Opelika, AL cop cleared of shoot 1st shooting of drunk driver-- WOW!

[TaePo]

Unfortunately, the victim got distracted as he had problems opening his driver's door to get out, probably due to the accident.

One would hope you wouldn't get ventilated so quickly. In the constitution, we have due process, right to be tried by peers and criminal courts and the State are held to reasonable doubt standards against the defendant as well as many other rights of citizens. We do this because we want a system that would rather let a dozen guilty men go free rather than suffer the injustice of convicting an innocent man.

I guess the question we must ask is how much of a leeway do state agents get (regarding 'fear for their life')? They are required to follow the constitution and rights of citizens. In fact, this requirement makes the job more difficult and dangerous if followed. That is why I truly respect those who choose to do it and do it correctly. I don't think even in today's atmosphere the state can claim fear as it is their duty to intervene in a proper fashion.

I don't think the officer read the situation correctly. The driver who was shot also made errors in judgement, but then he is not highly trained or experienced in crimes or law enforcement. It was an accident scene and he had trouble exiting.

I also noticed after the shooting, around 4:15, an officer showed the truck driver the rear of the trailer and he had his hands up. It appears by how he behaved he was ordered to do this. Around the 5:15 mark, when the cops are preoccupied with the victim, the truck driver lowers his right hand and retrieves something from his right pants pocket/side. He raises it to his ear so I assume this is a cell phone. Why did he not get ventilated? That was very stupid of him to risk that. Especially after one person was already shot.

Of course, after the fact we know the officer's decision was incorrect. I can understand the officer's concerns at the time of the incident, but the totality of the circumstances did not indicate a threat. Yes, the driver could have been a threat, but the officer could move to cover and re-assess until known.

If it were me, I would quit as I don't think I had it together enough for future deadly force scenarios.

[Gun]

just how low is this threshold for fearing ones life by a reasonable officer???

The standard was set by the federal court of appeals and should apply to civilian self defense shootings.

[Williamsmith]

So what has happened since this ruling was handed down nearly a year ago? Is Hancock still employed as a police officer? Is he still morbidly obese? Has he had any remedial training in wallet recognition? Is he still afraid of his lunar eclipse like shadow?

I would have thought that an experienced officer would know that when you have someone covered with takedown lights, they can’t see anything even if they wanted to shoot you. I feel bad for the Airman. Bubba had a bad night.

[vinnyg101]

If this is justifiable every person needs to fear any interaction with the police.

It truly is a crap shoot when we are contacted by the police. Common sense has waned some much from the American public that the police/government can do almost anything to the sheeple and not be held accountable..

Unlike officers we don't do these drills until it's muscle memory. We need the opportunity to comprehend the command and then act.

Rep sent. This is so true. I have been saying this for years. We are not trained in the act of being barked at and verbally control by authoritarian figures that can beat or kills on in the blink of an eye.

[BionicMan]

That was attempted murder, plain and simple. The fact that this slipped through multiple courts truly shows just how broken our justice system really is. Sickening . . .

[knight0334]

Not that I am condoning the shooting, BUT.... ...if you get out of a car without being told to do so(except if car is on fire), and have something in your hands - you probably deserve to be shot for stupidity.


Stay in the car until directed to get out.

Do NOT have shit in your hands until directed to retrieve said items.

[vinnyg101]

Not that I am condoning the shooting, BUT.... ...if you get out of a car without being told to do so(except if car is on fire), and have something in your hands - you probably deserve to be shot for stupidity.


Stay in the car until directed to get out.

Do NOT have shit in your hands until directed to retrieve said items.

Why do people want to blame the citizen-victim for reckless and hostile policing.

For the most part there would 'almost' be no tolerance if a citizen shot a person as impulsive as the cop did in the video.

...to a rational trained mind that kid showed no aggression or awareness with intent to harm. The cop was simply jack up and set on "Full Retard" mode.

[archie19]

Not that I am condoning the shooting, BUT.... ...if you get out of a car without being told to do so(except if car is on fire), and have something in your hands - you probably deserve to be shot for stupidity.


Stay in the car until directed to get out.

Do NOT have shit in your hands until directed to retrieve said items.

This was a traffic accident not a traffic stop. Kinda hard to share insurance info, as required, without getting out.

[Emptymag]

I watched it and thought it was horrific.

Then I watched it REAL SLOW and I can see the instant where one's mind could see him grasping a weapon.

We get to judge these incidents after the fact, while watching video from a differing perspective from what the officer saw.
It's so much easier to know what to do after the fact - even easier to know "what should have been done".

The law goes by what the officer thought AT THAT EXACT MOMENT. That's why so many "obviously wrong" shootings are "cleared".

I'm not going to spend my life analyzing and researching this particular case, so I can't say one way of the other how I feel about it, but on the surface it looks like the cop fucked up royally. He knew he fucked up when he discovered that the guy wasn't armed - that much was clearly apparent by his pacing and such. In a strange way, that may have actually been evidence enough to show that he THOUGHT the guy was grasping a weapon.

[archie19]

why? why did he think a traffic accident was going to result in a weapon being brought out rather than a wallet or other id???