Dad calls cops to teach son a lesson; cops shoot son dead

[Zeke L Brimstone]

Police in Ames, Iowa began pursuing 19-year-old Tyler Comstock after his father, James, reported the van he was driving as stolen. By the time the chase ended, Tyler was dead, shot six times by Ames police officer Adam McPherson.

But the van wasn’t stolen, according to James Comstock, it was borrowed by his son, who wanted to buy cigarettes.

“He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him,” James Comstock told The Des Moines Register. “It was over a damn pack of cigarettes. I wouldn’t buy him none.”

Police chased Tyler Comstock onto the Iowa State University campus and set up a blockade that resulted in Comstock ramming Officer McPherson’s vehicle. McPherson ordered Comstock to shut off his truck, and when he refused to comply, McPherson shot at him six times.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/08/iowa-police-kill-son-whose-father-only-wanted-to-teach-him-a-lesson/

[Xipe Totec]

1. This makes me ill. nt

[DoBotherMe]

4. I can

I live here, there was no reason to kill the kid or even draw a gun ... unless it was to blow the tires.

[rollin74]

9. +1. I agree

As I posted on another thread about this:

ADW on a cop= expect to get shot at

I think this use of force was justifiable

[hibbing]

3. What happened here?

I wonder what the heck the kid did when he got out of the truck.

[jberryhill]

5. I don't think he got out of the truck

Towards the end, you see some debris flying in from the right, which looks as if he was backing toward the police vehicle and hit a tree instead. Just after that there is a pop-pop-pop noise when the police leave their vehicles and approach his.

[Ilsa]

6. it's going to take a few dozen more tragedies

for people to realize that LEOs don't mind body counts, even for family squabbles. It's going to take neighbors and family members talking about this and spreading the word about the cops.

[Go Vols]

24. Never Call the Cops Unless You Want Someone Killed:

During the chase, an unidentified Ames police staffer twice suggested that police back off their pursuit, according to dispatch audio obtained by the Register through a third-party service. Audio:http://desmoinesregister.com/videonetwork/2808789798001

The audio linked to above is illuminating; the police knew from their own audio that it was a family dispute leading to a kid grabbing dad's truck, not a car theft desperado on the loose.

Undoubtedly, a more sensible person would not have done what Comstock did -- assuming the officer's story is true, he does say on police audio that Comstock "backed up into my vehicle."

A voice of reason on the police channel points out, hey, if Comstock is being that reckless in regard to police attempts to stop him, maybe the safest thing to do is back off. "We know the suspect," the voice points out. "We can probably back it off."

Regardless, the use of lethal force on someone for cop-defiance and traffic violations should, to put it mildly, happen less often.

[gopiscrap]

26. Fucking cops are never your friend. Don't ever call them unless it is

absolutely imperative. I would just as soon let a criminal go (with rare exceptions) than get the fucking cops involved because once they are involved they're just out to fuck some one, some how!

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. sorry, didn't see that this was already posted - so I self-deleted mine

[KamaAina]

10. Well, that oughta teach him.

[Taitertots]

11. The OP title seems fairly dishonest...

Why not say...
"Teen shot dead after repeatedly attacking police officers with stolen car"

[Go Vols]

12. Except the car wasn't stolen

and they knew exactly where he lived.Go wait on him at home instead of this shit.
Luckily the cops didn't cause other fatalities while chasing this kid.

[Taitertots]

14. Why didn't you read the article from the OP?

"Police in Ames, Iowa began pursuing 19-year-old Tyler Comstock after his father, James, reported the van he was driving as stolen."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/08/iowa-police-kill-son-whose-father-only-wanted-to-teach-him-a-lesson/

"Borrowed" without consent = Stolen

[Go Vols]

15. I read it,from the same link

But the van wasn’t stolen, according to James Comstock, it was borrowed by his son

Even if it had of been stolen,it doesn't merit a death sentence.

[LisaL]

16. If it was just "borrowed," then why did he call police and reported it stolen?

[Go Vols]

17. You would have to ask the father I would guess as

I don't see a reason in the article.

I would guess to teach the kid a lesson,little did he know the lesson would be for others instead, and the lesson is death for stealing/borrowing a truck.

[Taitertots]

18. Borrowed without consent = Stolen

"Even if it had of been stolen,it doesn't merit a death sentence."
You are right.
Trying to use a stolen car to kill/cause grievous injury to police officers that are trying to stop you is reasonable justification for the use of force.

[Go Vols]

19. That's why many police jurisdictions refuse to chase

thru crowded streets.Especially when they know exactly where the person lives.

Comstock’s family is livid over what they believe is an overreaction by the police, whose own dispatchers were pleading with officers to “back off” in their pursuit.

[LisaL]

21. The police did back off.

You can see that they were going a lot slower than the suspect.

[Taitertots]

22. I'll take your complete deviation from everything that you have posted up to this point as....

Implicit acceptance that you were wrong.

[Go Vols]

23. Take it as you will.

[Zeke L Brimstone]

27. "Dad calls cops to teach son a lesson; cops shoot son dead"

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/08/dad_calls_cops_to_teach_son_a_lesson_cops_shoot_son_dead/

The video on the site, for whatever reason, would not 'flip' to YouTube, so I clinked on the 'Raw Story' link contained within the article.

Now, please return the nits.

[NightWatcher]

13. NEVER CALL THE COPS UNLESS IT'S AN EMERGENCY

Your son taking the truck to buy smokes is not an emergency.

You can never predict what will happen when cops enter the mix, so don't call them unless necessary. Don't call them to come to your house to settle an argument between you and someone else in your house, because one or more of you will be going to jail or worse if the situation escalates. You don't want the cops in your house unless it's an emergency. Why is that so hard to grasp for some?

[Go Vols]

20. +1

[freshwest]

25. +1. People shouldn't play games with cops or 911 to get back at others.