Posted on 04/15/2015 3:39:57 PM PDT by petercooper
Unarmed father of three shot dead by police on live TV after leading them on high-speed chase in which he claimed he had a child in his backseat Frank Ernest Shepherd, III of Houston, Texas was shot dead by police after leading them on a 20 minute high-speed chase The chase ended when Shepherd crashed into another car He then got out of the vehicle and reached into the backseat, and was shot moments later No weapons were found in the car and it is not known what Shepherd was reaching for Shepherd was a father of three with another baby on the way Police are investigating why he fled during a traffic stop
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Worked law enforcement for almost 30 years and would not dream of shooting a guy as this situation describes. I may have been ready to shot, but would have needed to see the threat. I am getting old thought, perhaps I don't understand anymore.
“unarmed father”
my father was always unarmed and he never led the cops on high speed chases.
p.s. because he was busy working two jobs
because he was a dumbass. and no I do not lick cop boots.
The Daily Mail is gonna have a tough time whipping public opinion into a frenzy with this one.
same thing happened in my city a few years ago but the people shot were white. No protests.
armed with what ever he was driving
He was a father? I read the article and I was wondering if he had any kids.
I know hundreds of retired cops in their 60’s and 70’s and almost every one of them says the same thing, and NONE of them will have anything to do with today’s “law enforcement officers”, because they were all “Peace Officers”
I guess Lowering Standards nationwide 40 years ago worked out like most of us said it would.
Watched the video. I’m confident the man was being ordered to get his hands up, or get on the ground, etc. He didn’t comply and instead reached inside the car when cops were holding guns on him.
So, the cops are supposed to wait to see what the guy comes up with out of the back seat in that situation? Might be a little late at that point, don’t you think? Bystanders and/or cops could have been killed. Glad it was the idiot instead.
Footage showed him reaching into the car. I've no knowledge of police procedure. If a suspect makes a sudden movement to retrieve some unknown item in a hidden area, does a weapon have to be visible before a responding officer opens fire? My guess is that these officers would have had a split second to respond, if he pulled out a gun.
I think the most rational thing to think under those circumstances was that he was reaching for a weapon. And if that was what he was reaching for, he’d obviously have the intent to shoot and be one step ahead of you if you waited to see the weapon. So your decision would’ve been dead wrong.
No question the officers had the drop on him. But still, unless they dropped him immediately once they saw a gun, he could have gotten a few shots off at them.
Looks like suicide by cop to me. Knowing that the police are all to willing to help a black man into the next world. More like a Martyr.
He purposefully kept his hands out of view.
That’s my opinion from the information available at this time.
That was unexpected.
Unarmed = "Amish" = teen = youth = student = (insert your favorite euphemism here)
Of course, I could be wrong.
He “reached for something”. I’m not sure how long ago you were on the force, but I’ve heard cops using that excuse for shootings for at least 20 years now. It’s so common that, as a citizen, most of us who don’t want to get shot know that you had better keep your hands on the wheel during a traffic stop, and even if the officer asks for your ID and registration, you had better ask them for permission before you try to get it out of the glove compartment.
About 15 years ago, the police were chasing a guy who took off after he was pulled over.
Guy tried to ram his way through a red light at high speed, rear-ended another guy who was just sitting at the light.
Guy sitting at the light was deceased at the scene. Never knew what hit him. Could’ve been me, I stop at that intersection all the time. I constantly check my rear-view mirror now, though.
Going off that scenario, US law enforcement apparently have more lax ROE than my Soldiers and I did in Iraq.
Why was he shot?
With what?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.