To: rolling_stone
"When asked during our investigation why the passenger door was not closed, Lt. Jerry Andrews indicated that if he or another officer had moved to that side of the car, he would have been in the line of any potential crossfire," the THP statement says. "Remember, at this time, the troopers on the scene were still under the impression that a felony may have been committed, and were acting accordingly."
I'm not buying this for a second. The tape clearly shows a THP officer approach the driver's side of the car shining his flashlight into the car. Someone needs to explain to me why he couldn't have proceeded either around the front of the car (not preferred) or the officer on the passenger side could not have moved up to the door and closed it (which he did do after Patton exited/was shot and Smoak's son was handcuffed).
Clearly, these officers prioritized the threat of the dogs leaving the vehicle - a gambled risk they lost. I can't help but wonder if this had actually been a car of felons, with firearms and aggressive dogs. It seems to me that angry barking dogs in the car may have prompted a sooner effort to close the open passenger side door.
To: optimistically_conservative
"When asked during our investigation why the passenger door was not closed, Lt. Jerry Andrews indicated that if he or another officer had moved to that side of the car, he would have been in the line of any potential crossfire," the THP statement says. "Remember, at this time, the troopers on the scene were still under the impression that a felony may have been committed, and were acting accordingly."And the very next line of the same article states:
"Officers here in Cookeville who were not involved in the case and who viewed the tape yesterday said they believe it shows a trooper standing right beside the passenger door just before the dog hops out."
It sure looks like a trooper is standing next to the passenger side door when McWhorter passes him the cuffs, and even if he's not close enough to reach the door he's still in the line of fire that THP was worrying about.
To: optimistically_conservative
"Remember, at this time, the troopers on the scene were still under the FALSE impression that a felony may have been committed, and were acting accordingly."
678 posted on
01/14/2003 3:04:39 PM PST by
cinFLA
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