Seven officers fired at man during 'gunbattle,' chief says(New Orleans)

Times Picayune ^ | January 03, 2009, 9:47 | Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy

[BBell]

Seven New Orleans police officers fired their weapons at a 22-year-old man who was killed early Thursday while sitting in a car outside his grandmother's house, Superintendent Warren Riley said Saturday.

The seven were among nine officers reassigned in the wake of the fatal shooting.

Riley said Adolph Grimes III sparked a "gunbattle" with officers when he fired at an unmarked police vehicle that pulled up next to his car. The officers, who were involved in undercover patrols, were wearing street clothes.

Grimes died in the shooting near North Claiborne Avenue and Gov. Nicholls Street.

Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard said Grimes was struck by 14 bullets, with two hitting him in the front torso. The other 12 wounds were in his lower back and legs, Minyard said Friday.

At a news conference Saturday, Riley disputed that characterization, saying Grimes was hit in the front, on the side under the arm and "near the back." Although he said "numerous" rounds were fired, Riley said he could not give an exact number.

[jws3sticks]

The line from another posting on this same bit is priceless:

The victim was probably shooting over his shoulder, as he was running away.

Hence all the bullets in the back. Ya right!

[PistolPaknMama]

How is a magazine for a gun considered high velocity?

If you throw it and hit somebody in the head, it will leave a mark. That would be my guess. :-)

[csvset]

Damn. Some mo' fo's roll up next to you at zero dark thirty in the 'hood.

They're not there to ask for directions to the old folks home. Hell no!

Those mo' fo's are trying to jack yo' a**.

The cops were looking to make something to happen and they did. In effect, they set this sap up .

What's the matter with these folks? Doesn't anyone ask, "Who Dat?" , anymore.

[omega4179]

Dats right it was an asassination.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Seven cops in one vehicle? Must have been sticking together for safety reasons. /s

[Tribune7]

What kind of vehicle? Would there be more than one of you? Would you be dressed in whatever kind of thug wear that happens to be in fashion in NOLA? Would you be happen to be a tough-looking black male for the night?

I don't know enough about what happened to express a strong opinion but it's safe to say that the job of the police is to protect, not provoke, and it's very possible the police did something wrong.

[Gaffer]

Maybe the plain 'clothes' were really just your neighborhood "jackin' balaclavas".

We won't ever know the truth because the only one that would likely tell the truth is dead. NOPD is 'ridin dirty'.

[csvset]

Two cars.

Although Riley said two groups of officers in two unmarked cars were involved, he did not say when the second vehicle arrived.

The nine officers, part of a 1st District narcotics unit working undercover to target armed robbers, included three women and six men. They were dressed like tourists, and the women would pose as "decoys" -- potential victims -- for robbers, Riley said.

Let me guess. They weren't white guys dressed as tourists from Des Moines. See sample pic.

If posing as white guys from Des Moines,possibly could be one of the undercover cars used.

I'm guessing the officers were dressed as thugs. See sample pic.

Possible undercover vehicle used if dressed as thugs. See pic.

Possible greetings or interactions:

Hello citizen ! We are from the police department. We are here to wish you a happy new year.

Probably closer to: What up foo? Lemme see yo' hands muh fug!

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I see a major problem with “rules of approach” here.

Undercover police have to have a different set of rules than uniform police. But when undercover police start acting like uniform police, it defeats the purpose of wearing uniforms at all.

Undercover police should never engage in a home invasion, unless accompanied by, and *behind* uniformed police.

Undercover police should never approach a civilian as a policeman, but assume that because they are wearing a disguise, the civilian will also assume that they are another civilian, and one with hostile intent.

This is because civilian approaches are done for a reason, and in a bad neighborhood, often a hostile reason.

[BruceysMom]

Well of course, we know the cops are always wrong. I my self am a big fan of the old “shoot first, ask questions later” lifestyle.From this article where do you find the type of vehicle or the number of people? Should I shoot if it’s a Ford? I don’t like Fords. Maybe I’m just lucky. I live in a small town where the cops are only corrupt when it comes to drugs. Only a very few of them even qualify there.

[DocH]

Assault...high velocity

That's like the dumb-ass, publicity-seeking media-whore (don't these goofballs have PR officers to speak for their departments?) police chief (in California recently) reporting on the Santa Claus shooter. He said the suspect had a "high powered" shotgun and "high powered" semiautomatic handguns.

Such B.S.

[DocH]

NOPD is without question a brutal force

At least, when they're not fleeing hurricanes or looting Wal-Mart for "free" goodies during civil unrest.

[arthurus]

all the cops involved were dressed to do under cover ops.

All the cops were dressed like street punks and hijackers..

[Tribune7]

Well of course, we know the cops are always wrong.

I won't say that. I won't even say they are usually wrong. But they can be and when they are it's bad.

[BBell]

He may had said high capacity and the idiot reporter,with a Pavlov reaction, only heard high velocity.

[Charles Martel]

Funny how everyone is assuming the cops are legit. I watched every season of “The Shield” and based on this, I think we have a rouge unit of police officers running rampant.

Indeed, these cops seem to shoot a lot better than the average NOPD crowd. I can't help but think that there's some sort of Magnum Force thing going on.

I know N. Claiborne is a tough patrol area which pretty much necessitates the use of undercover clothes and vehicles, but it sure sounds like the police procedures involved failed to anticipate the likelihood of spooking someone into a rash reaction.

[BBell]

When this incident first happened I figured they spooked some unsuspecting guy. It was strange that the NOPD held off until now to give the details that were initially reported.

[BBell]

It’s probably not strange, just SOP.

[MrEdd]

It’s a special magazine that accelerates to supersonic velocities when thrown at police officers.

Every “Journalist” knows that.

You’re just showing how ignorant you are compared to a reporter.

[wastedyears]