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Houston officer kills double amputee in wheelchair
AP ^ | 23 Sep 2012 | Staff W. Riter

Posted on 09/23/2012 5:35:03 AM PDT by Yashcheritsiy

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.

Police did not immediately release the name of the man who was killed. They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance.

The owner of the group home, John Garcia, told the Houston Chronicle that the man had a history of mental illness and had been living at the house about 18 months. Garcia said the man had told him that he lost a leg above the knee and all of one arm when he was hit by a train.

"He sometimes would go off a bit, but you just ignore it," Garcia told the newspaper.

Silva identified the officer as Matthew Jacob Marin, a five-year veteran of the department. He was immediately placed on three-day administrative leave, which is standard in all shootings involving officers.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: assholecop; badcopnodonut; banglist; crime; donutwatch; govtabuse; jackbootedthugs; jbt; killercops; leo; pussycop; rapeofliberty
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To: bikerman
"They had been called to the home after a caretaker there called and reported that the man in wheelchair was causing a disturbance."

Never, ever call the police to your domicile for anything whatsoever. Circumstances will deteriorate to an even worse situation if you do.

Police are not your friends, marriage counselors, mediators, pet sitters, teen advisors, etc....

61 posted on 09/23/2012 8:18:14 AM PDT by blackdog (There is no such thing as healing, only a balance between destructive and constructive forces.)
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To: Yashcheritsiy
no nightstick? no taser??? burn him...
62 posted on 09/23/2012 8:32:31 AM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: Yashcheritsiy
It seems a natural progression.

After getting their rocks off killing dogs, they work their way up to tasering and beating in the skulls of the homeless and the mentally disabled.

After taking out their roid rage out on "street trash", they've worked their way to executing defiant cripples.

After honing their warrior skills popping people in wheelchairs, they might have the balls to take on elderly conservatives in convalescent homes.

I have no doubt these heroes will be calling for backup, in that instance. When the only balls you have are 9mm, they need 50 of them to get the job done.

Kelly Thomas.

Kelly Thomas, PROTECTED AND SERVED.

Mother Gets $1m Settlement After Police Beating Death of her Mentally Disabled Homeless Son

63 posted on 09/23/2012 8:36:42 AM PDT by Tuanedge
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To: hoosierham; DuncanWaring

It’s quite so plain or simple to me.


64 posted on 09/23/2012 8:38:03 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (AGWT is neo-lysenkoism.)
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To: Reeses
If your neighbor's dog is barking too much just call 911

Serious? You like living dangereously. What's the chance the cops will go to the wrong address, which may be yours?

65 posted on 09/23/2012 8:52:56 AM PDT by Oztrich Boy (Monarchy is the one system of government where power is exercised for the good of all - Aristotle)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
If a civilian shot a one-armed one-legged person in a wheelchair, and claimed to the responding authorities he killed the man because e got cornered and felt threatened (and somehow the cripple managed to aggressively manoeuvre the wheelchair - while waving the threatening pen - all with one arm) ...the cops would put the shooter in handcuffs and toss him in the back seat. There are three reasons why more and more FReepers appear to be anti cops: a) the increase in reports of law enforcement officers acting like thugs; b) the fact that they get away with stuff that no civilian ever could (that lady who shot some guy in a road rage incident ...she must be regretting why she never chose to be a cop since the 'I felt threatened' defence would have worked wonders), and c) people who will tell others that cops should not be judged harshly because of the hard work they do.

I personally respect cops, but I totally believe that because of the authority bestowed on them (that ranges the gamut from arresting someone to even taking their life), that cops should always be held to a much higher standard. They should never be given the benefit of a doubt but rather a higher degree of confidence should be expected of them. The more power one is given the more accountability one should be expected to provide. Police officers are human beings, with the same virtues and vices the rest of us have, who have been given formidable authority.

That shouldn't require us to give them 'a break' but rather to demand more accountability and sense from them. I do not know what caused this cop to shoot a one armed one legged wheelchair bound man who somehow had sufficient dexterity to makeover a wheelchair while brandishing a pen with one arm (maybe it was a motorised wheelchair, or maybe the man was telekinetic). Time will tell what happened. However, under no circumstances should the shooting cop be immune from people 'second guessing' him. As an officer of the law he should be put to a higher standard and be expected to provide full accountability. Especially considering if a normal civilian had shot a one legged/one armed person, and claimed he got cornered, that the cop would have 'second guessed' him all the way to the back seat of the cop car.

Cops do not deserve understanding or the benefit of a doubt. They are keepers of the peace and enforcers of the law, and should be paragons of what they represent. To serve and to protect. Most cops are brave people who serve a tremendously important role, but since they are humans there will be bad apples. Considering the size of the police force, this would mean that the bad apples may be in the high hundreds to low thousands (maybe much more?). The work of good cops shouldn't be used to cover for the bad apples.

66 posted on 09/23/2012 8:58:59 AM PDT by spetznaz (Nuclear-tipped Ballistic Missiles: The Ultimate Phallic Symbol)
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To: Yashcheritsiy

Evidently a requirement for being a police officer is that you be a frightened little pussy.


67 posted on 09/23/2012 9:53:29 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Government is the religion of the sociopath.)
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To: spetznaz

Yours is the best post on this thread.


68 posted on 09/23/2012 10:02:06 AM PDT by Gator113 (I would have voted for NEWT, now it's Ryan and the other guy.~Just livin' life, my way~)
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To: Yashcheritsiy

Houston’s finest at work.


69 posted on 09/23/2012 10:05:35 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Half the people are below average, they voted for oblabla.s)
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To: Yashcheritsiy

well...this proves the pen is not mightier than the pistol

can’t see justification for this one whatsoever


70 posted on 09/23/2012 10:08:51 AM PDT by wardaddy (this is a perfect window for Netanyahu to bomb Iran..I hereby give my go ahead..thanks Muzzie idiots)
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To: Uncle Chip

I guess uppity babies next. Hysterical crime victims next.


71 posted on 09/23/2012 10:10:06 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: spetznaz

An armed, free society founded on moral ground has little need for law enforcement.

Guess why the course of our country is 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

Unions and protection rackets are two sides of the same coin.


72 posted on 09/23/2012 10:12:44 AM PDT by Tuanedge
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To: Yashcheritsiy

At least no dog was shot /sarc


73 posted on 09/23/2012 10:13:13 AM PDT by dennisw (Government be yo mamma - Re-elect Barack Obama)
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To: wardaddy

Other than he could do it and get away with it, there was none.


74 posted on 09/23/2012 10:16:37 AM PDT by sport
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To: ClearCase_guy
That's what we have in a town near me.
75 posted on 09/23/2012 10:21:23 AM PDT by rabidralph (http://www.patriotcalendars.com/)
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To: xrmusn
Also our ‘sensitivities’ were harmed when the police used to basically hire former Military types....that corps (police) started going to hell when the ranks were opened to all, regardless of sex/size/etc and then they started requiring college credits.

Exactly, gotta watch out for them sissy college boys.

76 posted on 09/23/2012 10:31:36 AM PDT by Yashcheritsiy (You can wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which gets filled first.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
I have to admit, I have a pretty good imagination, yet I cannot conceive of any situation where it would be necessary to shoot a one-armed, one-legged man in a wheelchair who is waving a pen at me. Keep in mind, this man could not even move at the same time he is waving the pen around. He can either roll (and not well) or he can wave the pen. Not both at the same time. I'm not a cop, and I don't have all their fancy training or stellar situation defusing skills, but I think that I could nevertheless figure out how to disarm a bipalegic man waving a pen around without shooting him.
77 posted on 09/23/2012 10:39:30 AM PDT by Yashcheritsiy (You can wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which gets filled first.)
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To: SampleMan; Yashcheritsiy
There is zero doubt how this would end if the shooter wasn’t a cop.

There is also no doubt how this would have ended if this had been a a pair of orderlies, instead of a pair of cops...assuming that neither of the orderlies was Jerry Lewis or Mo Howard.

78 posted on 09/23/2012 10:53:17 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Love me, love my guns!©)
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To: Yashcheritsiy

You are assuming that the police officer was in possession of the all the facts. He was behind the assailant who was waiving “something” in a threatening manner at his partner. He made an unfortunate decision, yes, but why do so many Freepers automatically take the anti-cop position in these incidents. I know that neither you nor I are in possession of the facts, and you probably never had to make a split second decision that may have meant life or death.

Like the cops say, better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.


79 posted on 09/23/2012 10:59:46 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (AGWT is neo-lysenkoism.)
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To: Yashcheritsiy
Well, we don't know all of the facts. Wondering if the police person could have kicked the chair backwards, maybe suffering a minor wound to the leg. Or, could the second officer grab the wheelchair down low and pull it back and/or knock it over? a guy with one arm and one leg is not going to be getting up right away. Was a Taser available? Certainly a lot of questions with this one.

The guy in the wheelchair really needed to go to jail for trying to stab someone with a pen.

80 posted on 09/23/2012 11:05:13 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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