Discussion for article #228620
Why did the cop chase this kid?
The cop was off duty, working for a private firm. Did the private firm give the off duty cop authority to shoot the kid? Did the kid do anything against the interests of the private firm? Stolen property, evidence of destruction of property? Did the cop have probable cause- as an agent for the private firm- to give chase?
The chief said the 3 men ran away from the cop and that the victim “approached the officer in an aggressive way”. Which is true?
The chief also said the victim fired 3 times and the cop 17 times. The family said the kid was unarmed.
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Another cop who will have to live in fear for the foreseeable future. It looks like the St. Louis Police Department is going to have to set up a “Killer Cop Protection Program” to give officers who kill civilians new identities and let them drop off the grid.
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The man approached the officer in an aggressive way,
Uh huh.
He said he didn’t know how many of those shots hit the suspect or why the officer fired that many shots.
But we sure know the kid was acting in an “agressive way” though!
First he ran away and then he approached the officer. Sure.
I wonder what happened to the other mysterious two guys.
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Why does the Police Department allow outside employment of its officers, specially in sort-of related occupations? Besides the potential for conflicting interests, it’s in the public’s interest to have its officers 100% rested and committed to their primary jobs.
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Next: the chief pleads the 5th under advice from the department’s counsel. Counsel considered having the chief send out the blanket “the case is under investigation…” announcement to deflect all questions but counsel thought better of it when it was learned that the investigation did not reveal exculpatory evidence.
Based on what we know about the St. Louis area and its law enforcement, I find it hard to believe that the victim even possessed a gun, much less fired shots at the officer.
Isn’t that terrible that we have no choice but to be skeptical?
Unless there are credible eyewitnesses or video proving otherwise, I’m very uncomfortable with simply taking the police officer’s word for it.
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The truth is not the priority in these cases. The Blue Line is the priority for the insecure and feckless who seem to flock to this profession. ( One of you stand up and prove to me otherwise.)
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17 shots? Was this some kind of extended clip or did the off-duty cop reload to make sure the kid is really, really dead?
I’m also really curious what laws apply to off-duty cops. Anyone know?
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The 18 year old victim was awaiting a Nov. trial for illegal use of a firearm and resisting arrest, he was also supposedly under house arrest while awaiting his trial. Not saying those facts justified the officers actions, but it is information that readers should be aware of. More information I would like to have is what provoked the officer to chase the youths in the first place.
[quote[ Dotson said he didn’t know how many of those bullets struck the suspect, or why the officer, who wasn’t hurt, fired that many shots. [/quote] Uhh, duh - he fired that many bullets because he had that many, That’s why.
I don’t know all the details of the situation but this looks to be just another “Us versus Them” shooting. And until folks go to prison for it, it will never change. IMHHO.
What did the cop observe that led him to initiate the chase? Do you have that information? What kind of firearm did the kid have in his possession at the time of his death? By now, about 20 hours after the event, we should know this, right? I mean everyone in Europe knew what kind of rifle Oswald used about an hour after that event. And the weapon John Hinkley used was known by all before the president reached the hospital. So what was the kid in St. Louis holding?
The article in the St. Louis Dispatch answers that - a 9mm Ruger - and has been updated with several more details about the shooting since I read it earlier.
It says the police recovered a 9MM Ruger at the scene. The dead kid is obviously not here to tell his side of the story but why would this kid attempt to kill this cop? No crimes were reported and so the kid had no reason to cover anything up. He wasn’t going to kill a cop for violating house arrest, so why would he pull a gun and fire at a cop?