Posted on 02/20/2014 4:45:56 PM PST by nickcarraway
Christopher Roupe, 17, was shot by a Euharlee police officer on Friday when he answered the door. Police say he was pointing a handgun, not the video game device. Roupe was an aspiring Marine, his family said.
A Georgia teen who dreamed of being a Marine was killed by police at his front door while wielding only a Wii remote, the family lawyer claims.
Christopher Roupe, 17, of Euharlee was felled by a single police bullet when an unidentified officer arrived at the family mobile home to execute a probation violation warrant against his father, authorities said.
Meanwhile, police assert that the teen pointed a gun directly at the female officer, prompting her to blast the boy in the chest.
The circumstances of the tragic shooting last Friday night are under reviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to reports.
“It just doesn't add up,” family attorney Cole Law told WSBTV. “He heard a knock at the door. He asked who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the door he was immediately shot in the chest.” Roupe, 17, was a member of the ROTC at Woodland High School and was planning to sign up for the Marines, his friends said.
“He was a good kid,” his pal William Corson told WSBT.
Euharlee police said two officers arrived at roughly 7:35 p.m. and Roupe answered the door with a gun drawn — contradicting the lawyer and witness claims that he was unarmed, expect for the video game device.
The officer, who has been placed on administrative leave, broke down after she realized that she had shot the teen at point-blank range, witnesses said.
“She put her head in her hands and she was sobbing,” Ken Yates told WSBT. "Supposedly, he opened the door with a BB gun and in my opinion I think he was playing a game with his neighborhood buddies."
Roupe was transported to a hospital in Cartersville where he was pronounced dead. The result of the investigation will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office, police said.
Police directed all questions regarding the shooting to the GBI. A spokeswoman for the unit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokeswoman for the family directed all inquiries to their attorney, who could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.
I would if I knew them.
Anyone who would be on cloud 9 over a child's death must be a really sick person.
Clearly those involved (nor me nor freedom462) aren’t on cloud 9 because this kid was killed.
Say what you want about lawyers but I don’t think there is a lawyer in the US, no matter how craven, who wants people to die so he or she can pursue a case.
But this facebook posting (if authentic, but who could make that up?) is very nearly prima facie evidence that the cop who shot the guy was incompetent.
Slam dunk lawsuit wise, provided there was, in fact, no gun.
As of right now the only way we have to punish such malefactors as this officer is via the courts; I hope that remains the best way to redress these blatant wrongs.
You can bet your BP that the cops will find a gun before this is over. They have already started their lying and coverup. First she was crying, them she thought she saw a gun. Next thing, the gun he was supposedly holding in his hand will mysteriously appear. Then it will be told that he initially fired multiple shots at her. And last but not least, drugs will be discovered in the house and child porn will be discovered on their computer[s].
A TV reporter covering the story said that he viewed 'gun-like' Wii controllers on the floor in front of the television set.
I don't believe the cop's statement that the teen was pointing the 'gun' at her when he opened the door. I don't believe her statement that she heard someone working the action of a gun before the door was opened.
However, I'm certainly willing to believe that the Wii controller the teen was carrying looked like a gun.
A TV reporter covering the story said that he viewed 'gun-like' Wii controllers on the floor in front of the television set.
I don't believe the cop's statement that the teen was pointing the 'gun' at her when he opened the door. I don't believe her statement that she heard someone working the action of a gun before the door was opened.
However, I'm certainly willing to believe that the Wii controller the teen was carrying looked like a gun.
Sorry to burst your bubble just as you popped the top on a cold Bud and got a good woman hate going but this kind of stuff is in the paper everyday. Most of the time its a bunch of steroid pumped male cops doing the crime.
IMO too bad it wasn’t a male cop that went to the door because at point blank range he prolly still would have missed.
The problem today is cops period. They are not properly trained and they are sent out with a very loosy goosy shooting policy from up top.
When the local government decides to come out of their secret private meetings and speak to the rest of the peons out here, ping me, I’d love to hear their defense.
A week later and still no response from the local government?
How strange is that?
So, let’s see. This officer doesn’t have deep pockets, and neither do her various superiors. So money will be taken from taxpayers. At the end of the day, no one will feel the consequences of this death. The lesson for the officer and the police bureaucrats is that, it’s really not that bad to kill a child.
This is dated:
http://www.wnd.com/2005/03/29396/
It sure SEEMS like an inordinate number of freakout cops are female.
Well, you are speculating to a certain extent. As to the superiors you are most likely correct, but in terms of the officer herself there might be some greater consequences for her; although we’ve seen plenty of cases where that wasn’t the case.
Of course that is wrong, but a lot of laws would need to be changed and probably should be.
It’s a pretty involved subject and while this woman’s error was grievous I think it *was* an error rather than malice.
But I agree that there should be a structure that holds people responsible for their actions even when they are working on behalf of the government or other entity.
Its very strange.
In retrospect it was probably not the best thing for me to phrase it like that, but in the end, these ARE lawyers we are talking about, lawyers whose careers depend on racking up victories in these kinds of cases and here they essentially have a victory handed to them on a silver platter. I’m pretty sure they are at least keeping that in the back of their head.
I live just a few miles away.
Euharlee cops are notorious Barney Fife’s good only for traffic tickets and/or school crossing guards.
I AM NOT KIDDING!
They have to get their stories [lies] straight before they respond publically.
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