The Law Enforcement Officer Thread

Basically the chaos is focused in Uptown

This, I kind of feel was something not justifiable to riot over

I'm safe at home but almost felt like going over just to witness

Stay home. No riot was ever made better by the addition of more people.

Then again, hasn't a State of Emergency been declared and the National Guard been called in?

Mind you, the way things are going, might we see a US version of Bloody Sunday?

edited 22nd Sep '16 5:37:06 AM by Greenmantle

I suppose anything's possible, but that would depend on a great many things. A few pages back we were discussing various reasons why you don't normally see that kind of reaction to National Guard or Army troops responding to riots, ranging from different procedures used by the troops vs the police, to rioters not having any particular beef with the military (and vice versa), to the riots mostly calming down on their own by the time the military arrives.

The cop involved in the Tulsa shooting has been charged. Its only manslaughter but its something.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/us/tulsa-officer-charged/index.html

There are of course exceptions. The LA riots had some folks taking pot shots at the Guard but no one made any serious attempts to take them head on except for two yahoos who got shot. Then you have Kent State where several knuckle heads were throwing tear gas and rocks at the guardsmen before shit went pear shaped. My money is someone panicked ie the Officer who reportedly was the first to start shooting and a bunch of others followed suit.

Now guardsmen these days are usually better trained and equipped with riot gear at some units but that doesn't stop some dipshit with a rifle starting a nasty event.

I was surprised that during the Ferguson that the mall ninjas on roof tops didn't start something nasty. Then we have events like the parade shooting. All it would take is one angry dummy in any one group or even a extremist 3rd party type to cause havoc.

edited 22nd Sep '16 4:13:32 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Thanks AFP, did the sensible thing.

Third night seems more calm yet the guy in critical condition died.

Scott's family is saying the video footage on the incident is unclear on what Scott was holding in his hands. They want it public, though I don't think the police department is willing, nor can they really be forced to under Mc Crory's new law I guess?

McCrory's new law is a steaming pile of horseshit that'll make it easier for cops to get away with murder, if you ask me.

So, Robert Bishun was a cooperating witness who was going to testify against an NYPD officer who had been accused of running with a violent drug ring. Before he could do so, he was abducted and found strangled to death in the back of his BMW. A federal judge states that it sounds like a contract killing.

Video footage of Keith Lamont Scott's shooting, recorded by his wife, has been released. The shooting itself is not visible, but audible. In it, you can clearly hear his wife repeatedly saying "don't shoot him," "he has no weapon," "he didn't do anything." As well as "he has a TBI" (traumatic brain injury).

The officers can be heard shouting at Scott to drop the gun (North Carolina is an open-carry state, it bears repeating). And once again, Scott had a brain injury, which can impede reaction speed and situational understanding. Something that his wife told the officers.

Something else worth noting. In a picture supposedly taken by a witness soon after the shooting, there appears to be a gun lying at Scott's feet. In the video just released by his wife, however, immediately after the shooting, no gun is visible.

If this is the case, do they honestly think that they can get away with planting a weapon (at least in the court of public opinion) in this day and age?

In this day and age, and climate? I want to say no, but the truth is that there is very little that surprises me anymore. So I'll say what I always end up saying - I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the cops here never end up receiving any sort of punishment for this. I mean, we live in a society where a cop can strangle Eric Garner to death on camera and still not be indicted.

Although in fairness, footage recently surfaced of a 2011 police shooting of a black man. In it, the officer can be heard saying "I'm going to kill this motherfucker, don't you know it," before proceeding to do just that, shooting the suspect five times with his personal AK-47. (St. Louis cops are not allowed to carry personal weapons, least of all AK-47s.)

The video then shows what is allegedly the officer planting a gun on the suspect to make the shooting look legit. The suspect's DNA was not found on the gun, but the officer's was. The officer is now being charged with first-degree murder (though he is not being charged with planting the gun).

So hey, there are occasionally consequences. We'll wait and see what the verdict is.

In North Carolina? Yeah he'll get away with it unless the feds get involved directly. It's hell down here.

On a slightly lighter note: Duffelblog: Veteran who deployed once, never fired weapon, now expert on police use of force.

I thought it was funny, given some of my own sentiments.

I admit I'm being a little extreme — but would it surprise you if a Police Officer uses a heavy weapon (or missile) stolen from a National Guard armoury?

Yes? That's a bit of a silly question. Where would they even get one?

And why would they bother?

I...yes, I guess so? I would also be surprised if little green elves flew out of Donald Trump's ears.^note although not that surprised, it would explain a lot. I'm not sure where we're going with this.

I mean, to reference the article I linked on the 2011 shooting, I was surprised to learn that we have cops carrying around personal AK-47s.

Oh, and speaking of things that should surprise me but don't - a 15-year-old girl in Maryland was hit by a car while riding her bike. She was not seriously hurt - at least, not until the cops showed up to do their civic duty.

They seized her, handcuffed her, and when she dared to freak out, they pepper sprayed her repeatedly, prompting her to cry out "I can't breathe."^note A phrase that takes on a downright chilling edge when you remember the last time those particular words were the subject of a major news story. She's five feet tall and weighs 105 pounds. They then took her not to the hospital, but to the police station.

edited 23rd Sep '16 1:55:09 PM by RBluefish

I'm surprised that he opted for the AK than an AR like most around here. Lots of cops keep shotguns and rifles in their car and many use their own personal handguns on the job.

Somehow I doubt using pepper spray in an enclosed environment like the back of a police car is a best practice.

Positive side of Police and National Guard interaction with the public in Charlotte In general everyone was getting along and being nice to each other.

edited 23rd Sep '16 3:39:17 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Basically.

Thursday was relatively peaceful. There was a stated curfew but since there was way too many people they decided to not enforce it as long as it stayed peaceful.

Helps that it was more organized with better leadership. Protesters seemed more friendlier to National Guard than police understandably; beef isn't with them and no one rational is going to start a fight with the military.

Coworker there said outside station police chief and others were out and handing water to the protesters.

Reason why police won't release footage now is that they don't want it to interfere with witnesses submitting testimony and that they will release it when everything is gathered.

I doubt that.

Both police and family agree that video doesn't decisively tell what Scott was holding in his hands.

So idk

Even if he was holding a gun (a fact I harbor serious doubts about, partly for the reasons given above), holding a gun is not a crime in an open-carry state, much less a capital one.

I would like to point out that isn't true. Having a gun in hand is pretty universally seen as having a weapon with intent to use it. Gun in a holster is something else entirely. If there was in fact a gun involved and he had it in hand Open Carry does not reasonably factor into this especially when confronted by police. Unless the suspect was ordered to put it down having it in hand is an issue. Open carry does not mean gun in your hand especially for handguns.

Well, police video is out.

Appreciated, but it's not easy to tell

Scott gets out of car, walks backward facing officer, who then fires.

His back is turned towards the camera so you can't really see what's in his hands