Cop kills double amputee for waving pen at him

[Kreutz]

Its official; laws do not apply to them.

HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston police officer shot and killed a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair Saturday inside a group home after police say the double amputee threatened the officer and aggressively waved a metal object that turned out to be a pen.

Police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said the man cornered the officer in his wheelchair and was making threats while trying to stab the officer with the pen. At the time, the officer did not know what the metal object was that the man was waving, Silva said.

She said the man came "within inches to a foot" of the officer and did not follow instructions to calm down and remain still.

"Fearing for his partner's safety and his own safety, he discharged his weapon," Silva told The Associated Press.

More at link (including how the man in a wheelchair somehow managed to corner the cop, and how this is the cops second fatal shooting)

http://news.yahoo.com/houston-officer-k ... 40280.html


I'm amazed you can't tell an item is a pen from " within inches to a foot". Or you know, simply disarm the one-armed man (twice as easy as normal!) in the freaking wheelchair.

Best to shoot first.


Gotta love a police state. Seriously, if you don't love it, they'll shoot you and get paid leave for the trouble.

[VACoastie]

Serves the guy right. No matter if your disabled or not, you're not over the law or those officials. You don't corner no human being in a threatening matter, much less an officer. Did the officer have to kill? Probably not. Could it have been that he got the first shot off he could? More than likely.

I say kudos to the officer for defending himself against an aggresor.

Just my .02.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[RugerJoe]

Or you could just drop kick the guy....he is on wheels....he would roll backwards....

[SpanishInquisition]

Ummm...

...partner drag the wheelchair backwards?
...taser?
...pepper spray?
...kick the chair over?

Granted, officers have to react quickly, but it seems that there should have been a number of non-lethal options available to bring this rampant roller to justice without killing him.

[mamabearCali]

Police need to get w grip.....really he was in a wheel chair.....ugghhhh.....we are surrounded by idiots

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[VACoastie]

The only thing I'm curious of which the whole article left out is - why were 2 officers at a retirement home anyways? Someone called them for good reason more than likely, but until further notice it can only be speculation.

Sure he could have used a Taser, Pepper Spray, done a milion other things that Recliner Coaches can imagine. How about a dude comes after you in a threatening manner? You deal with it the way you feel it needs to be. The officer apparently felt it was needed. He has had to use deadly force before if you read the article so I'm sure his judgement was somewhat sound.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[SHMIV]

Did this story make anyone else think of Monty Python?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvqhk7YDH9U

[VACoastie]

LOL SHMIV, that's my favorite movie perhaps. Favorite part - Knights who say "Ni."

Favorite quote: "I fart in your general direction" - French Soldier

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[SHMIV]

LOL SHMIV, that's my favorite movie perhaps. Favorite part - Knights who say "Ni."

Favorite quote: "I fart in your general direction" - French Soldier

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

Heh heh, half a lifetime ago, my sister, my friends, and I could have probably reenacted that entire movie on command, complete with coconuts. "Now be off, or I shall taunt you a second time!" Lmao...

[FiremanBob]

That cop needed a different career, but it's too late now. Now he should need a lawyer. His use of force here was freaking ridiculous.

[SpanishInquisition]

He has had to use deadly force before if you read the article so I'm sure his judgement was somewhat sound.

Subtle difference in what you're saying here and what the article actually said. The article said that he had used deadly force on a suspect before, not that he *needed* to.

I don't think killing someone else makes him an expert on when to kill, and you can't surmise that either. Maybe it does make his judgement better in these things, or maybe it just got good to him. LEOs are not infallable or perfect, same as every other schmuck that works a job.

Anyway, offing a mentally disturbed double amuptee in a wheelchair sure as hell ain't gonna look good on his resume.

[Jakeiscrazy]

Well, I can't say the man didn't ask for it. At the same time there are a thousand better ways to handle this.

[VACoastie]

Definitely agree Spanish, just because he needed/had/did use Deadly Force doesn't exactly make him a subject matter expert. I luckily haven't needed to use that in my line of work and hopefully never will. Besides, us using that kind of force has to go all the way up to an Admiral. That's a lot of steps to go through!

I just don't feel bad for anyone who corners an officer of the law. You don't know what kind of threat they perceive you as. For me, I do know what it's like to come up on a boat full of people you don't know and have that apprehension because it's 10 of them vice 3-4 of you. While this scenario was different with 2 on 1 and basically 2 on 1/2, we won't know the specifics of the case until months down the road - hence why I say we can say things in Hindsight or Recliner Quarterback this, but until the facts come out it's really nobody's place (even myself) to place blame on either party.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[M1A4ME]

Get used to it. Its only going to get worse.

Or another way to look at it might be that similar incidents have gone on for years. Its just that with cellphone cameras, dash cameras, cameras on buildings, light poles, etc. and the internet we just hear more about it these days.

As to the quality of the people carrying badges and guns these days? No better that the quality of the people working in businesses and factories everywhere. The place I work is getting stupider (yeah, dumber, stupider, more ignorant, etc.) almost every time we hire new people. Whether they come it at the bottom and move stuff around the plant or whether they come in with a college degree and get an engineering/supervision/logistics job. I have just plain lost my patience for dealing with rocks. Its so bad that some people in management will openly tell you that you can no longer rely on common sense anymore. As in, yes, the guy ran the forktruck forks through the wall. You should paint a line on the floor 6 ft. from the wall and paint "No Fork Truck Traffic" on the floor inside that line. Oops!! Anoither guy (or maybe the same one) ran the forks through wall. Darn. Now you are told to hang a sign on the wall telling them not to drive inside the line painted on the floor. Oh crap!! It happens again. This time you are told to revise the forktruck operating procedures to tell them not to operatire the fork truck inside the line 6 ft. from the wall. It happens again. Oh, maybe we should stop allowing forktrucks in that part of the warehouse (next to the smoking area). Management does not want to discipline workers and they don't want to tell prospective employees that they just aren't suited for work in a manufacturing environment. So the business suffers (increased cost, decreased efficiency, etc) and you begin realize - its only going to get worse. Accept it. Its not worth ulcers, high blood pressure, etc. because the "dumb" goes all the way to the top these days.

[gunderwood]

At least for the details we have now, this shooting wouldn't pass the self defense requirements (basically AOI, ability, opportunity and intent) and would be murder if he didn't have a badge, IMHO.

[Kreutz]

and would be murder if he didn't have a badge, IMHO.

This is why I posted it. I expected at least one badge-worshipper to defend the killer (wasn't disapponted), but the simple fact is shooting anyone for not letting go of a pen is murder, plain and simple.

BUT with a badge, well, its OK. This truly is a police state and the proof is in the fact there are two sets of laws; one for politicians and their attack dogs (the police), one set for everyone else (the morons that pay to keep the system afloat AKA "citizens").

Hope the cop doesn't have kids, what if he finds little Timmy drawing on the walls and he refuses to drop the crayon? Getting brains out of carpet must be a nightmare.

[allingeneral]

As to the quality of the people carrying badges and guns these days? No better that the quality of the people working in businesses and factories everywhere. The place I work is getting stupider (yeah, dumber, stupider, more ignorant, etc.) almost every time we hire new people. Whether they come it at the bottom and move stuff around the plant or whether they come in with a college degree and get an engineering/supervision/logistics job. I have just plain lost my patience for dealing with rocks. Its so bad that some people in management will openly tell you that you can no longer rely on common sense anymore. As in, yes, the guy ran the forktruck forks through the wall. You should paint a line on the floor 6 ft. from the wall and paint "No Fork Truck Traffic" on the floor inside that line. Oops!! Anoither guy (or maybe the same one) ran the forks through wall. Darn. Now you are told to hang a sign on the wall telling them not to drive inside the line painted on the floor. Oh crap!! It happens again. This time you are told to revise the forktruck operating procedures to tell them not to operatire the fork truck inside the line 6 ft. from the wall. It happens again. Oh, maybe we should stop allowing forktrucks in that part of the warehouse (next to the smoking area). Management does not want to discipline workers and they don't want to tell prospective employees that they just aren't suited for work in a manufacturing environment. So the business suffers (increased cost, decreased efficiency, etc) and you begin realize - its only going to get worse. Accept it. Its not worth ulcers, high blood pressure, etc. because the "dumb" goes all the way to the top these days.

This anecdote is spot-on for most everything these days. Whether you're talking about public schools, the workplace, operating an automobile or even walking across the street. There are just too many stupid people in the world these days, and the lack of accountability makes it so that all they have to say is "Oops!" and move on. A price has to be paid for stupidity, and unfortunately, that price is paid by everyone instead of just the idiots.

It's the law of "The least common denominator". Create laws and regulations for the stupid and let everyone else with a brain suffer through the madness.

[gunderwood]

As to the quality of the people carrying badges and guns these days? No better that the quality of the people working in businesses and factories everywhere. The place I work is getting stupider (yeah, dumber, stupider, more ignorant, etc.) almost every time we hire new people. Whether they come it at the bottom and move stuff around the plant or whether they come in with a college degree and get an engineering/supervision/logistics job. I have just plain lost my patience for dealing with rocks. Its so bad that some people in management will openly tell you that you can no longer rely on common sense anymore. As in, yes, the guy ran the forktruck forks through the wall. You should paint a line on the floor 6 ft. from the wall and paint "No Fork Truck Traffic" on the floor inside that line. Oops!! Anoither guy (or maybe the same one) ran the forks through wall. Darn. Now you are told to hang a sign on the wall telling them not to drive inside the line painted on the floor. Oh crap!! It happens again. This time you are told to revise the forktruck operating procedures to tell them not to operatire the fork truck inside the line 6 ft. from the wall. It happens again. Oh, maybe we should stop allowing forktrucks in that part of the warehouse (next to the smoking area). Management does not want to discipline workers and they don't want to tell prospective employees that they just aren't suited for work in a manufacturing environment. So the business suffers (increased cost, decreased efficiency, etc) and you begin realize - its only going to get worse. Accept it. Its not worth ulcers, high blood pressure, etc. because the "dumb" goes all the way to the top these days.

This anecdote is spot-on for most everything these days. Whether you're talking about public schools, the workplace, operating an automobile or even walking across the street. There are just too many stupid people in the world these days, and the lack of accountability makes it so that all they have to say is "Oops!" and move on. A price has to be paid for stupidity, and unfortunately, that price is paid by everyone instead of just the idiots.

It's the law of "The least common denominator". Create laws and regulations for the stupid and let everyone else with a brain suffer through the madness.

Government controlled education at its finest!

[VACoastie]

This anecdote is spot-on for most everything these days. Whether you're talking about public schools, the workplace, operating an automobile or even walking across the street. There are just too many stupid people in the world these days, and the lack of accountability makes it so that all they have to say is "Oops!" and move on. A price has to be paid for stupidity, and unfortunately, that price is paid by everyone instead of just the idiots.

It's the law of "The least common denominator". Create laws and regulations for the stupid and let everyone else with a brain suffer through the madness.

There is Chief, it's called natural selection - works quite well even as the world becomes "modern." Unfortunately it appears that selection process isn't running quite fast enough. Stupid people breed way too much and way too fast these days.

[SpanishInquisition]

... it appears that selection process isn't running quite fast enough. Stupid people breed way too much and way too fast these days.

In this we do agree. Homo Rattus has arrived and breeds like its namesake.

Yet another reason for Atlas to shrug.