Posted on 07/10/2012 4:37:37 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
A Houston police officer fatally shot a man Monday who refused commands to stop and approached her with one hand tucked under his shirt, an official said.
Officer J. McGowan shot the man, identified by relatives as Rufino Lara, about 4:30 p.m. in front of a vacant store along the 7000 block of Bissonnet near Fondren.
“I don’t believe this should be happening,” said his sister, Calixta Lara. “He never had a problem with the police.”
McGowan and her partner were investigating an assault at the center. McGowan told detectives five or six people were standing in front of the building when she and her partner pulled up.
The man later identified as Lara began walking away when McGowan’s partner started questioning the others, Houston police said.
She followed him along the walkway in front of the center, telling him to stop in both English and Spanish, said John Cannon, a Houston police spokesman.
“The male is ignoring her the entire time. She continues to tell him, ‘Show your hands. Show your hands,’ ” Cannon said.
At times, Lara would raise one hand but keep the other tucked under his shirt. He suddenly turned and faced McGowan in front of a vacant grocery. He hand was still tucked under his shirt.
The officer told detectives she was in fear for her safety. “She thought he might have a firearm with him,” Cannon said.
McGowan fired once and Lara, 54, died at the scene, police said.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.chron.com ...
So should the cop be charged like Zimmerman or should Zimmerman who had the results of the beating he actually took be free and uncharged. The rules need to be the same for both and I think we both know that is not how it is.
I think we both know that the Zimmerman case involves more that shooting, at least in the public and political minds that have driven the actions since the shooting was made public.
si senor, still the po po overreacted and if he had had a gun you know it would be on here
“Cops are not supposed to lose any fight. Regardless of your opinion of cops, they like you, have the right to go home after work.”
Do you understand that a cop returning home is not this nation’s first priority? If it were, we wouldn’t have any at all for fear of something happening to them.
Cops are expected to hazarding their lives to protection others, not shoot at the slightest sign of threat. You don’t see fireman crapping themselves as they go into harm’s way.
Cops have become cowardly, shooting at the drop of a hat, even through hostages. In a swat raid, a cop shot a dog. Another in the next room paniced and sprayed the wall, killing a teen girl and wounding her mother. Why? Because his getting home was all that mattered. Not his job to risk his life to protection the innocent. A job he chose to accept and can quit at any time.
At what’s point do you draw the line and say, “your fear was unreasonable. Now you pay for murder.” Or is a badge nothing but a license to kill.
Like I said earlier, the law says but it does not always work that way and the rules are not applied the same.
None of what is alleged is justification to kill a man.
Nope. You’re not convincing to me.
As the story is written, she was not justified in killing him.
Yeah, I would let him go and not murder him.
He got a death sentence for contempt of cop.
We the citizens have every right and responsibility to second guess the cops, criticize them, review thier actions to determine if they need to be punished, and tell them what they did wrong. It doesn’t matter if we’re not doing the job. We hired you to do a job, and we want it done our way.
You cops have to just get used to it and back off. Submit to our will or GTFO. Stop being a cop.
‘If Lara had continued to “walk away” he probably would not have been shot.’
So, the death sentence applies. We got it.
“There are approximately 740,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States.”
http://www.leoaffairs.info/faces/faces_oct_2003c.htm
Do the math: 0.00972972972972973 percent chance of being killed. About 1 in 10,000 chance. Much more likely to be killed DRIVING to the scene.
I think the “training” is flawed.
He might be holding up his pants, he might be hiding drugs, he might be a relative of Napoleon, he might have a gun. I don't know what he has in his shirt, but I can't take the chance, I MUST KILL HIM NOW.
Sounds like MURDER to me, but I'll wait for the facts to come out.
I am a harsh critic of police and mostly do not take their side but in this case (and based solely on what is reported here) it looks like a good shoot. If more facts come to light, I may change my mind.
Correct!
“You cops have to just get used to it and back off. Submit to our will or GTFO. Stop being a cop.”
Too many forget we were supposed to create the rules the operate under. That we expect to be treated as citizens, not subjects. Their lives are not worth more than the Constitutional limits of their power.
They forget that we expect cops to died, and even to died because of limits we place on what they can do.
They claim that without using swat, more cops will died serving warrants. They are probably correct. Probably true, but so what? We don’t expect them all to live, but we do expect them to behave in a civil and respectful manner.
We expect them to treat us with dignity, not to invade our home, catching my wife or daughter in the shower and humiliating them because the cops information is three years out of date or wrong address. Or killing innocent people who react out of surprise and shock. Harming innocents emotionally for years while the cops just truck on.
Why should they care? If it isn’t their family, hey.
So no, a cop’s life isn’t my first concerned. Him doing the job we paid for in a reasonable manner is.
So is protecting the lives of the innocent, even at the risk of their own lives, comes ahead of a cop’s life. They took the job and knew the risks. Quit whining or just quit.
Guess it’s good that you live across the pond, where Muslims and other foreigners have helped your courts and parliament to become so weak.
We don’t put up with that crap here in Texas and most of the US between the East and West coastal States. We do have weapons and the right of self defense; whether a law enforcement officer or a private citizen. Shocking, huh?
Don’t know, but she and her female partner were evidently trying to control at least 5 suspects, at least 3 of which were male. At least 2 of the men eventually went to jail, and one is now dead.
Discretion is sometimes the better part of valor. Police do call off high speed chases when public safety is jeopardized.
Letting this guy go, or at least following and not confronting him until a practical tactical plan could be set up would have been better. They (the officers and the Houston PD) had a bad tactical response to a fight with multiple suspects.
What did she think was going to happen when he turned around and raised his hand as commanded?
I will commend this community, in many other large cities this would start a war on cops and maybe even riots.
So, follow orders or else be subject to police execution? Just what country do you think you live in?
Also, cops are some of the worst shots there are. Your worship of them is noted.
The article says he didn't understand English but the family member quoted says she didn't believe the order was given in both languages.
Obviously he was stupid and stupid kills. It's fortunate the shooting officer was a woman or there might have been riots.
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