Posted on 03/01/2013 2:06:59 PM PST by bgill
The man had called police saying that he had just shot and killed dog that he said had was attacking him. The dispatcher asked the man to return to his home and let police take over once they arrived, Acevedo said. When the officer arrived, the man had the semiautomatic pistol tucked into his waistband, the chief said.
The man was told to give up the gun, but instead drew it on the officer, Acevedo said. The officer then drew his gun and fired. He was pronounced dead around 7:45 a.m., Acevedo said.
(Excerpt) Read more at kxan.com ...
Agreed.
And I'm all for cops being able to protect their lives to the MAXIMUM DEGREE.
But there's the deal - I'm also for a free people to be able to protecct THEIR lives to the MAXIMUM DEGREE.
See, as it stand right now, you as a non-cop have to jump through hoops before the law won't arrest andd convict you for self-defense.
But a cop? A cop can LITERALLY stand in front of you, with you unarmed, and shoot you dead, and just say he was afraid. That's it. No evidence, just his word. You could be cuffed and on the ground, and he'll still get away with it. AND he'll get a paid vaccation and probably a promotion.
I say, even it up. There is NO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION ffor the standards of self-defense of one's life to be different between a cop, and a civilian/natural person/non-cop.
ZERO.
You want to even up the laws, and get rid of gun control altogether, and make it saffe for Americans to carry and use firearms without the law unfairly and disproportionately punishing them?
Fine - here's the one-stop solution: make the standards for lethal force self-defense EQUAL betweeen the police and the people. That one thing will do it - and there is no legal OR moral reason why the life of a police officer should be MORE protected than the life of a non-police, law abiding citizen.
NONE.
If I was armed and a cop asked me for the gun I’d put my hands over my head and say “The gun is in my belt. You take it. I’m not going to pull it out and give you a reason to kill me and my dog.”
The victim, John Schaefer, 70, was an instructor for the Austin Rifle Club.
......
Acevedo said video dashboard cameras were operating and had captured the incident.
end snips
You have to be arrested, indicted, tried and convicted of a crime. It's been that way for as long as I can remember.
> You could be cuffed and on the ground, and he'll still get away with it. AND he'll get a paid vaccation and probably a promotion.
http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Justice-served-Verdict-shows-police-not-immune-1651707.php
get rid of gun control altogether
I've advocated that for decades. I live in a state where permits are not required for concealed carry.
there is no legal OR moral reason why the life of a police officer should be MORE protected than the life of a non-police, law abiding citizen
The difference being that law abiding citizens rarely have to deal with drugged up psychos, scum-of-the-earth garbage and criminal dregs of society. Life isn't fair.
“Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?” — the ultimate Internet answer
“From the article; “When an officer tries to secure a weapon, you cannot draw and aim at an officer and not expect that officer to defend himself,” Acevedo said.
A woman who calls herself Lena lives three houses down from where the shooting happened. She walked outside and witnessed the confrontation.
“Him and the guy were in close proximity,” said Lena. “And he had no other choice but to protect himself. The guy didn’t want to put the gun down.”’
“JUST BEING ARMED in the presence of the police is NOT A CRIME OR A THREAT to the police.” But drawing the gun on the cop sure as hell is. Until I see evidence to the contrary, good job officer.
This story adds a bit of uncertainty to the situation.
Well maybe some other town but the cops are walking on eggshells here. Several are in jail and the former Chief opted for early retirement so he could keep his pension. See we had a little drug ring/fence operation going on in the dept. It had been for years. After that mess was outed there was an unofficial meeting wherein those cops left on the force attended as well as a few townsfolk. Let's just say around here the cops answer to the public and address the citizens with respect. If they don't they won't be be working on the force very long.
We are weeding out the bad ones and replacing them with people who know they are there to serve the town and its people, not the other way around.
As a former LEO I’ll just speak from experience... if an officer is dispatched to a location where a perp has already discharged a firearm and appeara to be hostile the officer has every right to tell him to put ithe weapon down for his own personal safety while he investigates the situation. Remove the weapon, cuff the Suspect and put him in the back of your squad car while you run his name for warrants and priors, any hits call backup, then interview witnesses after they arrive...: )
Oh almost forgot, if the perp won’t relinquish his weapon and fires at, fond cover and double tap the chest and send one to the head...; )
Oh almost forgot, if the perp wont relinquish his weapon and fires at you, find cover and double tap the chest and send one to the head...; )
Wake up people, this civilian was shot dead after freely calling the cops on his own, and now hes dead and slandered and the cop is praised without anyone thinking things through. This madness is getting WAY out of control - badges should not come with 007 engraved on them, and civilians should not be disarmed by police without probable cause. JUST BEING ARMED in the presence of the police is NOT A CRIME OR A THREAT to the police.
We'll never know what really happened, but personally, I'm not inclined to believe the cop.
I wish every time a cop is out doors or out of their cers and under arms that he/she would put their friggin cap/hat on their friggin heads. Their hat/cap usually has a badge/cap device on it that identifies them as a cop. Some people with limited eyesight from drinking too many beers might not recognize them as cops when they are out of friggin uniform. Maybe a lot of friggin incidents like this one are caused by the cop being out of uniform.
I wish every time a cop is out doors or out of their cars and under arms that he/she would put their friggin cap/hat on their friggin heads. Their hat/cap usually has a badge/cap device on it that identifies them as a cop. Some people with limited eyesight from drinking too many beers might not recognize them as cops when they are out of friggin uniform. Maybe a lot of friggin incidents like this one are caused by the cop being out of uniform.
In my CHL class, which BTW, was held very close to the city of Austin, we were taught that if you are ever stopped by a cop, the first words out of your mouth should be to inform the officer that you are armed, and that you should place both hands on the steering wheel where he can see them. Then you answer all of his questions, and probably one of the first things he will ask you is where is your gun located.
Keeping your hands on the steering wheel, you will tell him. From there you do as he tells you regarding the gun.
What evidence is there that he pointed it at the officer? It seems to be VERY much in the officer's best interest to SAY that is what happened, whether it is true or not.
The cop is already on edge...he’s going to have to take the gun out of my waistband while I have my arms up...dead men can’t argue that they weren’t drawing on him, but merely complying with his command.
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.