Another shooting of a black man in Atlanta

[NewCreation435]

There was shooting of a black man named Rayshard Brooks at a drive through in Atlanta, Georgia. There is video of the incident where Rayshard is wrestled to the ground by police and they are apparently attempted to taz him and he gets the tazzer and runs from the police. When he turns the tazzer toward the officer the officer fires his weapon and shot Rayshard, who later dies at the hospital. The officer who shot him was fired and the other officer involved put on administrative leave. I am not sure why the officer used deadly force in this incident. If all the man was doing was sleeping wouldn't it be a simple citation and then appear in court later? I wonder if police need to be trained better to deescalate situations like this so that it doesn't get out of hand. It seems so unncecessary for this to be happening.

'Two gunshot wounds of his back': Rayshard Brooks' death ruled as homicide; Atlanta officer fired

The shooting of Rayshard Brooks makes Atlanta the latest epicenter in the urgent, nationwide demand for social change. A march is set for Monday.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Jason76]

This could be another staged event like with Floyd. You just can't trust the news these days.

 

[tango]

If all the man was doing was sleeping it probably would be a simple citation but the news report says he struggled with the officers, grabbed a taser and fled. That's not quite the same as "just sleeping".

It still leaves a question over whether deadly force was required but it's not as if two cops just shot some random dude as he slept. In any event grabbing a weapon from a cop and running away isn't the smartest thing to do.

 

[Andrew]

If all the man was doing was sleeping it probably would be a simple citation but the news report says he struggled with the officers, grabbed a taser and fled. That's not quite the same as "just sleeping".

It still leaves a question over whether deadly force was required but it's not as if two cops just shot some random dude as he slept. In any event grabbing a weapon from a cop and running away isn't the smartest thing to do.

The police officer could have been tased and had his gun taken from him and shot, I believe that was a fight or flight situation

 

[tango]

The police officer could have been tased and had his gun taken from him and shot, I believe that was a fight or flight situation

A solo police officer could potentially face that but it seems less likely if the suspect is fleeing. As with so many other things it's hard to say from a single news report that may nor may not have all the facts and may or may not be pushing an agenda.

I can't help wondering whether at least some of the people howling now would be howling just as loudly if the suspect had gone on to use the stolen taser to commit crimes elsewhere.

 

[NerdGirl123]

I'm a middle aged white woman, and I would never, ever defy a direct order from a police officer. I would never run from a police officer. I would never grab a police officer. I would never try to touch a police officer's weapons. I would never advance on a police officer. If I did, I fully expect that I could be shot. Obey the police. Follow their orders. If they're wrongfully stopping you or pulling you over, take it to court to fight it. Do not fight it on the street. Seems this should be common sense anymore, but clearly it's not.

 

[tango]

I'm naturally way of the notion that we must just blindly obey whatever any cop tells us to do - that way lies a police state - but grabbing an officer's weapon and fleeing seems like a good way to get shot whatever your race.

Of course when a white cop shoots a black suspect it's immediately a racial incident regardless of the facts.

We may never know the full facts but it does seem that wrestling with police officers, stealing a weapon and fleeing with it suggests there was more going on than a guy who had had a couple of drinks and dozed off in the drive through.

 

[NewCreation435]

The police officer could have been tased and had his gun taken from him and shot, I believe that was a fight or flight situation

The video is online and is shows the man running away from the police, turning slightly and pointing the taser at the officer.

 

[NewCreation435]

I'm naturally way of the notion that we must just blindly obey whatever any cop tells us to do - that way lies a police state - but grabbing an officer's weapon and fleeing seems like a good way to get shot whatever your race.

Of course when a white cop shoots a black suspect it's immediately a racial incident regardless of the facts.

We may never know the full facts but it does seem that wrestling with police officers, stealing a weapon and fleeing with it suggests there was more going on than a guy who had had a couple of drinks and dozed off in the drive through.

From what I read that was the original reason they were called to the fast food place was that he fell asleep in the drive through. There is no justification for shooting him. please watch the video

Video shows moments leading up to fatal Rayshard Brooks shooting | CNN

Bodycam video released by the Atlanta Police Department show the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

www.cnn.com

 

[tango]

From what I read that was the original reason they were called to the fast food place was that he fell asleep in the drive through. There is no justification for shooting him. please watch the video

Video shows moments leading up to fatal Rayshard Brooks shooting | CNN

Bodycam video released by the Atlanta Police Department show the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

www.cnn.com

The original reason may be a man asleep in the drive through (presumably a suspected drunk driver).

It's easy to watch a video and decide from an armchair what should have been done. If you've just had a suspect fight with you, steal your weapon and run away you're in a very different place to the person watching a video from the safety of their own home with a foregone conclusion presented ahead of time. For what it's worth I wouldn't be too quick to trust a CNN video to be impartial.

Whether the shooting was justified or not seems debatable. From what I've seen so far I'd be inclined to lean towards probably not, but then I'm writing from the safety of my recliner having not had a suspect wrestle with me, steal my weapon and flee. Of course if the suspect took a police taser and then pointed it at the officer there's no way of knowing whether it was intended to be part of an attempt to flee, or an attempt to incapacitate the officer and steal a more deadly weapon. The cop gets to make that judgment call in a split second and the consequences of getting it wrong could be that he dies or that someone else dies needlessly. We get to watch the video, think about it, pause it, replay it, think some more, discuss it, bring our own political views to bear on it, watch it again, and so on.

Difficult split-second decisions are much easier when you've got all the time in the world to consider them and don't have to face consequences either way.

 

[NewCreation435]

The original reason may be a man asleep in the drive through (presumably a suspected drunk driver).

It's easy to watch a video and decide from an armchair what should have been done. If you've just had a suspect fight with you, steal your weapon and run away you're in a very different place to the person watching a video from the safety of their own home with a foregone conclusion presented ahead of time. For what it's worth I wouldn't be too quick to trust a CNN video to be impartial.

Whether the shooting was justified or not seems debatable. From what I've seen so far I'd be inclined to lean towards probably not, but then I'm writing from the safety of my recliner having not had a suspect wrestle with me, steal my weapon and flee. Of course if the suspect took a police taser and then pointed it at the officer there's no way of knowing whether it was intended to be part of an attempt to flee, or an attempt to incapacitate the officer and steal a more deadly weapon. The cop gets to make that judgment call in a split second and the consequences of getting it wrong could be that he dies or that someone else dies needlessly. We get to watch the video, think about it, pause it, replay it, think some more, discuss it, bring our own political views to bear on it, watch it again, and so on.

Difficult split-second decisions are much easier when you've got all the time in the world to consider them and don't have to face consequences either way.

It's isn't CNN Video. It is video from police body camera.

 

[tango]

It's isn't CNN Video. It is video from police body camera.

The article said something about the body cameras coming off before the shooting and footage being captured from security cameras. Either way, the fact remains that a detached opinion from the safety of my armchair is of limited relevance to the situation.