...then what in the hell is this about? A West Pointer running amok outside of a Costco? Doesn’t compute.
More about the story. Be sure and follow the link for the whole story;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2551248/posts
“I couldn't agree with you more....My wife and I were 7 or 8 feet away from the shooting as were the police. We were to the suspects immediate right. We heard and saw the 3 police officers shouting to the man in question to ‘get on your knees’ several times. At that point the man appeared somewhat stunned by the commotion and shouting of the police. His Right arm went up in a defenseless position and it appeared his left arm appeared to be going up but there was NO gun in his hand. He was taserd and shot at the same time. At no time did the man in question ever raise his voice, shout an obscenity or become confrontational with the police. We saw the disabled man stooping to his right facing us with what appeared to be a bullet wound in his upper chest with blood coming from the wound and immediately his eyes became glossy as he began to convulse. At this point he was no threat to anyone, both hands were in full view of us and there was no gun. As he was down, the police continued to shout ‘put the gun down’ several times...but there was no gun in his hand as we had full vantage point view. The injured man was having agonal respirations, he was down when the second volly of bullets rang out. There was no doubt in question that following the second barrage of bullets the man was dead. His girlfriend was to the back side of us and began to scream.....why did you kill him, he is a military man with a license to carry a concealed weapon. You didn't need to kill him....you didn't need to kill him.
An officer then came up to the injured man who in my opinion was a ‘dead’ man’, was cuffed with his hands behind his back and no attempt by the officer to determine if the man was alive or dead. No apparent life saving aid was given to the ‘downed’ man. The man was totally lifeless when the Paramedics arrived on scene. I was absolutely surprised to see that no attempt at aggressive ACLS was engaged. They simply just picked up the body like a ‘sack of potatoes’ and hurled him onto the gurney and into the ambulance This was a crime scene.... the crime scene was violated. One of the paramedics who attended to an injured elderly lady said the man was dead. There was a dead man in front of Costco. What nobody is talking about is that there were many many spectators, many like ourselves within just a few feet of the victim when the shots rang out. It seems to me that the greater danger was posed not by the victim but by the police who fired many shots in the vicinity of the innocent public. I agree with you, I hope the media and your friends family can get their hands of Costco's Camera's which will indeed tell the rest of the story. Also it must be confirmed whether the second gun supposedly found by the victims side was indeed also registered to him as a licensed conceal and carry.
This whole incident was a monumental tragedy; a tragedy for the family and friend and also a tragedy for the involved officers who were pushed into a needless confrontation that reached hysterical proportions due to the overreaction of certain employees and bystanders. This was a needless death.
In summary it is our opinion that the victim did not pose an immediate threat to the public.....and in the final analysis was a case of excessive force
Flag
I'm looking forward to viewing the store videos. I bet Costco will claim camera malfunction.
I declare war on Costco, it started with a failed store policy which led to the death of an honest individual and may also lead to the end of several officers careers, or their freedom.
All because of Costco allowing the employment of a poorly trained individual that started the whole deathly issue.
I honestly hope many others see this the same as I do.
I demand compensation of no less than $25,000,000 to the family of the man killed, and I hope for more.
I realize that all police aren't bad, but crap like this just pisses me off.
I’ve heard 3 different accounts of this story
I’ve heard 3 different accounts of this story
I’ve heard 3 different accounts of this story
This is Erik’s father:
http://www.williambscott.com/williambscott.com/Home.html
About Erik:
“His father was in the Air Force, and his grandfather fought in World War II, friend Mike Pusateri said.
“The most loyal, honest, trustworthy, salt-of-the-earth guy you could meet,” said Pusateri, 38. “You only meet one or two of those kinds of guys in your life, and Erik is one of them.”
http://www.lvrj.com/news/slaying-of-army-veteran-shocks-friends-98223884.html
If there were video evidence supporting the Cops version of this story, it would have been made public immediately. The only reason it has not been shown in my opinion is to cover up the cold blooded murder of a private citizen by 3 thugs.
I have seen the cops getting more and more out of control. Its a product of the brainwashing that has been going on for the last 50-100 years in schools. Instead of teaching independence and a disdain for authority that early Americans cherished, we are giving our liberties away legally and putting up with over zealous cops. A lot of them are coming back from hot zones overseas after serving, and forget this is not a war zone.
While i respect law and authority, i am becoming ever increasingly disturbed by behavior of LEOs all over this country. Most of them don’t give a flying-flip about Constitutional rights. The majority are well intentioned, but a badge doesn’t give you the right to do what ever you want. I’m not sure this applies in this case, but from the reports i’ve read, there was nothing warranting killing this man.
I want to hear the 9-1-1 tape and see the Costco surveillance video that supports the Costco employee’s version of events.
NOT to excuse the murder of Mr. Scott, but this would be an active and potentially confusing situation to enter as a LEO. Add to that the poor job most people do communicating to 911. Again, this DOES NOT excuse the (apparent) unjustified shooting of Mr. Scott, but it does add a level of complexity. The tragic irony is that the victim likely had the training to properly handle the situation whereas the LEOs obviously didn't.
I hope those officers have consciences so guilty, that they can’t sleep. I hope they are tormented for taking an innocent life. It’s not Christian of me to do so, but that’s the way I feel. They need to be FIRED, pronto.
I would not want their job but I increasingly don’t trust cops. I believe they are being taught to distance themselves from treating the public like people and more like animals to be controlled.
The cops are so spooked that a traffic stop can turn out to be a life ending experience.
Frankly, it is feeling like we live in a police state. On the roads I travel there are not too few but too many cops and they all seem to be looking for someone to hassle. The more normal and innocent the better. No need to deal with the felons, hit on someone easy.
“Several witnesses at the scene say that Erik Scott never acted confrontational or touched a weapon when he was shot.”
From the article;
“Officers confronted the man outside the store. When ordered to get on the ground, police said he reached for his gun, and the officers opened fire”
When I was a cop, I had a situation similar to this except it was a traffic stop on a murder suspect. We had been told that he was armed. When I told him to slowly exit the vehicle with his hands raised and empty, he did so and did not get shot and he wound up being not guilty or even charged with the murder we thought he had comitted. Had he exited that vehicle with anything in his hands or made any quick movements, I would not have hesitated to shoot him. At the end of the day, IF one of us was going home alive, it was going to be me.
“Welcome to Costco, I love you”
My analysis based on many fine comments by actual witnesses http://www.8newsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=12785291——>>>>
Eric Scott got conflicting commands from these police officers. Two were rookies, only one veteran. The rookies blew it here. One command was to “take out your weapon and drop it”. Another command was to freeze. When Eric removed his weapon to surrender it he was shot by the idiots who told him to freeze. The Three Stooges were geniuses compared to these three officers
The acoustics in Costco might have lead to confusion among the police officers
Also blame the Costco worker (manager prolly) who phoned 911 about the man in her store with a gun and lied about this man (Scott) creating a disturbance. Who was too dumb to know that conceal carry is legal in her Costco store. I hope her name comes out and she should be charged with accessory to murder. Of course this won’t happen
CCW Reference bump! ;-(