Posted on 12/10/2013 2:59:21 PM PST by markomalley
A 23-year-old Texas university student was shot dead by a police officer during an altercation in which the unarmed and usually mild-mannered student allegedly assault the officer and asked, “Oh, you’re going to shoot me?”
The officer did in fact shoot him six times, killing him.
Robert Cameron Redus is an honors student at the University of the Incarnate Word, a private Catholic institution in San Antonio, Texas. Redus’s friends describe him as “not aggressive,” “gentle,” and “well-liked,” according to local news.
UIW police officer Chris Carter pulled over Redus at 2:00 a.m. on Friday night for unknown reasons. The argument between the two quickly became heated, and Redus attacked, according to an Alamo Heights Police Department press conference. Redus successfully wrestled Carter’s police baton out of his hands, and started beating him over the head with it.
Carter reacquired the baton, and told Redus that he would open fire if the student refused to surrender. According to Police Chief Richard Pruitt, Redus charged the officer once again, forcing Carter to shoot him.
A neighbor who overheard the exchange said that Redus asked the officer if he was going to shoot.
“’I heard [a man] say, “Oh, you’re gonna shoot me?” like sarcastic almost,’” said the neighbor.
Carter fired six times.
Devastated friends described Redus’s alleged behavior that night as strange, given the student’s usual demeanor.
“He’s not an aggressive person at all,” said Sarah Davis, in a statement to local news. “The story just doesn’t really make sense to any of us.”
The officer in question has been placed on leave pending an investigation. The university said that Carter has an “extensive law enforcement background.” But according to the San Antonio News, Carter has held eight different jobs in his eight years as an officer.
The police department did not respond to a request for comment.
I’m in VT so things may be different in your location but all of our city cops and even university cops are state police officers. Smaller colleges do have security guards (not cops) who have very little authority and generally are not armed.
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It does seem like overkill to me, but if you've ever seen a person crazed with drugs or alcohol, it may not have been. Also, the kid was in very good shape, and had already wrestled the baton away from the cop once.
I hope that the police did their jobs and photographed the cop in question-head, hands and so on, to show any injuries, or lack of injuries.
“The kid” was not available for comment.
Did the cop shoot a dog, too? If not I’m sure he’ll be reprimanded for slacking off.
What evidence is there that could account for causing a reportedly mild-mannered kid to physically and violently resist authority?."
You answered your own question.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
It appears the answer to his question was “yes”.
Yes, on the second reading this makes more sense. Still, it's very strange that a cop empties his gun into a shy student for no good reason at all. Most likely there was some physical altercation. Insane cops are rare, but they do exist (Chris Dorner was one, AFAIK.)
This doesn't appear to be a very hard case to solve, though. Did the deceased leave any fingerprints on the baton? Does the cop have any lumps on his head? Does any of them have drugs in their blood? The investigator will get these answers automatically. Then, where the deceased was going from at 2am? What was he doing there? (It is relevant to his state of mind.)
If I were to guess without those facts, it's much more likely that the student was on drugs than that the cop was on drugs. Just one "experiment" could completely blow his mind.
Oh, so you know him personally? Or maybe you've read about him over the years? Maybe you were hired to investigate his background for an attorney trying a case against him? You must know him somehow, to have made such a judgment on his character. Furthermore, you must have personally witnessed the incident, to know for a fact that he is a "tin god" cop who overstepped his bounds.
Otherwise you'd just be talking sh*t.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
In some cities that would mean that the school district PD would have jurisdiction in the entire city. That's not really a limitation that has any real meaning, is it?
The kid was obviously capable of taking the cop down and the cop was given a chance to walk away, but no-oooo-oooo ... he HAD to show who was the boss.
One needlessly dead kid
The cop's a murderer .. IMO
That’s my first thought...and he would have been justified if he had shot him while the student had his baton. This is a strange story...
Uhh...just so I understand you, the cop makes a stop, the kid assaults him with his own baton, and the officer is supposed to just walk away from it??
A campus cop is typically one that is either a) just out of the academy or b) nearing retirement.
A cop that has been on 8 jobs in eight years is neither of the above.
This story smells to high heaven.
there is a valuable lesson here.....when someone has a gun, and that person orders you to stop....it is highly recommended that you obey....specially late at night, like 0200hrs...
I hate cops
Cops walk away all the time .. for whatever reason .. this could have been one of those times.
Who was around to see his embarassment ?
Never seen one walk away after being attacked...never. Nor should they...ever
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