Handcuffed black man shot in the back by BART officer, sparks riots.

[Shock]

The reaction from the officer was disbelief about what he had just done, which leads ME to believe it was an accident on his part. I'm in now way saying that what happened was not the officers fault, but there is always two sides to the story.

Also people in handcuffs get tasered all the time. Just because you're in handcuffs does not mean you cannot be a threat.

Sad story all around really.

 

[bmf795]

What does race have to do with this in the first place?? Just because the officer was white makes this a race issue?

 

[highfihoney]

the protesters, however, need to realize that they're not doing any good by tearing up a city.

Hi Abe,im not singeling you out,more like focusing on the comment.

I think riots are needed,our law makers & law enforcement agencies do not respond to emails & angry phone calls,they need to be responded to & dealt with in a manner that they can understand which is brute force.

All of our police agencies have lost their way,they have all adopted swat style tactics for dealing with even the slightest violation of any law,the tactics that they've been taught have led to many deaths & instances of police going overboard resulting in dead or half beaten citizens.

IMO the only thing police understand is violence,its what they know.

 

[highfihoney]

Just because you're in handcuffs does not mean you cannot be a threat.

Your kidding right,these animals in uniform are here to protect us,this whole new attitude police have rammed down our throats about the officers saftey comming first is exactly what leads to so many people getting beaten half to death,or in this case murdered,a man in handcuffs offers little to no threat to any other man,this is what happens when we started to allow the citizens protection to take a back seat to the policemans saftey,its a get out of jail free card for cops & they all use it daily to explain away their brutality.

You'd think differently if it were you in cuffs & some thug cop tasered you because you wouldnt "SHUT UP" when he told you to,then after tasering you he charged you with resisting arrest because you were loud & obnoxious.

No love for the police in my home.

 

[jonnythan]

I've been following this very carefully on another forum and there is some missing info. First the victim was just released from prison in September for armed robbery, fleeing police and throwing a gun in the air. He also has a history of drug dealing. He was on probation and so was violating probation by being out after his madatory curfew

And did these officers know this at the time of the shooting?

No, of course they didn't, so it's completely irrelevant.

The cops needlessly shot an unarmed, subdued man lying on the ground in the back. The officer had his taser drawn, then put it away and pulled out his firearm. The officer should be brought up on manslaughter charges.

 

[highfihoney]

Another thing to note is how KTVU is being biased while reporting the stories. At first they showed the victims picture with him flashing gang signs, now the only pics are those of him with his daughter and being a saint. His family said he was a role model and a good father to his four year daughter. This is why he spent half the childs life in jail for felony crimes and was out at 2 am, assaulting passengers and then trying to flee the police. Why was he not at home tending to his family and not getting into trouble. Others have mentioned on the other site that it was New Years, this to me is flawed becaus he is on probation with a curfew of 10 pm why is he out at 2 am with two thugs assaulting passengers. My views on this are not racially motivated at all. I could care less if he was black, asain, polish or white. He and his buddies started this and unfortunatly a cop mishandled his weapon and he died. The cops were dealing with people screaming at them and challenging them and throwing items at the officers which escalated the situation to where mistakes could be made.

WOW,i cant believe how far some people will go to befriend the police,what does any of the things you pointed out have to do with a cop shooting a man in his back while he was face down,i have no love in my heart for a gang banger but damm,the man was face down for how many minutes that we seen on video,why was the cop hovering over him with a chambered weapon for an extreme length of time,the cop had ample time to cuff the man which they felt the need to do after they shot him in the back

This murder has nothing to do with racisim,it has everything to do with the way police are trained,their swat style training puts them in a mental state where every situation needs to be handeled with brute force,they are trained to take every situation to the next level,if a suspect is talking the cop screams at him,if a suspect wont stop talking the cop pulls his gun,every step of the way a cops adrenaline levels are rising,when the suspect still wont stop talking cops are trained to taser them or use some type force to control all situations.

Search out police brutality on youtube,its became so common for cops to abuse citizens that there are thousands of videos floating around the internet,just the sheer number of these real life videos of police beating people down should tell a story,the sheer numbers of videos show that its not isolated incidents where police "make mistakes",it shows that the training they recieve to take charge & dominate all situations at all costs is leading to many people being unrightfully hurt or killed.

 

[jinjuku]

What a way to get your parole revoked...

This is so messed up on so many levels. The lives of crooks and cops is an inherently dangerous one.

Man, messed up.

 

[Shock]

You'd think differently if it were you in cuffs & some thug cop tasered you because you wouldnt "SHUT UP" when he told you to,then after tasering you he charged you with resisting arrest because you were loud & obnoxious.

No love for the police in my home.

Except when he told me to shut up.....I would....and not get tasered in the first place, because any sane person knows yelling at the police isn't going to do any good.

 

[jinjuku]

Example of what is terminally wrong with this country.

Not enough citizens saying enough is enough. We have a lot right with this country, but a lot wrong also.

Maybe cops should revert back to officers of the peace instead of the law. Can't wait for the surveillance society that is coming

 

[darien87]

I think this situation sucks on both sides.

I think the man that was shot was a punk and probably should have been arrested. But getting in a fight is NOT something to be killed over!! The officer over-reacted and me made a mistake. But his mistake cost someone his life.

I saw an interview with one of the men that was arrested after the Oakland riot the other night. He was charged with vandalism and said that he thought that vandalism should still be going on. He said, "They can replace they car. They can replace they window. They can't replace a man's life."

 

[Alex2507]

Example of what is terminally wrong with this country.

What was he doing in that parking lot at 2 AM? He may have the right to be there but he's not gonna be any less dead if these people he's messing around with decide to kill him.

 

[highfihoney]

Example of what is terminally wrong with this country.

Not enough citizens saying enough is enough. We have a lot right with this country, but a lot wrong also.

Maybe cops should revert back to officers of the peace instead of the law. Can't wait for the surveillance society that is coming

Now thats what im talking about,how many more examples do we need to see before we admit there is something teribly wrong with the way we allow police to be trained,then put a stop to it.

 

[highfihoney]

Except when he told me to shut up.....I would....and not get tasered in the first place, because any sane person knows yelling at the police isn't going to do any good.

Thats a load,a person using words in not evidence of resisting arrest & not cause to inflict pain on that person.

Any cop who uses his taser on a person simply because they wont close their mouth is a thug & a bully,no better than a wife beater in my eyes,we are protected by freedom of speach & should not be subjected to pain because we chose to use that freedom.

Another guy who wouldnt shut up when he was told got what was comming to him.

http://vladtv.com/video/1404/nypd-kicks-handcuffed-teen-in-balls/

 

[jinjuku]

What was he doing in that parking lot at 2 AM? He may have the right to be there but he's not gonna be any less dead if these people he's messing around with decide to kill him.

1st: 2am/2pm? what is your point?

2nd: "he's not gonna be any less dead if these people he's messing around with decide to kill him."? Huh?

I believe he was there to meet a friend after work (if I recall correctly). Any ways it really doesn't matter as long as it is not illegal.

 

[itschris]

You're comments and insight are very well thought out and appreciated. It's always hard to step in anyone else's shoes, espcially so when there's emotionally driven issue such as this.

I guess my feelings on such matter retreat to a much more basic premise... probably one that's a lot harsher, more unsympathetic, and probalby unpopular. For me, I don't care who you are. I don't care if you're black. I don't care if your're white. I don't care if you're Asian, Mexican... whatever. If you behave outside the bounds of society's rules... if you impinge upon other's rights, safety, and wellbeing... if you're basically up to no good most of the time... then I just don't really care about what happens to you.

That may be harsh, but at some point... if you're recklessly runing from the cops endangering anyone who happens to be in your path... if you're rioting, burning down cars and business... if you break into someone's home.... whatever... at some point, you no longer should have the same rights as I do and such, whatever ultimate price is paid is just the way it goes. For me, it's not racial at all. I was mugged by a black man while in college and hit in the face with a pipe getting out of my car in a parking garage where I interned. I got stabbed by a "normal" looking white guy when I was a bouncer trying to make extra money my senior year. Believe me, I wish the cops would've been right there when both of those things happened. If the cops would have beat the **** out of either of them I would not have cared. If either would have struggled, fought back, resisted and ended up getting shot... you know what... that would have been okay too. Once you cross that line and commit wrongs against other... I guess I just don't care what happens to you. At that point, you're a piece of sh*t and that transcends all race, gender, and cultural barriers.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/01/BAB9152I2Q.DTL&type=newsbayarea

As a black man, I'm not too sure how I feel about this. There is a grainy cell phone video that clearly shows the young man is hand-cuffed and on the ground on his stomach. He doesn't seem to be struggling very much, but the officer stands up, draws his gun and shoots the kid in the back. He later died from the injury. BART maintains that the officer meant to stun the kid with a taser, but accidentally pulled his gun by mistake. Aren't officers supposed to wear their tasers on the other side of their belts than their guns to prevent EXACTLY this kind of thing from happening?!?!? Aren't tasers made of plastic? I've never held a taser, but I've held guns before. I would assume that a taser would feel completely different than a gun. I would hate to think that the officer was racist and meant to hurt the kid, but him shooting the kid instead of tasing him seems like a long shot. It's possible, but I don't completely buy it.

Last night, hundreds of people were protesting in Oakland, and for some stupid reason a riot broke out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/01/08/MN2N155CN1.DTL

I'll never understand the point of rioting. It's this kind of behavior that gives blacks a bad rap. I can understand the frustration and outrage, but what does smashing up a hair salon and a McDonald's do to help the situation?!?! I remember being outraged when the Rodney King verdict came down, but I didn't understand the point of those riots either.

 

[Alex2507]

what is your point?

My point is that if you don't know how to stay out of the way of the Gestapo, you're focked. Police abuse of citizens is illegal but a more pertinent point is that it has been going on since the beginning of time. For me it has less to do with right, wrong, legal and illegal than it does with not getting kicked in the balls or shot in the head.

I wouldn't be caught dead riding around with that idiot with the camera. He got a few cops being pricks on tape and has managed to piss of every cop in the country. Is that really a fight you want to fight?

 

[jonnythan]

Is that really a fight you want to fight?

Yes.

filler

 

[Rickster71]

I guess my feelings on such matter retreat to a much more basic premise... probably one that's a lot harsher, more unsympathetic, and probalby unpopular. For me, I don't care who you are. I don't care if you're black. I don't care if your're white. I don't care if you're Asian, Mexican... whatever. If you behave outside the bounds of society's rules... if you impinge upon other's rights, safety, and wellbeing... if you're basically up to no good most of the time... then I just don't really care about what happens to you.

That may be harsh, but at some point... if you're recklessly runing from the cops endangering anyone who happens to be in your path... if you're rioting, burning down cars and business... if you break into someone's home.... whatever... at some point, you no longer should have the same rights as I do and such, whatever ultimate price is paid is just the way it goes. For me, it's not racial at all. I was mugged by a black man while in college and hit in the face with a pipe getting out of my car in a parking garage where I interned. I got stabbed by a "normal" looking white guy when I was a bouncer trying to make extra money my senior year. Believe me, I wish the cops would've been right there when both of those things happened. If the cops would have beat the **** out of either of them I would not have cared. If either would have struggled, fought back, resisted and ended up getting shot... you know what... that would have been okay too. Once you cross that line and commit wrongs against other... I guess I just don't care what happens to you. At that point, you're a piece of sh*t and that transcends all race, gender, and cultural barriers.

There are many posts here at Audioholics.
After a while most of them just blend together; much like a radio station that's mostly static.
Many posts are half baked, emotional, knee-jerk reactions.
There are a handful of members, whose posts consistently make logical, level headed sense.
My friends, the post above is one of them.

 

[jamie2112]

There are many posts here at Audioholics.
After a while most of them just blend together; much like a radio station that's mostly static.
Many posts are half baked, emotional, knee-jerk reactions.
There are a handful of members, whose posts consistently make logical, level headed sense.
My friends, the post above is one of them.

Agreed Rick........

 

[jinjuku]

My point is that if you don't know how to stay out of the way of the Gestapo, you're focked. Police abuse of citizens is illegal but a more pertinent point is that it has been going on since the beginning of time. For me it has less to do with right, wrong, legal and illegal than it does with not getting kicked in the balls or shot in the head.

I wouldn't be caught dead riding around with that idiot with the camera. He got a few cops being pricks on tape and has managed to piss of every cop in the country. Is that really a fight you want to fight?

If the answer is no, we have already lost.