Posted on 11/21/2014 12:41:07 PM PST by redreno
A rookie New York City police officer shot and killed an unarmed 28-year-old man in a darkened stairwell in Brooklyn late Thursday night, according to the police.
Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said that the victim, Akai Gurley, was “a total innocent” and called the shooting “an unfortunate accident.”
He was not engaged in any activity other than trying to walk down the stairs, Mr. Bratton said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio was also quick to offer his condolences to Mr. Gurley’s family. “This is a tragedy,” he said.
The officer who shot Mr. Gurley, Peter Liang, has been on the force for less than 18 months and was still on probationary status.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
If he is a sub-standard individual who thought he was acting properly, it wasn’t consciously reckless endangerment.
It was improper procedure to be sure.
I doubt he thought he was doing anything wrong. Something startled him, or he bumped something, or he took a mis-step, and the weapon was fired.
I believer there were a number of contributing factors that resulted in this accidental shooting.
I’ll bet this wasn’t the first time this guy used this same procedure. It should have been observed and corrected prior to this. If that’s the case, it could easily not be this officer’s total fault.
Someone has died. Our first reaction is to want justice for it. An idiot doing things wrong, possibly not even knowing they were wrong, is not necessarily the bad guy everyone will think him to be.
This is one of those times when you shake your head. It’s a tragic loss.
I judge EVERYTHING by whether or not a “REGULAR CITIZEN” would be Charged in the same circumstance. He Belongs in PRISON!
But then again I believe in “Equal Protection Under The Law” and reject anybody that claims a “Special Right”.
I hear you. I wouldn’t even put my finger on the trigger until I had identified my target. This policeman made a mistake that imho, is entirely unacceptable.
He pulled his gun to go down the stairwell even though he was not expecting trouble. He messed up 30 ways from Sunday.
Don’t take your gun out if there is no threat is another good one.
I lean your direction on that.
Those are the projects though. Even one of their black leaders said he’d have a gun out if it were him.
I don’t know that area or what goes on in those projects.
Seems like if you were jumped, having your gun out would be the best shot for the assailant to wind up with your gun.
“Tony Herbert, a community advocate in East New York, said that it was not unusual for police officers to patrol with their guns drawn.
“Honestly, I’d probably do the same thing if I’m walking into a dark staircase,” he said. “You want to be prepared for the worst if you feel the environment is threatening.””
Mr. Armed & Dangerous first put his fellow Thug-N-Uniform at risk by holding his gun while walking down a stairway. If he missed a step and stumbled, his finger may well squeeze the trigger in a reflex tightening of his hand around a solid object. That is a core human reflex, left over from our evolutionary period in the trees - grab or fall.
So, a rookie, with the all too common minimal firearms training given to police, leads with a drawn gun, and shoots an innocent man.
If this does not result in a maximum sentence for negligent homicide, then Neu Yuk Shity is further devolved than even I suspected.
I’d be fondling my gun but no booger hook on the trigger, and it would be discreet, until identification friend or foe.
The same cannot be said for Mr. Akai Gurley, whose only crime was "Felony walking downstairs while there's a cop nearby."
I can’t imagine living with what this man is going to have to live with for the rest of his life.
Truly a n avoidable tragedy.
Absolutely.
Excellent post! I agree 100%.
Did he mistake the poor guy for a dog?
Very nice! Thank you.
Plus, though extremely rare, those darn automatics just go off at the slightest bump.
I don’t blame the cop for being scared but his first duty ALWAYS is to maintain 100% control of that gun in his hand!
This poor kid failed his duty and may go to jail and unlikely will EVER be a cop ANYWHERE again.
“Honestly, I’d probably do the same thing if I’m walking into a dark staircase,” he said. “You want to be prepared for the worst if you feel the environment is threatening.”
Fine. Then there is the matter of RESPONSABILITY. The FIRST thing that went with the feminization of the job. Once Men couldn’t escape it, now it doesn’t apply.
The dishonesty started loooooooong before obozo, and the common man played along and supported it.
They almost always do.
“The gun went off” is one of the biggest lies in any criminal case, imho.
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