no, this is bullshit. he went into the car to get his license on request, gets shot, then the cop says he told him to get out of the car. this is just a dumb cop that needs to find a new career.
datapro007
How about inmate?
deathtokoalas
i think it's stupidity, not malice.
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deathtokoalas
he's more of a menace to society being taken care of for 50K/year in a for-profit prison than he is struggling to pay his rent by flipping burgers at mcdonalds...
he should be banned from operating firearms, i'd argue permanently. if an underlying condition can be established, it would probably also require that his license be revoked. that's likely enough to prevent him from harming people as a consequence of his stupidity in the future.
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deathtokoalas
i'm getting some weird responses, so i just want to clarify my position.
the problem with coming down on him really hard is that it doesn't accomplish anything except make you feel better about yourself. it doesn't make anybody safer. it doesn't deter future behaviour. it doesn't rehabilitate the offender. it's just an act of vengeance - nothing more.
the law reacts differently when the person shooting is a cop compared to when the person being shot is one. that's an easily explained consequence of a hierarchical system. the solution is not to clamp down on the cops, but to ease up on the hierarchy.
you can't get to fairness and freedom by constructing deeper systems of tyranny. it's just the wrong approach.
with this guy, particularly? he's not evil, he's just stupid.
in terms of liability, he should clearly be responsible for medical costs. there's no logical connection between his action and any other punishment.
it's just barbarism to carry out acts of vengeance like that.
Marques
I hear you, but I definitely disagree. You can't say that putting him in jail would not deter future shootings by police. That might be an opinion, but I'm sure there is no empirical evidence to back that claim up. And like it or not, our entire judicial system is based on "vengeance ". Otherwise, why have any consequences at all? now I still see some logic in what you think should happen, I just also think it should be in tandem with Penal consequences.
If you truly in your heart believe that this police officer should not serve any time over shooting and damn near killing this man, then I'd like to know what you think is a "jailable "offense? If a man walked down the street next to you right now and opened your head up with a crowbar, would you be okay with him just paying for your medical expenses? Or would you expect him to have to suffer some sort of consequences for negatively impacting your life?
deathtokoalas
i don't think the community has the right to impose "punishments" on people as a "consequence" of their behaviour. that's a type of moral absolutism that i'd consider to be very primitive thinking and should be abolished along with the religions that it comes from. part of being an atheist is rejecting moral absolutism.
i do think that the community has the right to protect itself. somebody randomly bashing me with a crowbar - cop or not - is an indication of mental illness. really, that's the dominant characteristic - i think we have the right to remove crazy people from society so they can't hurt us.
but, i don't get the impression that the cop in the video is a threat to repeat, and i consequently don't see any reason he needs to be removed for protective purposes.
else3573
Are you insane? By the way, yes, he had 5 prior complaints against him. But you think people should just be allowed to shoot someone and not serve time for it? Wow, I guarantee if it was your mother, father, brother, etc shot you'd feel different.
deathtokoalas
i know it's difficult to get beyond the idea of thinking that society has the right to punish people. but, it's a function of statist, hierarchical thinking and the religious brainwashing that upholds that system. once you're able to remove yourself from the mental limitations of religious type thinking, you'll understand that neither you, nor society, nor a church, nor any other institution acting on behalf of any other imaginary entity or contrived moral system has any prerogative whatsoever to impose punishments on any other living creature. there's just no way to arrive at this point without reconstructing the religion.
however, as mentioned, i do believe that society has a right to protect itself. if this individual has five prior issues, that is valid information to be used in determining his mental health. and, if it's determined that he's not of sound mental health then society has a right to institutionalize him for it's protection.
that's not the same thing as punishing him.
i might clarify that mental health issues are generally not resolvable, and consequently ought to come with a life sentence rather than a prison term.
however, it's also a medical condition and consequently ought to come with a level of humane treatment.
LOLO Tom Cat
I'd like to know what is protocol when pulling over someone who has clearly existed their vehicle before police has made a complete stop. I don't hear any siren or any reflections from the police lights so I'm assuming he may have just been trailing him into that gas station without actually stopping him or pulling him over. Instead of asking him for his Driver's License to run in the computer, he should have told him to not to move and tried to establish some sort of dialogue which hopefully would have put both parties on the same page. Not openly shoot at someone for going into their car at this point, it seems like your gun is already out and ready to fire once he existed his car. Why not then tell him to FREEZE?