Shot dead. Live on TV

[bottomend]

I just saw a guy in a car chase shot by police on TV. Long Beach CA. Holy Moly.... Camera didn't pull out. I saw everything. Anybody else?

 

Sorry to post this. I just needed to tell someone.

Thanks.

[bottomend]

Update; the guy is still alive. He didn't move for a long time while lying on the ground then they sent a dog to attack him and it was pulling on his leg like it was a toy.

Looks like he took at least 4-5 shots. He had a gun that went flying out of his hands.

 

Man, I never wanna break the law....

[not Cereal]

good ol' pigs. got no love for em.

[theblue1]

Geez. We don't need another police shooting here right now. A homeless guy was shot dead down by the fish museum -- er, aquarium. According to the cops, he was swinging a heavy chain with a large, heavy lock on the end and advancing on a marine patrol officer who first tried to wield his baton (too short) and then, after backing up 50 feet (according to the police) shot the guy dead. Both shots stopped in the guy's body, which was good, because there were a lot of people around.

 

 

Not nearly so crazy as the LA Sheriffs who let go a fusilade into a car that wounded another deputy and smashed windows in surrounding houses. Residents counted nearly a hundred shell casings (few cops use revolvers anymore) and there were a number of occupied apartment buildings and houses hit in the hail of gunfire.

 

Since the suspect didn't have a gun and the car wasn't moving, they think it may have been a "chain reaction" shooting where one cop hears another cop shoot so they all empty their guns into whatever's in front of them -- including other deputies and houses. (Happily no residents or bystanders were hit.)

 

Nice, huh?

 

 

Now, there's no question that cops have a very, very hard job -- and occasionally it's a dangerous job. (But not, actually, nearly as dangerous as many other jobs, including convenience store attendant, meat processor, etc.) Still, I seem to be surrounded by people who think the cops in the LA area are trigger happy -- and sometimes I think so myself. Certainly the LAPD has systemic, ongoing problems that don't nearly stop with trigger-happiness or brutality.

[Ernest Buckley]

I wouldn`t want a cops job. I don`t blame them either for pulling out the pieces. Not for nothing, but the guy was running from them and resisting arrest? Whats the problem? I personally believe cops should carry UZIs to deal with the low lifes. And their cars should be equipped with laser guided missles.

 

Know what I mean?

[ViLo]

Originally posted by Ernest Buckley:

I wouldn`t want a cops job. I don`t blame them either for pulling out the pieces. Not for nothing, but the guy was running from them and resisting arrest? Whats the problem? I personally believe cops should carry UZIs to deal with the low lifes. And their cars should be equipped with laser guided missles.

 

Know what I mean?

Easy Ernest! Easy!

[not Cereal]

no. these "people" (sic) are out of control. i currently have twice the faith in criminals of the law than the criminals who are the law.

[theblue1]

I know what you mean, Earnest, but I really don't think it's the answer.

 

But, yeah, I think the police have every right to defend themselves.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of cops tend to make situations worse by their actions and attitudes.

 

 

A very good friend of mine is a peace officer, and apparently has done well in her department. But she says a lot of the men she serves with (and that's most of her fellow officers) got into police work because they want to "beat head" -- not out of the slightest concern for society. They're quick to tell you that they do care about the public good, she says, but they're really in it to work out their inadequacies, frustration and anger -- a lot of it directed at minorities.

 

I think that characterization sounds pretty uncharitable and I know she's probably expressing her own frustration with her own co-workers, but it, sadly enough, dovetails well with what we read and see in the news and on the streets.

 

________________________

 

 

PS... when the sh-- really hit the fan, the cops around here were nowhere to be found during the '92 riots. Stores were burning in my (old) neighborhood and in friends' neighborhoods across town and business owners had taken to their roofs with automatic weapons (really, I know two of them) -- but the cops were all clustered at the southeasternmost part of town, as close to Orange County as you can get, "protecting" the rich beachside enclaves of Belmont Shore and Naples. (I live in BS, now, but the ashes were fallin' on my head and I was standing with a fire axe in my backyard in the heart of town back then. Not a cop in sight as the stores burned and teams of looters moved in caravans of cars, torching one Asian shop after another.)

 

The cops were total punk--ses. Worthless. Worse than worthless.

 

 

[And they actually forced most of those guys out back in the mid-90s. The PD here is hugely improved and no longer virtually all-white except for the black chief, who was openly defied by the rank and file. But he was forced out, too, and it seemed appropriate.]

 

 

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was struck by a an officer with a baton and pushed down a long flight of stairs by LAPD officers without provocation in 1978 and the same night I saw them chase down, knock to the ground, and beat a number of people, including underage teenage girls. Even though I was a veteran of the anti-war protest movement and had been at or near a number of violent confrontations with police, these were some of the most brutal -- and unprovoked -- police beatings I've ever witnessed. (And, sadly, I've seen more than a few.)

[KenElevenShadows]

I didn't see or hear about this. Just speaking for L.A. cops, I definitely see both points of view: L.A.'s police is grossly undermanned for such a huge area, and often outgunned by the gangs here. Very tough job. But at the same token, a lot of them are really unfriendly assholes and bullies. It's definitely a bit both around here.

[theblue1]

True enough, Ken.

 

My sympathies always start with the police. The criminal gangs can be completely ruthless -- and completely reckless.

 

But all too often, it seems, the police around here seem like they often can't tell the bad guys from average city dwellers. (Most of the LAPD, as was much written about around the time of the riots, live far from LA, often not even in the county. Many of them tend to cluster in nearly all-white "cop enclaves" like Simi Valley.)

 

Oftentimes, they seem to have little understanding of the communities they're assigned to police -- and little interest in finding out about them.

 

To some of them, anyone who is young and not dressed in a MacDonald's uniform is almost certainly a law breaker and probably a threat.

 

Profiling is the rule and the profiles are broad.

 

 

Normally, the police in my town don't even seem to see me, a middle aged white guy driving a mid-90's Corolla. But if I put on my khaki souvenir ball cap from my favorite coffee house, bingo, there's a very good chance I'll be quite obviously tailed, sometimes for miles. It's pretty bizarre. All it takes is the cap.

 

I can only imagine what "driving while black" feels like. (Well, actually, I've got a fairly good idea from friends's stories and watching the coppers pulling over folks in my old hood, er, neighborhood.)

[Ernest Buckley]

I think that characterization sounds pretty uncharitable and I know she's probably expressing her own frustration with her own co-workers, but it, sadly enough, dovetails well with what we read and see in the news and on the streets.

Lets not forget that the MEDIA tends to show us what sells. No one wants to hear good news. No one wants an exclusive on a babys first steps. Cops get a bad rap IMO. Tough job, lousy pay, etc...

 

Yes, I have stories too but you know what, if some Ahole is running down the highway at 90mph, he is a danger and must be taken down. I wouldn`t follow him actually, let the heli do it and follow the bastard. Then when he cools down, go in for the arrest. I don`t believe in violence so I don`t want my previous post to sound like I want the sucker dead but I do feel cops need alot more man power, fire power and tech to deal with the scum they deal with everyday.

[Prague]

The first thing all cop-haters do if they become a crime victim is call the cops. I hope they don't show up.

 

I've known way too many cops to know that the psycho-babble about cops is ... psycho-babble.

[Darklava]

and that's most of her fellow officers) got into police work because they want to "beat head" -- not out of the slightest concern for society. They're quick to tell you that they do care about the public good, she says, but they're really in it to work out their inadequacies, frustration and anger -- a lot of it directed at minorities.

I don't believe this I think you made this up.

[KenElevenShadows]

Originally posted by Ernest Buckley: I wouldn`t follow him actually, let the heli do it and follow the bastard. [/QB]

It'd be cool if it could just fly down, hook the guy's car, and fly 'im straight in to the police station!

[Ernest Buckley]

In the near future (like 5 years) all cars should be made to shut down from a direct electrical automation so that Aholes like this can just wonder, "what the?" when the car just comes to a halt and there sitting there. It would save lives and I think it would end car chases as we know it.

[not Cereal]

oh yeah, thats a great idea. why dont we also install tracking devices into our bodies?

 

yes, definately give these piggies more power than they have now. i dont need no stinkin civil rights.

[BlueSky]

Originally posted by bottomend:

I just saw a guy in a car chase shot by police on TV. Long Beach CA. Holy Moly.... Camera didn't pull out. I saw everything. Anybody else?

 

Sorry to post this. I just needed to tell someone.

Thanks.

Here are some of my observations from watching it live this afternoon on ABC7...

 

1) His girlfriend talked to police during the chase and said he was armed, very dangerous and thought he wouldn't be taken alive.

 

2) He was driving at 110 MPH on PCH and the 110 Freeway. He spun out once, but then got going again. He nearly hit some pedestrians on a surface street and in general he was driving like a totally wacko.

 

3) At the end of the chase, as he got out of the car in Long Beach, he started to run. According to ABC, after examining the video from their new HD Helicopter, they could see he had a gun in his hand. He stumbled and rolled as he started running (no shots were fired yet at this point), and the gun may have been raised towards the cops as he looked back at them, trying to regain his footing. As his arm moved, he was shot. This all happened in a McDonalds parking lot, with civilians (including kids) in the area.

 

It was not a pleasant thing to see, but it certainly seemed like the cops acted reasonably - at least to me. It all happened very fast.

 

http://abclocal.go.com/images/shot7.jpg

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/051105_pursuit/051105_pursuit5.html

 

There is video of it on this page...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/051105_nw_pursuit.html

 

...

[bottomend]

I've had to go to court on charges the police leveled againts me. TWICE! toatlly coorupt and totally bogus. I had no chance of defending my self. I just took what they threw at me and tried not be bitter.

 

I live in an area where street prostitution and drug use are clearly visible. Cars are freqently broken into and I've personally had the window to my apt broken 4 times. I finally had enough of this stuff a few months ago after a drug deal went down in my doorway. As an avid recordist, I got the whole thing on my PT rig. ( shotgun mic worked great through the door!) it took the cops 2.5 hours to show up . When they finnally got here they didn't even get out of thier car. they just flashed a light at the person passed out (satiated?) in my doorway.

 

I went to the police station a half mile away and told them about all the stuff that goes down on my street. I'[ve noticed a decline in the activity as of late. About 3 weeks ago a patrol car was on an adject street and I approaced it. The two cops (one female, one male) got out of thier car with thier hands on thier guns. I told them that I just wanted to say thanks because I've seen less weird random stuff going down around me lately.

 

I'm no "cop lover" but I HATE criminals.

[Bbach1]

The police have a tough job. They never know what situation will turn ugly or deadly for them. Yes, there are those who abuse their authority, and those who carry prejudice and preconceived notions, but by and large, they are humans doing their best. I would think that after a few years of dealing with the scum of the earth, people in law enforcement can become very biased and cynical. I think it would affect us all. Consequentally, it is easy to see them in a bad light. Without laws and those that uphold them, what you get is anarchy.

[not coaster MODERATOR]

sweet

 

one less sob running around los angeles

[Ernest Buckley]

When you live in a working class or poor neighborhood, you begin to understand why the "lower classes" tend to take the law into their own hands so often.

Thats a shame. If only we would take the same initiative with education and personal lives.

 

I`m not pretending that I`m coming from where you`re coming from...I`ve always lived in decent areas (Knock on wood) so I won`t even go there.

 

And I also agree that cops do not live where they work which makes no sense to me. That should be mandatory. How else can you know the people?

 

However we disagree on one thing: I would have asked my friends to help me slug the hell out of this intruder who was coming through my window!

 

[theblue1]

I was probably still editing my post when you posted, Ernest.

 

My friends, a former US army tank commander and his wife, who's now a cop, were convinced that they heard shots. They'd recently been through a drive-by shooting at his mother's considerably more inner city home. (The other friend there was a scrawny photographer blues musician.)

 

And honestly it sounded like there could have been shots.

 

We had no idea who was trying to come in or how many of them there were. In fact, when I tried to get them to go out my bedroom window into the backyard they said, no, we don't know who's out there, they could be waiting for us.

 

I dropped out the back window and snuck up to the front but there was no one there by then. (I'd started a 911 call as soon as we fled the front of the house. As I mentioned the cops showed up approximately 25 minutes later.)

 

 

Really, I was feeling pretty tough right at the top when I thought the guy breaking the window thought no one was home (it was a split second thing -- I didn't have a chance to think about all the lights and music on).

 

When I yelled "Hey, I'm calling the cops right now" -- I thought he'd appreciate the warning and take off.

 

When this deep, beyond sandpaper voice says: "Yeah, call the cops" -- and keeps on smashing the window -- meanwhile my friends are yelling "they're shooting at us" -- I just thought, okay, I'm done meeting this head on, let's get the hell outta Dodge.

[Ernest Buckley]

I hear ya!

[theblue1]

Sorry to prattle on.

 

It's one of those stories that just kind of spills out when I start to tell it.