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The Magistrate

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93. This Is Far, Sir, from A Clear-Cut 'Bad Shoot'

Wed May 29, 2013, 11:52 PM

May 2013

The man had a gun in his hand. He was not reaching for a wallet or holding a cell phone, or a shiny object that turned out to be a spoon, nor waving a knife at ten yards distance from the officer who emptied a clip. The man had a gun. He got shot because he had a gun in his hand.

I am not arguing the officers were not mistaken. I maintain these officers, in this situation, made a mistake that is understandable, that was not an unreasonable response to what they perceived, and that their behavior does not bear the pug-marks of depravity or criminal negligence.

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�Trigger-happy� cops shoot 72-year-old Texas man dead inside his own garage [View all] 99th_Monkey May 2013 OP

'Trigger-Happy', Sir, May Be Working Both Ways Here The Magistrate May 2013 #1

I hear you. I had the same thought. ~nt 99th_Monkey May 2013 #8

A Surprising Number Of People, Sir, Think Owning A Gun Makes Them Some Kind Of Junior Peace-Man The Magistrate May 2013 #11

+9999999... stevenleser May 2013 #13

but, but ... 99th_Monkey May 2013 #14

I have a tennis racquet. I'm not going to jump on the court at Wimbledon to try to help Djokovic stevenleser May 2013 #18

He didn't notice police in his neighborhood. He heard a neighbor's alarm cali May 2013 #16

I Quote From The Account Above, Ma'am The Magistrate May 2013 #17

Agreed. FFS, don't approach cops while holding a gun! How hard is that to understand? Nay May 2013 #46

Exactly. Who, upon seeing police in your neighborhood in the middle of the night, would grab his gun Honeycombe8 May 2013 #68

Who would go out with a gun? defacto7 May 2013 #87

fuck da police datasuspect May 2013 #2

Engaging police at 1:00 in the morning Vinnie From Indy May 2013 #3

That was one of my points of concern, so I agree with you 99th_Monkey May 2013 #9

When police tell you to drop a weapon you are carrying, delaying is not a good idea. stevenleser May 2013 #4

True, if they actually told him to drop it. AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #26

Good point. Although I must say that bringing a gun to police activity is asking for trouble. stevenleser May 2013 #43

I'm Sure Each Partner Will Attest That There Was A Warning SoCalMusicLover May 2013 #45

Well, I'm glad everyone had a gun. nt msanthrope May 2013 #5

+1000 n/t 99th_Monkey May 2013 #10

if I looked out a window and saw police in the neighborhood, at 1am to boot, magical thyme May 2013 #6

No argument here. ~nt 99th_Monkey May 2013 #15

72 years old. Shouldn't have had a gun. (My husband is 72.) WinkyDink May 2013 #23

Why should a 72 year old man not have a gun? Jenoch May 2013 #84

I agree vankuria May 2013 #30

Same here deutsey May 2013 #38

Who would confront a cop with gun in hand? Life Long Dem May 2013 #7

Hey, the old guy was only "standing his ground" 99th_Monkey May 2013 #12

This message was self-deleted by its author AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #28

Of course, the gun-shooting cops would never create a fictional story about a confrontation. AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #34

Thankfully the guns are all OK. Robb May 2013 #19

Following the link to the original story sheds some light here azurnoir May 2013 #20

The Police May Well Have Been Hasty, Ma'am The Magistrate May 2013 #21

that is all quite possibly true azurnoir May 2013 #24

Quite True, Ma'am The Magistrate May 2013 #25

So cops have never shot unarmed people and never lied about what they did to cover things up? The Straight Story May 2013 #36

Try Reading the Things You Reply To, Sir: Saves Trouble And Keeps Egg Off Your Face The Magistrate May 2013 #37

Oh I read it - rookie cops who shot a man then claimed he would not put a gun down The Straight Story May 2013 #40

Hardly The Point You Were Trying For, Though, Sir, is It? The Magistrate May 2013 #42

So, citizens have to know what to do with armed police at your garage at midnight Kolesar May 2013 #27

They Did Not Enter His Garage, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #29

Ok, I fixed it, but it's a fine detail Kolesar May 2013 #32

Yep. AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #33

Unfortunately, Sir, Your Comments Bear No Relation To the Facts As Reported, Even By His Wife The Magistrate May 2013 #35

You sound bored...eom Kolesar May 2013 #39

That Says More About You Than Me, Sir.... The Magistrate May 2013 #41

no shit that's what happened newmember May 2013 #55

They were at the wrong house newmember May 2013 #47

Quite Possibly, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #49

When you hold the power of life and death in your hand backed by the state newmember May 2013 #50

And Your Point, Sir? The Magistrate May 2013 #51

He's at his own home in his garage , according to testimony half of his body was in the garage newmember May 2013 #52

He Appeared, Gun In Hand, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #56

There's too many of them that go unpunished newmember May 2013 #57

Nothing You Or I Could Do, Sir, Is Directly Comparable The Magistrate May 2013 #60

I don't know how Texas law is but if you do that newmember May 2013 #61

Texas Law is A Bit Different, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #63

And the cops who shot him made a terrible mistake. Maybe it should be a career-ending mistake. Comrade Grumpy May 2013 #66

They Certainly Made A Mistake, Comrade The Magistrate May 2013 #70

I know you have seen the golf club incident where all the police were newmember May 2013 #71

Of No Relevance Here, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #73

It has relevance by being trigger happy with no repercussions newmember May 2013 #76

It Has No Relevance To Judging the Rights Or Wrongs Of This Incident, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #80

I disagree with you , it's very relevant in how the police conduct internal investigations newmember May 2013 #89

This Is Far, Sir, from A Clear-Cut 'Bad Shoot' The Magistrate May 2013 #93

I don't think we will come to an agreement on this newmember May 2013 #95

I'm not 100% you're understanding my point azurnoir May 2013 #44

Mr. Wayne Lapierre im confused. Who was the good guy with the gun and who was the bad one? livefromsac May 2013 #22

Did the neighbor want this "responsible old fogy with gun" to respond to his burglar alarm? rdharma May 2013 #31

They were at the wrong house newmember May 2013 #48

They saw an armed a-hole with a gun in the vicinity of a burglary call! rdharma May 2013 #53

"An armed a-hole with a gun." Really? Comrade Grumpy May 2013 #64

Yes. A tragedy. But caused by the vigilante neighbor! rdharma May 2013 #75

"Are you suggesting that carrying a legal weapon means you deserve to get shot down by the cops?" rdharma May 2013 #81

Cops at the wrong address and the guy is in his garage newmember May 2013 #69

Umm.. he wasn't. Megalo_Man May 2013 #79

Cops have no incentive to not shoot first for no reason. They never get convicted of a crime... Logical May 2013 #54

Riiiiiiiiight! rdharma May 2013 #58

You know how many cops get off for obviously bad shootings? Or a grand jury "decides" not to.... Logical May 2013 #59

You don't really pay much attention to that issue, do you? Comrade Grumpy May 2013 #65

Wrong. There are repercussions. They get paid time off (aka paid vacations). AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #88

It doesn't need to be a gun for the LEO to justify a round to the head. R. Daneel Olivaw May 2013 #62

Yes, it's like we're being "conditioned" to just accept this kind of shit 99th_Monkey May 2013 #67

That's exactly what's happening newmember May 2013 #72

Another bad shoot where the cop doesn't get charged newmember May 2013 #74

The old fogy did EVERYTHING WRONG! rdharma May 2013 #77

He wasn't. Megalo_Man May 2013 #78

Oh! He thought someone was breaking into his car.......... rdharma May 2013 #82

Being armed when confronting a burglar is a bad idea? Megalo_Man May 2013 #85

Make sure that "burglar" isn't your wife or kids going to the bathroom! rdharma May 2013 #90

It's never just one thing. rrneck May 2013 #83

Home Truths, Sir The Magistrate May 2013 #86

"cock-ups are co-operative ventures".... rdharma May 2013 #91

Both the decedent's son and the medical examiner say that he was shot inside his garage. AnotherMcIntosh May 2013 #92

Yup , I said that earlier in the thread newmember May 2013 #94