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Teen Shot To Death by Florida Police at High School Dance
Officer.com ^ | 2-28-05 | ???

Posted on 02/28/2005 10:24:11 AM PST by OXENinFLA

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A police officer fatally shot a 16-year-old boy outside a high school dance who was driving his car recklessly on campus grounds, officials said.

Jerrod Miller, a sophomore at Olympic Heights High School, died after he was shot about 9 p.m. outside a dance at another school, Delray Full Service Center, The Palm Beach Post reported.

Miller dropped off other kids at the dance and left, Delray Beach police said.

Then he returned and drove through the campus and its outdoor corridors, police said. Students were dodging his car.

An officer fired a shot in an attempt to stop the car, police said.

Relatives said Miller was a good kid who checked up on his grandmother and stayed off the streets.

''He wasn't that kind of kid. He was a good kid,'' said family spokeswoman Joelle Cornelius.

Delray Full Service Center is an alternative school for students with discipline problems.

Sunday morning, painted yellow lines marked the car's tire tracks and a small splatter of blood, scraped paint, and tire marks remained on the hallway wall.

Police declined to identify the officer or release additional information. A spokesman didn't return a phone message and page from The Associated Press.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: bang; banglist; danceshooting; donutwatch; leo
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To: Larry Lucido

Any cop that can't disarm a 16 year old boy without shooting shouldn't be on the force.


21 posted on 02/28/2005 10:37:55 AM PST by babygene (Viable after 87 trimesters)
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To: babygene

Too slow. Try again next time.


22 posted on 02/28/2005 10:38:47 AM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: OXENinFLA

23 posted on 02/28/2005 10:38:50 AM PST by stainlessbanner (Let's all pray for HenryLee II)
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To: babygene

Vehicular assault is a felony.


24 posted on 02/28/2005 10:39:29 AM PST by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: babygene
And why not just shoot the tires?

You've been watching too many movies.

25 posted on 02/28/2005 10:40:37 AM PST by sinkspur ("Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.")
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To: stainlessbanner

OOoohhhh. Cool USA Today-type graphics!


26 posted on 02/28/2005 10:41:08 AM PST by Skooz (Overtaxed host organism for the parasitical State)
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To: ken5050; All
I'm not trying to say what the cop did was right or wrong, I wasn't there and don't have all the facts.

It just seems kinda odd to me for his first reaction would be to start firing his gun.

He couldn't call for a squad car to stop the kid.

And if the cop was afraid the kids was driving erratically and might hit somebody w/ his car WTF is the cop doing firing his gun in the same direction?

27 posted on 02/28/2005 10:41:15 AM PST by OXENinFLA
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To: Hatteras
said family spokeswoman Joelle Cornelius

Odd phrase, isn't it?

28 posted on 02/28/2005 10:41:50 AM PST by anonymous_user (Not everything's a conspiracy.)
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To: OXENinFLA
"...Miller was a good kid who...stayed off the streets."

That's what they said about the drunk who insisted on driving down the sidewalk....

29 posted on 02/28/2005 10:42:09 AM PST by Joe 6-pack ("It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.")
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To: babygene

"Reckless driving is generally not a felony..."
Reckless driving through a government building is though. Destruction of goverment property.

And have you tried to shoot the tires of a moving vehicle? I'm willing to bet the cop tried to shoot the tires. We don't know the distance involved, what kind of car was driven, where the kid was hit (a shot in his stomach in a low riding sports car would be easy to make by accident while aiming for a moving tire)

There is more to the story than we know though.


30 posted on 02/28/2005 10:43:07 AM PST by MacDorcha
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To: OXENinFLA

Well, I suppose driving around campus seemed like a good idea at the time....


31 posted on 02/28/2005 10:44:05 AM PST by RichInOC (Delray Beach PD: If you don't like the way we shoot, stay off the sidewalk.)
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To: KC_Conspirator
"Vehicular assault is a felony"

From the article, "four or five girls standing nearby on the gym steps", does not constitute vehicular assault. Does it?
32 posted on 02/28/2005 10:45:52 AM PST by babygene (Viable after 87 trimesters)
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To: babygene

I will side with law enforcement on this one.


33 posted on 02/28/2005 10:46:24 AM PST by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: Joe 6-pack

From the graphic posted it looks like he WAS on the sidewalk.....


34 posted on 02/28/2005 10:46:32 AM PST by OXENinFLA
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To: MacDorcha
There is more to the story than we know though.

Absolutely.

There is no way for us to know exactly what transpired and how. It could be that the kid was driving toward the officer or a group of kids and the only recourse was for the cop to shoot at the car, hitting the driver. He may have actually saved lives.

That being said, I'm glad he wasn't around when I used to burn donuts around my old high school.

35 posted on 02/28/2005 10:46:33 AM PST by Skooz (Overtaxed host organism for the parasitical State)
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To: Skooz; OXENinFLA
more here

< snip >

According to 17-year-old Smith, the shooting unfolded like this: Miller did not respond to the officer's request for his license. The officer calmly asked Miller twice to get out of the car. The officer then stepped back and "looked like he was going to grab his gun." Miller then drove forward into a courtyard in front of the school's gym. Four or five girls were standing nearby on the gym steps. Two police officers chased the car, one with his gun drawn.

< snip > Another witness, Jamar Gammage, 16, said the car swerved, turned into the school's courtyard and began driving down an outdoor walkway. Gammage said he heard the tires squeal and then heard two shots.

It is the second time in five months that a Delray Beach police officer has shot and killed someone.


36 posted on 02/28/2005 10:46:35 AM PST by stainlessbanner (Let's all pray for HenryLee II)
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To: OXENinFLA
And if the cop was afraid the kids was driving erratically and might hit somebody w/ his car WTF is the cop doing firing his gun in the same direction?

The cop could control the bullet, not the car.

37 posted on 02/28/2005 10:46:38 AM PST by anonymous_user (Not everything's a conspiracy.)
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To: OXENinFLA
I'm not trying to say what the cop did was right or wrong, I wasn't there and don't have all the facts.

It just seems kinda odd to me for his first reaction would be to start firing his gun.

He couldn't call for a squad car to stop the kid.

And if the cop was afraid the kids was driving erratically and might hit somebody w/ his car WTF is the cop doing firing his gun in the same direction?

I agree with all of this.

38 posted on 02/28/2005 10:47:38 AM PST by American_Centurion
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To: OXENinFLA
"And if the cop was afraid the kids was driving erratically and might hit somebody w/ his car WTF is the cop doing firing his gun in the same direction?"

Finally an objective observation.

Is there an answer?

39 posted on 02/28/2005 10:47:42 AM PST by OldEagle (Haven't been wrong since 1947, except about Hillary.)
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To: Skooz

Yes, but those burnouts were probably in an empty parking lot, not on a lawn and sidewalk filled with students.


40 posted on 02/28/2005 10:47:59 AM PST by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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