North Little Rock, AR cops stand by and watch as convenience store is robbed!

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ^ | 31 AUG 02 | BY JIM BROOKS

[marajade]

"He would have been imprisoned."

That's fine... and now he's going to serve a sentence for armed robbery to boot... Which means, he ain't getting out for quite awhile...

[bandleader]

Maybe "The Perp"is a longtime FOB?

[FormerLurker]

And if they put an unarmed police officer in there as a clerk do you think the prosecution would be successful getting a conviction?

1. I didn't say unarmed undercover officer, I said armed undercover officer.
2. The entire event was captured on the store security camera. So it is irrelevent as to who was behind the counter in relation to "getting a conviction".
3. If the perp had shot the clerk, do you think it would have been better for everyone?

You seem to think that it was a stroke of genius to have allowed the clerk to take a shot in the chest if the perp would have been so inclined. At least a cop with a vest and a gun could have taken steps to prevent that from happening to himself if the need arose.

The more I think about this, the more I see this as a flagrant dereliction of duty on the part of the police department.

[SarahW]

If they were informed he was to commit armed robbery, they knew the clerks life was in danger. They knew he was carrying a deadly weapon and might injure or kill an innocent person in commision of the crime.

They decided that it was more important to get a conviction for armed robbery than to protect the clerk. Wrong choice.
The clerk's life was worth more.

If you or I knew hours ahead that a person was going to commit armed robbery and put a person's life in danger, did nothing but watch as they did it we might face charges of being an accessory before the fact to murder if the clerk were killed.

The police thought it was more important to get him convicted on a more serious charge, than to put him in jail for years on a lesser one. This choice could have resulted in the death of the clerk.

[Ben Bolt]

I dont know if it is a crime in your state or Florida , and to be honest it matters not to me when I'm protecting myself , my wife and innocent civilians .

If it is I'll pay the price for that happily to secure there safety and the freedom to persue the lives they have . What good is a law if you cant trust the lawmakers or those charged to enforce them ?

The police have no right to supply another potential victim ever , and that is the problem here marajade .

[marajade]

That's your judgment to make for yourself... I wouldn't expect others to commit illegalities though just for the sake that something MIGHT happen...

[marajade]

" ... they knew the clerks life was in danger."

Armed robbery is different than murder... Maybe the police felt it better not for the victim to have a gun because if he was armed the incident may escalate and the victim may have been harmed.

[marajade]

Are you a sworn law enforcement officer?

[sweetliberty]

This is an incident that occurred not far from me. I'd be interested in the take of some of the folks who have been active on the threads of the Houston cops' abuse of power. Of course, this is a very different kind of situation, but it might generate some interesting discussion. I thought maybe y'all could ping some of the others.

[marajade]

"I didn't say unarmed undercover officer, I said armed undercover officer."

If this were true and the armed undercover officer shot the person committing the robbery and he was killed, the officer could be prosecuted for murder...

[Ben Bolt]

You seem to place a higher value on others judgement to secure your own person . I dont fancy myself being used as cannon fodder nor the clerk possibly , but I'll not pretend to speak for him .

Considering he was not given a choice in the matter I'll never know . Good luck to you Sir .

[marajade]

"You seem to place a higher value on others judgement to secure your own person ."

You are right in that I trust the judgment of that of professional law enforcement officials that they know how to do their job. I'm sorry that you do not.

And I'm female...

[in the Arena]

From the Arkansas Crime Information Center the definition of Accessory: A person who assists in the commission of a crime.

The LEO's should be held as accessories to this crime...they literally aided in a successful armed robbery. This is one civil suit I wouldn't mind seeing.

[Ben Bolt]

I either do not make myself very clear or you are perhaps a bit preoccupied . I'll presume things are a little better off in Arizona with respect to law enforcement .

Would you like to have been the clerk on this thread ? Would you have cared to know at all that people put you in this situation when it was not necessary to do so ?

[Old Professer]

Efforts to reach criminal justice experts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, as well as at the Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock, were unsuccessful.

[marajade]

" ... they literally aided in a successful armed robbery."

If this was the case, there would no law enforcement officers left on the street to patrol.

[marajade]

"Would you like to have been the clerk on this thread ?"

That's not the point... You're questioning the judgment of law enforcement...

The police didn't exactly know for sure the crime was going to be committed, they just got information that might happen. If police forces used personnel to put themselves in situations that might happen, there would be no resources left available to do what police forces are supposed to do...

[Dog Gone]

I understand the reasons for the cops wanting to wait for the robbery to be committed, because it means the criminal will go back to prison for a long time. Much longer than if the cops had arrested him before the robbery for a weapons violation.

On the other hand, this was an extremely dangerous crime. It's one thing to wait for an extortion attempt, or a theft of a warehouse. This is something else entirely.

If the perp had planned a murder, would they have waited for that? This is awfully close to that, and I agree with the others who say that the clerk was used as expendable bait. Thank God nobody was killed.

[marajade]

"If the perp had planned a murder, would they have waited for that? This is awfully close to that, and I agree with the others who say that the clerk was used as expendable bait. Thank God nobody was killed."

That would be true, if the police had proof positive it was GOING to happen, but they didn't...

[FormerLurker]

If this were true and the armed undercover officer shot the person committing the robbery and he was killed, the officer could be prosecuted for murder...

Are you smoking some wacky weed, or are you just being purposely dense?

You're trying to tell me that if a police officer shot and killed an armed robber in the course of a robbery, that the officer could or would be prosecuted for murder? Get real.

Officers have "accidently" shot and sometimes killed innocent unarmed men, women, and children in the course of drug raids, yet were never prosecuted and remain on the force.