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Cleveland officer not guilty over deaths of two people shot at 137 times by police

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To be honest the verdict isn't wrong when looking at it from a legal or moral standpoint.

Legally? They were justified for opening fire on 2 counts by law. (Grey area)

If instead of going on a 22mile chase with the cops then the situation could has potential for a different outcome. Not stopping and choosing to engage in this implies guilt. Who gets into a car chase with cops if they've done nothing wrong? That was mistake No1. As evidenced by the 100 cops deployed. (Count No1 justified)

As for ramming a patrol car/attempting to run over a cop that was mistake No2 (Count No2 justified)

This officer however had no justification for the 3rd count on the hood of a vehicle. To charge him for manslaughter for the 3rd count you would need to prove that those 15 bullets fired while on the vehicle were the bullets which actually killed the targets.

From a legal PoV this case was a non-starter.

He should however have been charged for excessive force instead for the 3rd count only, with an outcome of conviction imo.
 
Oh, please.

Attack the event itself, the response by police, the method of the prosecution, absolutely. Protest everything that happened that day and that the cops are allowed to act as they do. But with what was placed in front of the judge, and the burden of proof necessary, how do you say that this specific cop is guilty of manslaughter?

The cops are entrenched in a secure position and the prosecution didn't do much to attack that. This was a pretty weak and not very aggressive case put in front of the judge.

You do realize that apathy/lack of empathy on the part of the general public contribute to corrupted systems being allowed to operate without consequences, right?
 

If you actually realize that you wouldn't have any issue with the post you quoted. Apathetic people and those who lack empathy, such as the people on this thread shrugging their shoulders at the chain of events, contribute to these outcomes by maintaining an environment where they are acceptable.
 

Wanderer5

Member
We have seen plenty of people who didn't run who met the same fate.

So what is the correct way to survive an encounter with police when you are unarmed?

By not making any sudden and/or stupid movement/action, and follow what the police tells you lol?
 
What kind of Rambo shit is this? Standing on the hood of the car and firing that many shots through the windshield? Holy fuck. He really wanted to make sure they were dead eh? You see this kind of shit in bad action movies.
 

PopeReal

Member
By not making any sudden and/or stupid movement/action, and follow what the police tells you lol?

Ah, stupid movement. Like putting your hands up? That gets you killed also.

You are not paying attention to what has been going on or are being purposely obtuse.
 

Wanderer5

Member
To be honest the verdict isn't wrong when looking at it from a legal or moral standpoint.

Legally? They were justified for opening fire on 2 counts by law. (Grey area)

If instead of going on a 22mile chase with the cops then the situation could has potential for a different outcome. Not stopping and choosing to engage in this implies guilt. Who gets into a car chase with cops if they've done nothing wrong? That was mistake No1. As evidenced by the 100 cops deployed. (Count No1 justified)

As for ramming a patrol car/attempting to run over a cop that was mistake No2 (Count No2 justified)

This officer however had no justification for the 3rd count on the hood of a vehicle. To charge him for manslaughter for the 3rd count you would need to prove that those 15 bullets fired while on the vehicle were the bullets which actually killed the targets.

From a legal PoV this case was a non-starter.

He should however have been charged for excessive force instead for the 3rd count only, with an outcome of conviction imo.

Indeed, he should have charges against him, but these weren't the right charges. Maybe that chance is still there.
 
Do absolutely everything they say.

Like the guy in walmart who was holding a toy gun from walmart and was shot and killed without the cops giving him any commands or warning.

Or the kid in the park where the cop dove out of the car firing at him before the car even stopped moving.

Or the guy defending his home from armed robbers who called the police and was shot because the cop shot him before he even finished saying "put down your weapon".
 

Wanderer5

Member
How often does it need to happen for you to care?

Hell lot more frequently to change my stance about how to react to a cop. These cases are still in the minority really. But really what other way is there to react? Run, fight back? There some bad apples out there that course need to be dealt with, but that is how you should react to a cop.
 
If you actually realize that you wouldn't have any issue with the post you quoted. Apathetic people and those who lack empathy, such as the people on this thread shrugging their shoulders at the chain of events, contribute to these outcomes by maintaining an environment where they are acceptable.

I take issue with the post I quoted because it's also dismissive of people who are pointing out that the legal case itself isn't as easy as it's been painted by some in this thread.

There are more reactions to this than straight anger and apathy. You can be angry that these events were allowed to happen while also acknowledging that the prosecution had a weak case that was handled poorly.

e: I don't think either of us are taking this lightly. I don't see why we're arguing on this note.
 

Derwind

Member
Wow. I really would like to know what "beyond a reasonable doubt" actually looks like because I'm thinking in almost every case involving police misconduct this term really has no meaning anymore.
 

ChouGoku

Member
I really wish I had the money to move somewhere else, I feel like anyday I could run into a cop who is having a bad day and die. Shits scary
 
This is the same PD that claimed Tamir Rice was reaching for a toy gun before the video came out right? And people are believing the ramming the cops story? You can't believe a word these terrorists say without having clear video evidence.
 
How sad is it that "follow without question and hesitation," is considered advice to avoid getting killed by a group of people.

He even admits that it's a random encounter like in oldschool final fantasy where each step gives you a random chance at battle.

No guarantee but hey guys it doesn't happen enough to consider it a thing.
 

Setsuna

Member
Wow. I really would like to know what "beyond a reasonable doubt" actually looks like because I'm thinking in almost every case involving police misconduct this term really has no meaning anymore.

could you prove without any question that the shots by this one officer is whats responsible for the death of the victims and not the other 80 shots
 

geardo

Member
could you prove without any question that the shots by this one officer is whats responsible for the death of the victims and not the other 80 shots

People have been executed on flimsier evidence. I wish every one could afford the kind of due process cops get.
 
Is there any explanation why 20 minute car chase happened ?

the backfire from the car, guys.

it sounded like a gun going off, so they started chasing the car. whether the drivers were completely aware that they were the ones being followed we'll never know.

Also, the civil suit should be huge.
 
Sorry, but most of America doesn't care.

This is true and it is sad but until things change stuff like this will continue to happen.


Unless protests get out of hand. And some buildings are looted or burned down. Then we will get the social media outrage.


That is on the media and the way they report on black people. What happened in Waco, Texas last week is a lot crazier then what happened in Baltimore but, you would not think that considering how the media reported on it. Imagine if protestors had over 300 weapons and 9 people died and 170 people were arrested during the protest, Baltimore would have been put under martial law.
 
What kind of asshole would defend this verdict? You would have to be a special kind of shitheel to defend this... hope no one is this thread is like that.

the verdict makes sense in its own bizarrely narrow vacuum. If the requirement is proof that he was the one that killed them...well my first fucking question is: why is that the situation the prosecution put themselves in in the first fucking place? that seems like...the hardest corner to paint yourself into as a prosecutor. is that really the BEST argument they could construct to get a conviction out of this entire clusterfuck? It's okay to gun people down that are terrified because their old car backfired?

the rest of the story and the fact that this is...like...the end of the story and nobody is going to jail....that is insanity. The system was quite disappointing in this instance.

Why does it even matter which exact bullets did the killing?

What a heaping load of misdirection.

I blame the prosecution for putting their entire case on one individual out of the entire bunch of dipshit officers and then making the hardest argument imaginable: "we can prove that this one officer fired the deciding shots". What the fuck.
 

Jarate

Banned
Why does it even matter which exact bullets did the killing?

What a heaping load of misdirection.
If those bullets were the one to kill then it would have been unnecessary manslaughter due to the fact that he did this last.

Also, people, dude was driving under the influence, on a 20+ minute police chase and tried to ram a vehicle. I understand that most of the times the use of police force is unnecessary due to the police and the community not being in danger, but you are honestly telling me that this guy wasn't a danger to not only police but also to other people throughout this entire event.

I think the bullet numbers were uneccesary but when you do shit like that, police have to make hard decisions.

Y'all acting like these guys did nothing
 
This is true and it is sad but until things change stuff like this will continue to happen.


That is on the media and the way they report on black people. What happened in Waco, Texas last week is a lot crazier then what happened in Baltimore but, you would not think that considering how the media reported on it. Imagine if protestors had over 300 weapons and 9 people died and 170 people were arrested during the protest, Baltimore would have been put under martial law.

The media really does under report on gangs though...where crazy stuff is always going down especially amongst the most infamous.
 

antonz

Member
Why does it even matter which exact bullets did the killing?

What a heaping load of misdirection.

It matter's because that is how the system is supposed to work for everyone. If Officer A fired the killing shot 50 rounds earlier but Officer B is a jackass who jumps up on the hood and fires some more that does not suddenly mean Officer B killed them when it in fact was Officer A.

Emotion is not supposed to play a role in the law. Officer B clearly deserves to be punished for what he did but you cannot arbitrarily decide he is the killer when there is no evidence and in fact dozens of Cops could in fact be the one who fired the fatal shots.

Officer Jackass was being used to try and deflect from bigger issues. The entire incident should lead to massive policy changes but instead they decided to try and use one man as a way to satisfy the populace and avoid bigger issues
 
If those bullets were the one to kill then it would have been unnecessary manslaughter due to the fact that he did this last.

Also, people, dude was driving under the influence, on a 20+ minute police chase and tried to ram a vehicle. I understand that most of the times the use of police force is unnecessary due to the police and the community not being in danger, but you are honestly telling me that this guy wasn't a danger to not only police but also to other people throughout this entire event.

I think the bullet numbers were uneccesary but when you do shit like that, police have to make hard decisions.

Y'all acting like these guys did nothing
Are you for fucking real right now?

What part of America do you live in where people driving under the influence are gunned down by law enforcement?

Don't worry; I'll wait.

You can't be fucking serious. Where do these people come from where, "well they were doing something wrong" = okay to remove their lives from the planet?
 

Jarate

Banned
The media really does under report on gangs though...where crazy stuff is always going down especially amongst the most infamous.
I think one of the reasons it gets under reported is because most news will cover the death initially, but not anythng past that. Theres a lot of drivebys and such that I used to see on the Philly news, but it most likely wasnt till later on it was deemed gang violence. And in the news case, they dont really update you on the death unless it hits the national public in some way.
Are you for fucking real right now?

What part of America do you live in where people driving under the influence are gunned down by law enforcement?

Don't worry; I'll wait.

You can't be fucking serious. Where do these people come from where, "well they were doing something wrong" = okay to remove their lives from the planet?
So just ignore the fact that they were on a 20 minute chase while intoxicated and also tried to ram a police car and policeman

Because even given the ugliest assumptions about the dead couple having the police response be 60 cars and 100+ shots is astoundingly excessive.
i agree somewhat, but police generally dont like to take risks and think of things like that. It might be an issue of excess with our police force, but its hard for me to tell someone "only shoot 20 bullets" when other human beings that are your coworkers and possibly friends are on the line.
 

entremet

Member
Juries are terrible about this.

Remember, for international folks, this was a jury trial.

Juries don't want to convict police officers.
 
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