Posted on 03/10/2015 10:16:18 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
*A white, Atlanta-area police officer shot and killed a naked and unarmed African-American man who was said to be acting erratically in his apartment complex and possibly suffering from a mental illness, reports Reuters.
This becomes third African-American man to be shot dead by police since last Friday, who either was or seemed unarmed.
In Mondays shooting, a Dekalb County police officer responded to a caller who said a man was acting deranged, knocking on doors, and crawling around on the ground naked, on Monday around 1 p.m. local time, county police chief Cedric Alexander told reporters.
The officer confronted the man, who was not wearing any clothes, in the parking lot, Alexander said at a conference published online by local broadcaster Fox5.
Alexander said the man ran at the officer, who backed up and ordered the person to stop before shooting him twice. Police did not find a weapon at the scene, he said.
Alexander said he could reasonably assume the person was possibly suffering from mental illness, given his behavior. He declined to identify the victim, but the New York Times reported that he was 27-year-old Anthony Hill.
Alexander said the officer, who had been with the department for seven years, was equipped with a taser at the time of the shooting. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation would handle Mondays incident, he said.
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
The shooting comes after a string of killings of unarmed black men by police in the United States. Last year, incidents in Fergsuon, Missouri and New York City prompted nationwide protests.
Dekalb County police has already faced protests after an officer shot dead a black man who had called 911 when his girlfriend was stabbed by an attacker in his apartment late last year, according to local media.
Police near Denver last Friday shot dead an unarmed man who was a wanted fugitive. On the same day, an officer in Madison, Wisconsin, shot dead a 19-year-old, prompting some 2,000 students to march in the states capital on Monday.
Sure - if I lay a finger on them. It is their job.
Mike Brown wrestled with the office for his weapon. Mike Brown was 300 Lbs and charging AFTER wrestling for the weapon and it discharging.
There better be a LOT that's not being told...or this is just another example of police being EXTREME cowards....fearful for their life at every mouse fart.
ANYONE who is so scared for their life that they need to use deadly force and can't think of another way to fight a naked man....doesn't need to be a cop.
Yep...Another vision the founding fathers had for this country...that laying a finger on a cop should carry the death penalty.
I have to say...the lowering of the bar that's required for a police officer to use deadly force should scare everyone...and the fact we are on a conservative site, a place where people should respect the constitution and due process...and that lowering of the bar is seen as justified...is down right tragic.
This has been standard operating procedure for decades; nothing new. Here in NJ decades ago we had some thugs disarm two cops and make them do some pretty sick stuff before killing them; nobody should expect a cop to go through that.
OK it is clear the cops are now too scared to behave appropriately. So either they need to double down on training, or cull out the ones who are too scared to keep their heads.
Once upon a time, a cop could deploy a nightstick. A taser is a really poor close quarters melee weapon. When things are happening fast at close range, swinging a nightstick was non lethal, but often brought permanent damage to the recipient of blows, which brought lawsuits, which led to their being largely dropped from police usage. A taser just doesn’t replace it from what I can tell.
The officer claims that, when the man turned to face him, he thought he had a canon pointed at him and he fired in panic to get in the first shot...
GA FReeper ping.
Also, it is worth noting for those not from the area that DeKalb County is majority black, the county CEO is black, and Cedric Alexander, who is identified as “county police chief,” is black. He’s actually the Director of Public Safety. I’ve met him, and he comes across as a smart, reasonable individual based on my interactions.
Come on, what a silly observation on your part.
The cop had to go home safe and sound after his shift.
“I dont care what color a person is, the fact that police keep shooting and killing people, even when they have less lethal weapons to choose from, like tazers on their person, is outrageous.”
Do you want cheese with your Whine.
Given what we know, that isn’t a whine, that’s a reasonable position to take.
When the facts come out it is most likely that the nutjob was going for the cops weapon. If it was a naked white “crazy” guy no one would give a shit.
"My best friend of 28 years (we became friends in the military) is a cop. He's a patrol sergeant in a medium sized city (~100K) and he is absolutely outraged at what he sees taking place across the country and thinks in a lot of instances these guys are cowards and afraid.
One thing he attributes this to is the lack of experience. He had 20 years military experience when he joined the force. He sees less and less of that. He has a bunch of kids (20's) with no life experience wielding a weapon. Their cocky and from a different generation that we are...they have less respect THEMSELVES for authority and it shows.
These are his words from 16 years as a cop and 20 years as a military vet."
I am still in (28 years now)...and indeed the culture change...even in the military...has been phenomenal over the last 20 years. Its the generation.
All I know is what I see...what I've experienced...and what my best friend and other cops I know (have many in my church and one lives across the street) tell me. Most law enforcement I know would personally disagree with you....VEHEMENTLY...that to lay a finger on them (especially when you are naked and unarmed) warrants a death sentence. They would call that line of thinking...the thinking of a "p*&#sy" and would have no respect for you as a man...and in these conversations I've had with them about this...that is what sticks out...they think a lot of the instances involve boys playing cop...no real men. You want to approach your job like that..."put on a dress."
My friend would say those cops are cowards and afraid to get the hair messed up...or afraid to throw down...so they use an excuse to pull a gun. He sees it A LOT in his younger officers and female police (who for the most part don't have the strength to fight).
The bottom line is this: We should not WANT the police to have the option to shoot us at any perceived threat. We should want them to do everything in their power to keep from pulling that trigger. This isn't the wild west...and it should never be. That's a state I do not want to live in...and you shouldn't either.
...with every other street named Peachtree they will get lost...
Comment section at the article full of total dumb-asses.
Most likely the sons (and daughters) of Obama...where’s the Rev Al?
Really? You call being concerned with this serious issue a whine? Well, I’m in good company because there are a lot of “whiners” out there right now.
Note to self: Never, ever, resist arrest, nekkid, in Dekalb county.
Laz....you still with us?
Sounds more like drugs than mental illness.
Barely. I'm on what appears to be a permanent limited-access account. Not seeing the point of too much continued participation here. I guess I will participate, but nothing like I used to.
Please tell anyone who's freepmailed me that I cannot respond: SHimmer1; buckeye texan; lucyt; georgiagirl2, cayuga; billys kid; hot tabasco, vendome, litehaus; cyber liberty
Still intend to make the shoot in June. I've made friends here that I won't abandon.
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