Discussion for article #235512
Maybe there was no racial angle to the shooting. However, both the FBI and Justice should be investigating the whole nonsense of having 73 year old armed part-time “deputies” on any force in the country.
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The sheriff was a bit glib and disingenuous on this one. “[T]hey [the FBI] found no wrongdoing at the sheriff’s office” doesn’t speak to the manslaughter charge. The FBI has no jurisdiction in this case unless there is a civil rights violation or a hate crime. The FBI has merely decided that there is no basis for federal charges at this time. This has no effect whatsoever on the manslaughter charge, This is a claim of exoneration on a level with Sarah Palin and Troopergate.
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Civil Rights violations don’t only refer to racial bias. Unjustified shootings are without a doubt a violation of your Civil Rights. DOJ lists “Excessive force or other Constitutional violations by persons acting as law enforcement officials or public officials” as one category in Civil Rights violations.
What you are referencing is a Hate Crime, which is another type of Civil Rights violation.
So what DOJ is saying is that “at this point” the shooting does not warrant an investigation. This guy has been charged with a crime already, so there is no need for a federal investigation at this time unless he is acquitted. At that point DOJ can reevaluate.
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"they found no wrongdoing at the sheriff’s office. "
Lie…that’s not what they found. I hope this fucker gets stung so hard by evidence coming out of him giving Deputy Donation special treatment that he shits his pants for 3 years straight…while acclimating to prison life.
Wrong. They are simply saying there is not enough evidence to support an investigation yet. It has nothing to do with whether he is charge, found guilty or acquitted. He and/or the department may be charged with civil rights violations and a slew of other things even if the guy is given life in prison or sent to the fryer…hopefully the latter, altho I can’t remember if OK has the death penalty.
Actually, I think it does…weren’t they one of the states that has been totally screwing the pooch with their administration of the drugs? Deputy Donation can enjoy himself a 45 minute heart attack…that’ll be great…because no, you don’t get to claim “oopsy, wrong thing with a trigger” when your training’s been falsified as a political favor and you keep the tazer on your chest and the firearm on your waist, nowhere near each other.
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Yes, they could still do an investigation. I was thinking more of the guy being charged with the shooting. If he is convicted and sent away for life (or “toasted”), they likely won’t pursue federal charges. But if people falsified papers, if the Sheriff’s office had wrongdoing, indeed there will be an investigation that involves others.
Justice Dept had no other choice. The person that needs to be investigated and charged is the sheriff who accepted gifts from this man and created the reckless situation. For whatever reason, the prosecutor is trying to scapegoat this old man to shield the police dept that made the reckless decision to deputize his benefactor. There’s no reason to believe this elderly man had nefarious motives in accidentally shooting this guy. The guy’s 73 years old, his reflexes aren’t as sharp as they used to be. This is on the police chief not the old man. This man won’t be convicted and he shouldn’t be from facts known.
In the picture, we see the cop’s knee crushing the man’s head against the pavement. How can this not be considered life threatening? How can this not be viewed excessive force and capable of crushing somebody’s spine? This is probably how Gray ended up with a severed spine.