Current Affairs George Floyd and Minneapolis Unrest

[JimmyJeffers]

He robbed a taser off a policeman and then fired it at him. Hardly a minor misdemeanour.

He also showed absolutely zero concern for the lives of others when he drove a car drunk.

Fair enough. At the time he was shot he was posing absolutely no threat of taking a life though. You can’t use the past offences he made to justify the outcome.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

The guy was running away from the policemen. He had fired the taser. The policemen were not in any immediate danger. If in that split second the policeman's decision was to shoot then he has shown himself to be completely unsuited to being a policeman.

I’m not sure why a couple of posters are finding this hard to understand tbh

 

[Deleted member 48881]

 

[Kenshin]

99.999% of police officers dont murder black people. Why would you ring fence millions of people in such a way ?

I don’t mean ’you’ as in you specifically, btw.

Even if it's as ridiculous a number as that it indicates there is a problem in the system.

Why other countries can manage to keep police killing others to a minimum and America still seem to do it on a regular basis for the worst reasons.

That's the problem with it. Of course it's a minority but when innocent people die at the hands of police because of a mistake? Of minor misdemeanours that wouldn't even be worth an arrest?

That's the issue Americans have with a whole host more we don't even have a clue about. It's not the fact police kill people , it's how many of them die , how many innocent people die for police having the wrong address. When police make a mistake that results in an innocent dying , don't you agree there is a problem.

Imagine if you got a phone call today saying your sister has died because police raided the wrong house and shot on sight?

 

[peteblue]

And yet the USA is not the only one...

List of countries with annual rates and counts for killings by law enforcement officers - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Del-boy]

Even if it's as ridiculous a number as that it indicates there is a problem in the system.

Why other countries can manage to keep police killing others to a minimum and America still seem to do it on a regular basis for the worst reasons.

That's the problem with it. Of course it's a minority but when innocent people die at the hands of police because of a mistake? Of minor misdemeanours that wouldn't even be worth an arrest?

That's the issue Americans have with a whole host more we don't even have a clue about. It's not the fact police kill people , it's how many of them die , how many innocent people die for police having the wrong address. When police make a mistake that results in an innocent dying , don't you agree there is a problem.

Imagine if you got a phone call today saying your sister has died because police raided the wrong house and shot on sight?

I agree. The issue is that 99% of households in the America have a firearm. The vast majority held legally.
If your a police officer going into the address this would automatically put you on edge.
A person in possession of a firearm who’s on edge probably isn’t the best combination, police and public.

Until America address their gun issues people are always going to get shot and killed, lawfully and unlawfully.

 

[sdk]

The issue is that 99% of households in the America have a firearm.

For 2019 it was estimated that a bit under 45% of US households had guns.

 

[Chewbacca]

I agree. The issue is that 99% of households in the America have a firearm. The vast majority held legally.
If your a police officer going into the address this would automatically put you on edge.
A person in possession of a firearm who’s on edge probably isn’t the best combination, police and public.

Until America address their gun issues people are always going to get shot and killed, lawfully and unlawfully.

But guns don’t kill people

 

[BlueTX]

A taser would temporarily paralyse the cop and the criminal could easily disarm the cop. The cop had the right to defend himself here.

As I understand it, the officer did not have the right to use deadly force according to GA law and police procedure (a Taser is not legally considered a deadly weapon). Which is, again as I understand it, why the officer was fired by the police department.

 

[Osamabindiesel]

If its like every taser I have ever heard of, its a one-shot thing (though if he knew what he was doing he might have been able to remove the bit that shoots the wires and just have it as a contact taser).

Though watching @Nymzee's video there it is perhaps significant that the cop who chases him looks like they still had their taser (they throw it away just before they get their gun out), and their colleague wasn't nearby (though one might have been coming into shot at around 0:15). The cop might have had justification to do that (shoot him) - though the taser would be non-lethal, being stunned by it would mean they would have reason to fear that they wouldn't be able to stop the bloke taking their actual gun off them.

Its the sort of thing that really needs a jury to decide one way or another.

Exactly. This falls into the grey area if anything. Possibly the wrong call, but Christ almighty if we judge every case the exact same way then nothing will ever get solved.

 

[Nymzee]

The cop might have had justification to do that (shoot him) - though the taser would be non-lethal, being stunned by it would mean they would have reason to fear that they wouldn't be able to stop the bloke taking their actual gun off them.

@Osamabindiesel

Just can't see how this is a thing tbh. The guy shot him after the man used the taser, a one-usage taser I might add, so after that's there's no issue of the cop being incapacitated. Also the fact there was another armed cop in pursuit that could just prevent the man taking the gun off the cop (not that this could have happened since he missed with his taser).

 

[Osamabindiesel]

@Osamabindiesel

Just can't see how this is a thing tbh. The guy shot him after the man used the taser, a one-usage taser I might add, so after that's there's no issue of the cop being incapacitated. Also the fact there was another armed cop in pursuit that could just prevent the man taking the gun off the cop (not that this could have happened since he missed with his taser).

To me, it is a poor judgement call. People in the States take drunk driving VERY seriously. Depending on the area, if you are behind the wheel, asleep or not, officers will almost certainly take you in (especially in a business parking lot). I’ve seen this before firsthand.

The guy didn’t just wimpily resist arrest, he fought back hard and stole a taser from the cop. Should the cop have fired his gun at the guy? No. He probably panicked. Is that a cause for sacking? Yes. Should he be charged? I’d have to know more information about the case.

Long story short, cops should be less reliant on their firearms and people should not resist arrest the way he did. There is no way I can pretend the other guy is blameless in this case. It’s not a merciless murder like Floyd.

 

[Nymzee]

To me, it is a poor judgement call. People in the States take drunk driving VERY seriously. Depending on the area, if you are behind the wheel, asleep or not, officers will almost certainly take you in (especially in a business parking lot). I’ve seen this before firsthand.

The guy didn’t just wimpily resist arrest, he fought back hard and stole a taser from the cop. Should the cop have fired his gun at the guy? No. He probably panicked. Is that a cause for sacking? Yes. Should he be charged? I’d have to know more information about the case.

Long story short, cops should be less reliant on their firearms and people should not resist arrest the way he did. There is no way I can pretend the other guy is blameless in this case. It’s not a merciless murder like Floyd.

Oh yeh wasn't comparing it to Floyd at all just seen a few peeps on the web try say the cop did the protocol thing which baffled me. Maybe he only resisted arrest the way he did because of the Floyd stuff though?

 

[tsubaki]

@Osamabindiesel

Just can't see how this is a thing tbh. The guy shot him after the man used the taser, a one-usage taser I might add, so after that's there's no issue of the cop being incapacitated. Also the fact there was another armed cop in pursuit that could just prevent the man taking the gun off the cop (not that this could have happened since he missed with his taser).

tasers can only fire their projectile once, but most of them can still be used (but they have to be brought into contact with the person)

 

[riddick]

To me, it is a poor judgement call. People in the States take drunk driving VERY seriously. Depending on the area, if you are behind the wheel, asleep or not, officers will almost certainly take you in (especially in a business parking lot). I’ve seen this before firsthand.

The guy didn’t just wimpily resist arrest, he fought back hard and stole a taser from the cop. Should the cop have fired his gun at the guy? No. He probably panicked. Is that a cause for sacking? Yes. Should he be charged? I’d have to know more information about the case.

Long story short, cops should be less reliant on their firearms and people should not resist arrest the way he did. There is no way I can pretend the other guy is blameless in this case. It’s not a merciless murder like Floyd.

I've got a separate issue with that as well. People have been arrested for falling asleep in their car because they felt they were too drunk to drive. It's beyond ridiculous that driving whilst intoxicated is the ONLY thing that people say "well...he COULD do it so we arrested him". Not that there was intent or even an attempt to.