Shaver’s 2016 death, claiming the motion Shaver made to reach for his waistband looked as if he was reaching for a weapon; an argument with which the jury apparently agreed. As I have written previously, police are – rightfully – given broad latitude in their use of deadly force, which courts are reluctant to second guess. Brailsford’s judgement in taking lethal action that night, as incomprehensible, regrettable, and excessive as it may have been in light of what we see from the body cam, nevertheless arguably falls within this intentionally constructed safe harbor. But, whether Brailsford was legally culpable for the shooting of Shaver is not so much the point -- the situation should never have escalated to where Brailsford felt the need to pull the trigger.
The problem goes well beyond any individual officer or incident.
It is unlikely that when Brailsford arrived at the La Quinta Inn that night, his objective was to kill someone. However, a perfect storm of trends in policing today make it more likely that confrontations end in such a manner. The phenomenon of increasing “militarization” of community police, fear of terrorism, and over-criminalization have run head-on into cultural problems, such as blatant disrespect of police and a rise in mass-casualty crimes, that understandably put police more on edge. Add to this dangerous brew officers who are either poorly trained, or not trained at all in de-escalation tactics, especially when in contact with individuals who possess (legally, or otherwise) firearms, and it is less a matter of if, than of when, deadly confrontations occur.
Conservatives are reasonably reluctant to call-out this critical issue for fear of appearing to pile-on to the disgusting rudeness shown to police from the Left, but this is an issue that cannot be ignored. Shaver was not some menacing thug with a rap sheet and an illegal gun; he was a young, working-class father with a pellet gun in an open carry state. And, let us not forget Corey Jones, a concealed carry permit holder who was killed by police after his car broke down in a bad neighborhood; Andrew Scott, who answered a knock at his door late at night armed with a pistol, and was killed in his own home by the officer who failed to identify himself; and Corey Crawford, who was killed by police in a Walmart while holding a BB-gun he picked up off the shelf.
And, these are just the more obvious cases.
Police deserve our support and respect, but this should not preclude us from demanding reforms to a problem in which exercising Second Amendment rights – either intentionally, passively, or in the case of Shaver and Crawford, not at all – exposes gun owners to greater risks of deadly confrontations with police. Whether it is better training for police, demanding politicians reverse the trend of over-criminalization, or a broad cultural movement to treat officers with respect in everyday encounters; we can, and must, find a way to do better as a society that values both liberty and justice . . . and the very lives of our fellow citizens.
I always said BLM was kabuki theater deflecting criticism of the Justice system onto “white racist people”. It has nothing to do with Police itself but everything to do with renegociating a black vs white “deer” race bagging limit for a hunting season having nothing to do with actual crime but everything to do with ethnic controls and cleansings
Proof is they want to ban self defense, both BLM and Blue Lives Matter, when Police Union previously trashed by NFL protests joined the 49ers to attack gun rights. Same with Al Sharpton and De Blasio who say nothing about outrageous NYPD pensions that they could pick at for shooting blacks reparations instead of tax payers.
Why is this only now coming to light?
...
At least the cops got to go home safe that night. That’s what counts, right? Now waiting for the boot lickers...
The thin Blue Line must exist within the community, not separate from it. As police and policing are increasingly isolated from and by the community they serve they become increasingly militaristic. Killing is the job of the military. Saving lives is the job of the police. When police become trained killers we are no longer living in a society that cherishes life.
“Police deserve our support and respect,...”
No, like everyone else they have to earn it. Until the 90% condemn the horrible 10% they will not have earned it.
Yep, awaiting the imminent arrival of bootlickers so enamored of leather that they defend bad cops. And yes, bootlickers, there are bad actors and bad actions among our police — not all shootings are “righteous”.
The USSC has ruled that police are not obligated to save lives let alone protect citizens from harm.
I have reached the point where think “death by cop” a greater risk than death by criminal or terrorist. I have become terrified about being pulled over for having a tail light out. I heard audio from horrific event and cold sober, even I was confused as to what the cop was telling Shaver to do. It was like telling him to contort into some advanced yoga position. This is our pre-game warm up for the Police State.
Or a society that cherishes freedom.
If I could weigh in here... I am approaching (hopefully) the end of a 26 year run in police profession. I started in 1992. I learned the job from dudes who had been in police for 30 years. They were well known community members... before they became police officer. My training officer gave me great advice... which I pass on to those newbies I train... one piece of advice that has stuck with me since then... “Don’t create a problem that isn’t there to begin with...”. Advice that has served me well over the years. That being said... police work has morphed into I don’t know what. It used to be us versus the bad guys... and that was it... now society demands that the police handle everything... and I do mean everything. Mental health... which are increasing at an astronomical rate... animal calls... and oh by the way... you might have to fight ISIS should they show up in your town... with the push for college education for all... people that do have degrees don’t want to do all that with little pay when they can make more doing something else. Hence the pool of applicants shrinks...and we get young guys from a new generation that have different values and are more comfortable with a more intrusive aggressive police presence. As well they come in from out of the area and nobody knows them...I have seen some unstable guys and girls get into this job... but my DEPT is small enough that they stand out and get seeded out eventually. As far as this shooting goes... I usually try to defer to he police officer as he/ she is the one immersed in the situation.. by this video almost made me vomit. Sooo many more adoptions that he and the other TWO officers had. I saw my daughter and her boyfriend in this scenario .. quite easily could have been them or my other two daughters. For this officer to double down and say he would do the exact same thing in the same situation is effin ridiculous... and speaks volumes to his mental capacity to effin learn from things... I pray he NEVER works for the public again... Long post sorry for rant...
To add... the officer gave shorty commands... talked to the people like they were garbage...told the guy he was gonna die if he made a mistake...because that helps someone think clearly.... the tried to pull up his pants... he should have been prone and still... particularly because he was drinking. Still wanna vomit... sorry
My experience with police (mostly in both Chicago, suburbs and downstate but also anecdotally here in GA) is that they almost always escalate the situation and are itching to turn a minor event into a major event. It may be the training, or lack of training. But it seems that there is a process of adverse selection in who wants to become police. It is similar to the adverse selection in who wants to become the health inspector, or the IRS agent.
I'm sure not all police fit the generalization. But it seems to be a significant percentage.
When I was in combat in Vietnam, I used three to five shots on a man only when I wanted to make sure that he died right there. If he showed signs of surrendering though, I'd hold up and not fire and just disarm him.
Are police at the point where they have to treat us worse than we treated the VC?
Lesson here is when ordered down by LEO, go prone, arms out.
Do not move.
“Simon says games” will get you killed.
““Police deserve our support and respect,...”
No, like everyone else they have to earn it. Until the 90% condemn the horrible 10% they will not have earned it.”
Exactly! No excuses, rationalizations or bull shit. These police outrages are nothing more nor less than murder under cover of law. You cant train this kind of homicidal behavior into otherwise normal people...its innate.Politicians are responsible.
The police are WRONGFULLY given broad latitude in the use of deadly force. I absolutely disagree with the word rightfully. Police represent the government and should be held to a higher standard than individual citizens. If an ordinary citizen had done this a murder conviction would have taken the jury about 5 minutes. I also suspect (though can't prove) jury intimidation by the scumbag's "fellow officers."
One of the best commentaries on the situation...thank you.
Especially salient is the wisdom of not creating a problem where none exists. I was a “revolver” cop in a Chicago suburb in the 70’s. Some of the old hands at the time were WW2 combat vets and knew what real danger looked like and never over reacted. Calm, cool and collected. Todays cops seem to go to defcon 1 on everything. I bitterly resent using “militarization” as a perjorative. Quite the opposite...military trained people are totally disciplined and able to distinguish and unravel situations correctly.
This is the money quote:
“Shaver could have been any one of our twenty-something children or siblings.”
It is absolutely true. That kid was scared to death. He didn’t know which way was up. And the cop was being a bully, plain and simple. I’ve never seen such a stark example.
These kinds of incidents are actually extremely rare. That’s why they are newsworthy.
It seems that the police these days get their training from Patrick Swayze in Point Break that he gave to his gang. Control the situation through yelling and scaring the crap out of everybody.
I confess that I did not know what led to the cops being there in the first place. Now that I do, I’m doubly sickened by this video. This is the second story I’ve read where there was really no call for them to be there in the first place ended up with an innocent person dead at the hands of the cops.
My wife, one day, discovered her 13 year old son had disobeyed her and gone to a friend’s house or something (I forget the details. It happened before we met). She thought she’d pull a Norman Rockwell and call the police to “scare” him.
Except they grabbed him and took him to jail and were not kidding.
Although I see the police as just normal people like the rest of us, with good ones and bad ones and everything in between, I no longer consider them safe to be around. They are dangerous. They are the club used by a mindless governmental machine used to keep the public in check and in fear. I don’t want to mess with them unless the stakes are even. Which is one reason why I now carry in my car. It’s not the main reason, but at least I’m not defenseless if I am confronted by a bad cop. And I have the dash cams to cover it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.