Is the body camera video helpful in this police shooting?

That is horrific.

It “helps” cover the cop’s ass because the new standard for police shooting people is anything that shows he might just might feel threatened.

I couldn’t see what the guy was trying to pick up, But the cop was told the dude had a firearm and was running, and the cop couldn’t take the chance.

Best shooting from a “real” cop I have ever seen. I will never forget the footage of 7 Chicago cops who had cornered a Cougar in a back alley and all seven unloading their weapons at this creature at point blank range and not one officers shot hit this animal as it casually said screw this and walked away.

He was running away…....I don’t know how to feel about this. He was running away but he could have stopped and turned around and shot.

It adds evidence and shows what the situation was like. It also helps others see what it was like, which are good in those ways.

I think it’s good in important ways to have this video and for people to see it and discuss it, because the USA has a lot to work out around police procedure and gun violence.

In general I don’t like having cameras everywhere, but a police shooting may be one of the places I welcome a camera most.

What was the real harm if the dude got away. You probably know who he is and where he lives. Just wait outside his door and wait for him to collect his food stamps (spoiler: dude was black and 50 feet away with his back to the cop when the cop started shooting). There was no real risk to the cop .

Whether it’s helpful depends on who is appointed to review this footage and what their objective is. Are they are trying to honestly determine whether the police officer had any justification for shooting this man or is their goal ensuring the police officer is protected?

What I saw was a man running from a police officer. Bending over to pick something up and then continuing to run away. Had he bent to pick something up and turned to face the officer, I could see some justification in the police officer feeling he needed to protect himself. The man didn’t do that. He continued to run away and I see no justification for shooting him.

Ah but we all know the cop will get away with it, regardless of body camera or not.

I don’t think that the suspect gave the officer much choice. in this situation it is much better to be judged by twelve than carried by six.

@1TubeGuru :: Did you actually watch the video? The cop started firing because the dude might get away. If anyone found that man a threat you seriously need to get your head checked.

I do not support this form of maverick cop justice under any circumstances and I find it appalling that they can take a life so easily. I find it even more appalling that they are absolved of the consequences for murder so negligently. Regardless of whether or not the cop was justified in his actions, I would assert that any kind of evidence that aids our ability to more accurately and fairly assess a situation is helpful.
Piece of advice for anyone considering running from the cops while carrying a firearm (not the best idea) perhaps you could try running with your open palm hands in the air. You may look a bit ridiculous, but I doubt it’d be too much of an issue for you if you were the type of person to threaten your love interest with a gun.

The more times I watch that video and truly put myself in the shoes of that policeman…the more I am convinced he had no choice but to use his service pistol to stop this man. This situation is just another example of kids gone wild who for whatever reason do not have the sense to respect the law and the officer who repeatedly told them to stop that shit.

We have Michael Brown, Eric Garner and now this dumbass who are just three examples of what happens when you disrespect and disobey the commands of a law enforcement officer. Hopefully the youths of today sit up and take notice that one…crime does not pay and two….listen to the police, respect the police and do what they tell you to do or you may end up dead if you don’t. Had the 3 young men I mentioned above done this….they would still be alive. No question about it.

@Cruiser
The issue here is not so cut and dry, that we as a civilized society should say “obey the law or die” especially when the means of execution is being gunned down in the street like a subhuman miscreant. We should place more value on life than that, even if it is the life of a criminal. I won’t argue that any party involoved in this particur situation was innocent or blameless because that would bolster very dangerous implications either way. There have been very many instances throughout the course of human history when the law has been very widely considered to be immoral along with those who enforce it. I don’t think that any rational human being would argue that the conduct of law enforcers, especially in recent news, can be described as humane or justified (in most cases.) I think (hope, really) that if you were in that cop’s position, you would think differently than to say “obey or die.” Also, the point in question is whether or not the video was conducive to the case evidence. I think we can assume that your answer is affirmative since you’ve already made a decision, though only armed with a paragraph of information and a short video clip.

I do appreciate your points you made @SloanFaunus but I will stand behind the facts…Facts are that had any of these men I referenced did what they were asked to do by these police officers they would be alive and not dead.

Police officers are people like you and me except for the fact that they have the duty to uphold and enforce the laws of our nation. They are like you and me in that they have families at home, shit shower and shave like we do yet go to work each and every day knowing some shithead will do something that will put their life in danger. So I ask you to put yourself in these police officers shoes and tell me what you would have done differently?? But do take into consideration these 3 men have committed crimes, some are known to be armed with weapons or outweigh you and exhibit threatening behaviors….one runs away drops something you know it could be a gun…or another who just tried to wrestle your gun away from you who then runs directly at you….how would you react? Bear in mind we are talking about making a life or death decision within micro seconds here….who would be dead or alive??? You or the criminal?

Fortunately and unfortunately I will never be able to explore that opportunity because my IQ exceeds the double digit range, which is an indicator of how backwards our justice system is, currently. I would agree with you that cops are just like you and I, however (I don’t know about you) I do not have a warranted mandate to gun people down in the streets and evade proper charges. It’s as I said before, no one can make an adequate judgement call based o
n the rudimentary knowledge given here. That does not mean that a police officer is automatically excused from gunning someone down who was fleeing from them. I’ve watched the video again and again as I’ve responded to this topic and if you notice, he ultimatey flees from the cop once he has retrieved his dropped item. I can’t know (no one can) what his intentions were previous to that, however he was shot in the back while running, not while threatening the officer’s life. I do agree that this particular individual was possibly a threat if left unattended, however there were alternative methods to dealing with that situation, as someone pointed out earlier and as I can deduct from the footage. I’m not blind to the fact that these individuals represent the potential to be life threatening, but shooting someone who is obviously fleeing seems a bit difficult to actually justify.

@SloanFaunus If you truly do have a double digit IQ like you say you do then you should be sufficiently smart enough to know how our legal system functions and that there are plenty of lawyers and judges equally as or smarter than you that oversee and adjudicate the laws we have and then accept these incidents and outcomes as they are and not let your thoughts and emotions be influenced by the AL Sharptons, Fox News and Huffington Posts of the world.

A double digit IQ is in the 10 to 99 range. Really nothing to brag about..

“because my IQ exceeds the double digit range” My apologies, I thought we were all literate.