I would not throw stones at the officer, just yet.
I feel strongly about people trashing law enforcement, hence the long post here.
Having been in an armed robbery shootout [where I emptied two 15 round clips], another where the ex-felon or myself had to decide who was going to put their gun down [him 357, me 45] and other violent chases/arrests [one where a guy tried to stab me with an ice pick], my opinion after looking at the video is that this Deputy freaked out under stress. The suspect must have made some movement that the officer misinterpreted as a threat.
It is very easy when in those confrontational situations for the suspect and/or the officer to freak out and lose control. Sometimes the slightest "wrong move" can make things go horribly bad.
Unfortunately, officers can go an entire career without ever having to make the decision to draw or shoot and it is that one time, such as this occasion, that we find out he or she cannot handle the situation.
From experience, I can tell you that when your well being [meaning life or death] is determined under the gun, so to speak, in a few or fractions of a second, things are not as easy as Hollywood makes it look.
And all of us analyzing the scene from the safety of our castle, well, it's easy to label and be hyper-critical. For example, the video depicts the suspect telling the officer that he is "on his side," but history is replete with examples where the bad guys lie to the police in order to escape or get the jump on the officer. Sure, it's easy for us, after the press has confirmed the victim was in fact in the military, that the officer at the scene should have believed the suspect.
But that kind of hindsight analysis is bullshit. It's as stupid as asking "why didn't the officer just shoot the gun out of the suspect's hand" when hearing stories about fatal shootouts. I can tell you from experience, when someone is shooting at you and you are shooting back, no one is taking the time to aim for a hand, even if that was possible under such conditions, such as a deserted, darkened parking lot.
I do think the officer is toast in terms of ever going on patrol again, at best it's a desk job for him, or working at the jail. And the biggest thing he will have to deal with is the shame and embarrassment as he faces his coworkers.
But I also think he is counting his blessings that he did not kill the man. That would have caused him to off himself or live with the guilt for the rest of his life.
Roto [the non-Watergate plumber guy]
P.s. Without knowing all that happened,
I suspect the officer's heart was pumping from having just concluded a chase with the driver.
The passenger who was shot looks middle eastern [although he was Hispanic]. So post-911, law enforcement is suspicious of anyone who looks middle eastern. This was after a chase, so the officer was not sure what he had.
Lastly, there have been a few officer fatalities up and down California lately. When an officer gets killed in the line of duty, officers up and down the state feel it and the killing sticks with them. Many officers get depressed.
When the officer killings happen, most departments also use the event in training, so to drill into officers heads that it is usually officer carelessness that got them killed. Departments use the killings as training tools, so other officers can learn from the killed officer's mistakes.
This officer, like many in California, are on heightened vigilance, especially since some of the officers recently killed were experienced law enforcement veterans.
So I can see all these factors contributing to the officer shooting his gun. Not everyone can keep their cool. Besides, many officers think that "keeping one's cool" or super cautious contributed to their fellow officers getting gunned down. Nowadays officers have to fear that every move they make will be possibly caught on video and they will be subject to armchair analyst review, so they had better not make the wrong decision, which has come to mean that which others would do, such as shooting the gun out of one's hand or using pepper spray.
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http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=15629
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Monday, January 9, 2006
A 14-hour manhunt ended Sunday where it began: in a gritty two-block section of East Palo Alto where a suspect shot a police officer, ran off, and then returned and fired at the downed officer to make sure he was dead, police said.
Alberto Alvarez, 23, of East Palo Alto, was found at about 6 a.m. Sunday, hiding in the back of a car whose driver attempted to pass a police checkpoint to leave an area that had been sealed off by police following the slaying of East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May, 38, on Saturday afternoon.
Police would not comment on whether the driver, who was not arrested, knew that the suspect was hiding in his vehicle.
"The coward responsible for this heinous act has been taken into custody," East Palo Alto Police Chief Ronald Davis said, fighting back tears, at a news conference Sunday near the crime scene.
Alvarez, whom police called a member of an East Palo Alto street gang, was booked on suspicion of murder and jailed in Redwood City. The two Pacifica police officers who arrested him were among 250 police from 25 agencies who joined the manhunt, blanketing the neighborhood with foot patrols, aerial surveillance, canine units and a SWAT team.
Alvarez was found with gunshot injuries to the legs. Police were unsure whether May had returned fire or whether Alvarez had accidentally shot himself.
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Alvarez was on parole after serving 16 months behind bars for a drug and weapons crime. He had also originally been charged with gang membership, but that was dropped as part of a plea agreement, Wagstaffe said.
"This cuts to the very core of the safety of our community, and we as the prosecuting office will deal with it in the most severe manner," Wagstaffe said of May's killing.
Police and witnesses said that at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Alvarez was eating at the Villa Taqueria in the 2300 block of University Avenue when two other men entered. A fight broke out between Alvarez and one of the men, police and workers at the restaurant said.
"I just remember seeing the second man with his shirt off and pants almost completely down," said Irene Yanez, who was cooking in the back at the time. "His nose was bloody and he was practically naked with just his boxer shorts barely on. Then he and his friend got into a white car and left."
May, who had a 16-year-old police Explorer riding along for the day, responded to the call about a disturbance at the restaurant and saw Alvarez running away from the establishment, police said.
May followed him by car for less than a block and then got out on Weeks Street to confront him, police said.
Police say the two were already acquainted. A struggle began between May and Alvarez, and Alvarez shot May, who went down, police said.
Alvarez then ran into the gated walkway of an apartment complex but came back and fired again at May, who already lay on the ground, police said.
The teenage Explorer radioed in the call that an officer was shot and described the suspect, which police said helped them know who they were looking for.
Police said Alvarez is a member of East Palo Alto's long-standing Sacramento Street gang and was on parole for a drug and weapons charge.
May, a former Marine who joined the East Palo Alto Police Department 18 months ago, leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
During the news conference, Davis was joined by May's grieving family, who gathered at a podium holding portraits of him. Several other police officers spoke of the fallen officer.
"Officer May was not a rookie. He was ... somebody a lot of the younger officers looked up to for answers. He will not be forgotten," said Officer Brian Frayer, who broke down in tears.
Police said May was fired upon only a few months ago while assisting a tow truck driver who was hauling a drug dealer's car.
"But he continued the relentless pursuit of thugs to the very end," said Davis. "We will continue to live in his image and make this the safest community in the state. I know we will be successful because we now have an angel watching over our shoulders."
Several of May's relatives consoled each other as police extolled May's service.
"My brother's true love was to help those in need," said his sister, Tami McMillan. "I know he was the first person I called when I needed help."
The neighborhood around Sacramento Street is comprised of mostly Latino, African American and Polynesian families.
"It used to be a neighborhood where families came to get away from violence when my parents grew up here," said 25-year-old Kiyyah, who lives directly in front of the scene of Saturday's shooting. She asked that her surname be withheld. Kiyyah said she fell out of bed when she heard the shots Saturday afternoon, though the incident didn't surprise her. She said a close friend was killed a few blocks away a couple of years ago.
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http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-013006-jmn-officer_shot.52587183.html
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Man In Jail For Shooting An Officer
POSTED: 11:01 pm EST January 29, 2006
WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. -- A Watauga County man will face a judge today after being arrested for shooting a sheriff's deputy.
Gary Powers fired close to twenty rounds from his home hitting deputy Wes Hawkins twice.
Officers from Avery County and the Highway Patrol were called in to assist.
Powers surrendered just after midnight.
Deputy Hawkins was responding to a news complaint near Powers home which is located on Bamboo Road near Boone.
His injuries were not life threatening.
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Feb 2, 2006:
A man who led officers on a 10-minute pursuit was shot and wounded today after he crashed into a pole and pulled a firearm on officers attempting to arrest him, authorities said. The pursuit began around 1:20 this morning on South Downey Road near Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, said California Highway Patrol Officer Alex Gonzalez.
Officers attempted to stop the man for not wearing a seat belt, but he refused to pull over and led them on a chase that ended when the vehicle slammed into a wooden pole holding a sign on the southbound Santa Ana (5) Freeway near Slauson Avenue, said CHP Officer Armando Clemente.
Six officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered the man to surrender, but he "brandished a firearm and pointed it toward officers," Clemente said.
"The officers feared for their lives and shot the suspect several times," Clemente said. The wounded man was hospitalized in stable condition and was expected to survive, Clemente said.
The Slauson Avenue offramp from the southbound 5 Freeway was closed while authorities investigated the shooting, Gonzalez said.
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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. --
One person was killed and another was critically injured when police officers shot them at a Huntersville shopping center Thursday.
The two people fired at officers first, according to Lt. Everett Clendenin of the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
The Highway Patrol was notified at about 1:50 p.m. that a blue Chevrolet Astro had been driving recklessly on Interstate 77 South, weaving across several lanes and causing other vehicles to swerve. The van then stopped on the side of the highway, apparently with a flat tire.
A truck driver stopped to help change the flat, and that's when he found out that the van's driver had a gun. The trucker called 911 as the van sped off.
Back on the interstate, the van was spotted by a state trooper. The trooper, backed up by Huntersville police officers, followed it to exit 23 and the Rosedale Commons shopping center on Gilead Road.
The van's two occupants exited the vehicle and began firing at officers, according to Lt. Everett Clendenin of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. (Photo courtesy of AirStar 6)
“The vehicle came into the shopping center here and basically got cornered up into the parking lot area,” said Capt. Michael Kee of the Huntersville Police Department. "Our officers came in from the front of the vehicle. The trooper and I believe one of our other officers were behind it."
The van's two occupants -- a male driver and a female passenger -- would not cooperate with the officers' demands. They then exited the vehicle and began firing shots at the officers.
“The trooper asked them to remain in the car and show their hands, which they refused to do,” said Sgt. C.G. Logan of the Highway Patrol. “After a brief period, they both exited the vehicle. There were two occupants, a white male and a white female, both carrying weapons. And that’s when the firefight started.”
Several officers returned fire, killing the driver and injuring the passenger. She was transported to Presbyterian Hospital with gunshot wounds to the chest.
The van was cornered in the Rosedale Commons shopping center.
No officers were hurt, but one innocent bystander did suffer minor injuries. The woman, an employee at the Blockbuster Video store about 50-60 yards away from the shootout, was struck by glass after a stray bullet went through the store window. She was treated at the scene.
Scott Brower was in another nearby store, watching the incident as it unfolded.
“I look out the window, and I see the cops with their pistols drawn,” he said. “You hear them yelling. We started watching. And then as we were all sort of gathered here in the window and watching, they opened fire and we hit the floor and ran to the back of the store.”
The Sunshine House, a day-care center located right behind the shopping center, went on lockdown when it heard about the shooting.
“One of the parents heard it on the news and called us,” said Doren Martin of The Sunshine House. “So we did emergency procedures, got all the kids out of the classrooms, put them in the hallways, made sure we locked all the doors.”
The Highway Patrol has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into Thursday's shooting, which is standard procedure for all police shootings.
Concerned parents frantically tried to get to their kids.
“They wanted to know what was going on,” Martin said. “Police aren’t telling them anything. We didn’t know anything, so we couldn’t tell them what was going on.”
The Highway Patrol has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into Thursday's shooting, which is standard procedure for all police shootings.
The officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative lead while the investigation is conducted.
