[LuxMaker]

Examine the video.

[Lurker]

Later

[Old Sarge]

"He should've armed himself, then..."

[Go Gordon]

What did you expect. You can’t shoot him in the arm.

[SolidWood]

From what I can see on the video... murder. I can't see anything threatening for the police officers. Even less something warranting a shot in the head of a person pressed on the floor.

There will be an investigation, and I'd be surprised if the findings conclude something different.

[brytlea]

I don’t understand what happened. He doesn’t appear to be struggling with the officers or any sort of threat to them, however without sound and from the less that clear images it’s difficult to tell. I predict this is not going to go well for the police.

[NonValueAdded]

well, they couldn’t shoot him in the arms

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I bet the other cops about crapped themselves when he touched off that round right next to their heads.

[Kevmo]

I can’t believe I get to be the first one to say this twice in one week:

It was an obvious suicide.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

Thanks for posting this.

Frightening. Didn’t look to me that with that many police standing around the suspect with the suspect on the ground, I don’t see how the officer who drew the gun and shot the suspect in the head could have been justified in his action.

The people who took the two separate cell phone videos will be giving them to the attorney representing the victims family, so it should be a very interesting court case.

video cameras everywhere / everyone with a video camera cell phone and Internet information distribution outlets like Youtube now make it a lot harder for people who screw up to get away with it...

[gaijin]

BART PD isn’t the same as OPD, for sure, but I heard that in Oakland recruiting standards are such that documentation showing former membership in a street gang is NOT grounds for precluding an OPD candidate from employment there:

You can be an ex-gang member, but later go on to become a cop in Oakland, I heard.

[SpaceBar]

Just watched the video. I saw a murder.

[SolidWood]

the cop thought he was grabbing for his taser but somehow came up with his pistol.

Mistakes are made, but this mustn't happen... also why would he taser his head? The man is down. He could be tasered anywhere... very unprofessional and irresponsible for a 2-year cop at the very least.

[jwparkerjr]

I can see a couple of situations where a person might be shot like this. One would be if he told the officers he was wearing a bomb and threatened to set it off. Any movement that the officers could mistake for going for a button to push could result in being shot in the head at close range. Sometimes the detonating device for a body bomb is wired down the sleeve to let the person set it off without having to move their arms at all.

This is one of those that's simply going to have to await a long, detailed investigation. With video like this it's going to have to be a top-notch team and investigation.

Who knows what was going on in that scuffle or what was said by whom. One thing about situations like this, they seldom turn out to be as cut and dried as the video makes it look.

[org.whodat]

That was murder by cop!!!!

[dsc]

1. I couldn’t see what happened at all.
2. BART cop?
3. The penalty for shooting a gangster should be receipt of a coupon for a free box of ammunition.

[gaijin]

BART PD Chief Gary Gee is on far right of photo (shows him as he appeared many years ago)

[PEACE ENFORCER]

I don't see what the "Big Deal" is... obviously it was an accident.... accidents happen.

[B-Chan]

I can’t tell if those cops were “protecting” or “serving”.

Either way, it sure looks like a murder to me.

[DocH]

Bet the newbie cop THOUGHT he was deploying his pistol shaped (THAT makes sense!) Taser (don't tase me bro!).

Oh well.

[cacoethes_resipisco]

This terrible situation can bring some good by bringing to the public attention that mistaking a sidearm for a taser happens entirely too often. Here are several instances from a quick google search:

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20060623&slug=webtaserpistol23

http://www.policeone.com/police-products/less-lethal/taser/articles/1688940-Kentucky-cop-accidentally-shoots-man-meant-to-draw-Taser/

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-33440.html

Those stories refer to several other incidents, as well.