Posted on 10/26/2013 1:04:01 AM PDT by moonshinner_09
Cops took no more than 10 seconds to fire six or seven shots into the body of dying teenager Andy Lopez after seeing him with a toy pellet gun. Mr Lopez was spotted by deputies on Tuesday afternoon in Santa Rosa, California, carrying the toy rifle, which they mistakenly thought was a real assault weapon. The time that elapsed between when officers reported the sighting to dispatch and then reported shots fired was only 10 seconds. Hundreds of local residents marched on Wednesday night to remember the popular teen and protest at the senseless shooting. They chanted 'We need justice' as they questioned how the deputies could mistake a pellet gun for an assault rifle.According to a police statement, Lopez was twice instructed to put down his weapon, officers opened fire after he failed to comply - only 10 seconds later. Sixteen seconds later, the cops radioed for medical assistance. Ethan Oliver, who lives across the street, told KTVU.com that the deputies continued to shoot at the boy, even after he had fallen to the ground. Oliver said he went outside after hearing two gun shots and by that time Lopez was already on the ground. ‘Then the cops went at it again and unloaded like six to seven shots,’ he said.When asked if he meant that the deputy shot Lopez while he was on the ground, Oliver said, ‘Yeah. Exactly what I saw.’ Authorities haven't responded to his claims, but it raises the possibility that Lopez was still alive when he hit the ground after the first two shots were fired.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
But why doesn't it apply to the boy too? Even if it had been a real gun, doesn't he deserve a trial? If the police are ok’d to blast anyone who doesn't say aye yes or no fast enough, just because they are armed that's pretty effective gun control. Step out side with a gun and you are fair game.
Back when I was a youngster, Myself and the other young people walked around with real guns. Also, the senior boys that took woodshop brought their guns to school to refinish the stocks if they wished. A lot of times I had been walking down the road heading home from hunting in the woods that were about a mile from the house and the Deputy Sheriff will pull up in his cat. He would say, “Where are you going?” I would answer , “Home”. He would say, “How far do you live?” I would answer , “About a mile from here.” He would say, “Get in the car and I will take you there”.
God Bless for you and your troops’ service. If cops were put under the same ROE as our warriors, they would all have desk jobs and messy pants - Y’all continue to be awesome in my book.
You better believe it.
I wonder what the real reason is, for the FBI to step in.
In high school, during hunting season, nearly every truck in the student parking lot had a rack full of guns. Some students came to class in camo.
I am astounded that so many Freepers defend this criminal police behavior. Different times do not justify different morals.
The primary reason for having a police force is to protect the public. A Secret Service agent's job is to protect the president, to the point of risking his own life, so, bluntly, the President's life is more important. Same situation for private security guarding a celebrity - protect the client with your life if necessary.
Likewise, the safety of the public supersedes the safety of the police. All the public, even those perceived to be, but not yet a threat.
Over emote much?
Does that also apply to chickenfinger in your kid's cafeteria???
” you have every reason to be shot dead on sight”
Welcome to the brave new world.
This will become the norm sooner rather than later.
It’s accelerating.
If he’d been beating the cop’s head against the pavement, I could see their point.
That is false. The legal standard can be found in any "justified use of deadly force" statute. It is to reasonably believe there is a risk of serious injury or death.
-- Merely looking dangerous is not sufficient justification. --
True for a "civilian" (what the cops view the public as), but the practical legal standard for cops allows them much more latitude in use of deadly force.
-- Police, controlled by unions, another entitled class, are abusing their authority. --
Union or not, cops have long held a "us vs. them" view of the world. And they stick together like glue, with ample assistance and support from the law, judges and prosecutors.
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
W.B. Yeats/The Second Coming
[maybe he was the “wrong breed”]
I object strongly to cops beating the hell out innocent individuals, the pictures of the results of said beatings posted here on Free Republic. I criticize the unnecessary shootings such as the former Marine in Arizona, the man in Texas, the guy in Cosco , the wrong kid in Maryland the FBI shot who was sitting in his car with his girlfriend , and others. And other law breaking by the police Thusly, I am now a cop hater.
I was once a supporter and defender of the police. I even taught my children and grandchildren that the police were their friends. I did not fear or dread being stopped by the police
I am now a cop avoider. And I flinch when a police car pulls up behind me while I am driving.
What act of violence did this boy commit that justified being shot?
Since when do we shoot people for merely carrying a gun?
Do you agree with those who favor abolition of the 2nd Amendment? What part of “keep and bear arms” do you oppose?
Does failure to hear/understand a police order with your back turned justify being shot? Is being deaf or listening to music, unaware of what is going on behind you, now a potential death sentence by a cop irritated that his orders are not being followed immediately?
Just the facts, please.
Apparently, you've never heard of Airsoft guns. They shoot mostly harmless small plastic balls. The main threat is eye injury ("you'll put somebody's eye out!").
This is police state overreaction on parade. If the kid didn't point it at anyone, they had no reason to shoot-- even if it was a real rifle.
I have a very close relative, now early 20s, with Asperger Syndrome, now renamed High Functioning Autism. They have a “social” age of about 2/3 of their chronological age. Even though they can often stay in their academic year grade, their maturity is very delayed.
What matters in a case like this is that especially under stress, they CANNOT process a situation like “neurotypical” folks. If a cop screamed at a 13-year-old with A.S. standing a yard onto a street during a parade, for example, they would totally freeze up. Deer in headlights. Can’t process. Can’t move. Can’t speak. The mental gears are jammed.
Ditto if a cop screamed, “Get down on the ground!” or “Drop the gun.” They would freeze up. Their gears would jam up, for example, at “Drop the gun!” Their first and only thought would be “Who? I don’t have a gun.” They are “literal thinkers,” and to a kid with HFA, a plastic replica is NOT a gun, it’s a toy. So the order has no meaning.
Parents of kids with HFA/A.S. live in fear of a situation exactly like this. In the time that their kid is frozen, unable to process the crisis situation, Joe Rambo Cop would shoot them down dead on the street. In a situation like this, for a kid with A.S. attempting to process with frozen mental gears, ten seconds is a blink of an eye.
To a cop, it might be a long time. Not to a “stuck” kid with A.S. during a crisis. For him, it’s a microsecond, and then he’s dead at a cop’s hand.
too bad the kid didn’t get the benefit of a little investigation before they killed him
“— In our legal system, you may not physically defend yourself until attacked. Threats are not sufficient to justify a violent reaction. —
That is false. The legal standard can be found in any “justified use of deadly force” statute. It is to reasonably believe there is a risk of serious injury or death.”
Not quite that simple, otherwise we should shoot at anyone driving a car.
That sure doesn’t look like the BB gun I used to have.
What is the reason for a manufacturer to even produce such a toy? I suppose because kids want a look alike AK47, but to be honest, even I would be put off looking at a kid carrying such a weapon.
When I was a kid I walked around with a real gun. Didn’t get shot.
I don’t hate cops. But I don’t like them, either. That’s what happens when you volunteer to be the “police” in a police state. People don’t like you nor do they trust you. You can kill citizens with the flimsiest of excuses. You can deprive people of their liberty and property with similar flimsy excuses.
It hasn’t always been this way, but the massive expansion of militarized police forces kicking in doors in the middle of the night has put all cops in the same category of the Geheime Staatspolizei and Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del. Adam 12 they ain’t.
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