F*ed up

[jrachiever]

It seems that the officer is ready to pull out of the gas station, then sees the opportunity to write a seat belt ticket so puts it in reverse. The victim has already stopped his truck and is getting out because he doesn't realize that he's being pulled over until the officer gets out of his vehicle and approaches him. The officer should anticipate some confusion from this guy, but of course he doesn't. The he overreacts wildly, fires four freaking shots from point blank range and somehow misses 3 times, risking the lives of any number of other people in the gas station or in the street. He fires the last two shots when the guy is clearly acting entirely terrified and defensive, and the last shot when the guy has his arms in the air. The panicked behavior and colossal incompetence of this officer is just staggering and it's painful to think the victim nearly lost his life as a result of it.

The positive here is that it's a small miracle that the dash cam recorder wasn't "malfunctioning" and that he's been charged at all. Then the official story would have been that this unarmed man "charged" the officer, who would receive a commendation for his bravery while the victim's complaints and civil suit would be thrown out and everyone would just carry on. It's encouraging that the officer was quickly fired and charges have been brought. However, he'll very likely be acquitted outright or convicted of a minor offense. He'll do very little or no time. It's very likely that he'll end up back in law enforcement.

[nerd]

I got pulled over near Charleston SC on my way to Savannah. With my girlfriend at the time. Cop pulled me over and told me to get out of the car. Wasn't speeding- much. Had the cruise control set on 60 in a 55 zone on Highway 17 out in the middle of nowhere- wide open four lane. Don't think there's too many cops out there who would pull you over for 5mph over the limit, but whatever. After asking me where I was going and what I was doing there, he goes back to my car and cross-checks my story with my girlfriend. Then he tells me I was "tailgating a green Honda CRV" and was speeding. Which was BS because I hadn't seen a car for miles. This is out in the middle of nowhere north of Charleston. He eventually let us go, but it got me thinking- don't citizens have the right to remain in their vehicles and call local law enforcement if you suspect the cop stopping you isn't a legit cop? Because ever since I've been suspicious that that cop wasn't legit- the CRV that wasn't there, "speeding" when I was doing all of 5 over, cross checking my explanation where we were going and what we were doing. Even though I'd be hesitant to argue with a cop about getting out of a car after seeing a video of a guy getting shot after being pulled over for a seat belt violation.

south carolina...i got pulled over there. i think the speed limit is 70 on 95 and i was going 75. i got pulled over...first thing was, "do you have any weapons?"....and then "how fast were you going? where are you headed?"

i was like, "this has got to be some sort of joke"

[BirdsInNC]

south carolina...i got pulled over there. i think the speed limit is 70 on 95 and i was going 75. i got pulled over...first thing was, "do you have any weapons?"....and then "how fast were you going? where are you headed?"

i was like, "this has got to be some sort of joke"

That's exactly what I thought when I was told to stand by the hood of his car while he checked my story with my girlfriend- this is a joke, right? That's when I started getting suspicious that he wasn't legit. But the last thing I'm gonna do is start some shit with a cowboy hat-wearing cop in the middle of nowhere South Carolina.

[murph12]

The dangers us cops face every day in Ameica are very real. I've taken plenty of weapons off of people and have had plenty of scares. That example somebody used of shootings in Germany is interesting, i'd like to know how many officers are killed their each year as compared to here also. Bottom line is there are WAY more cops getting murdered and shot at than innocent civilians, thousands every year. But you definitely hear alot more about the police involved shootings that were not justified or are borderline justified. It really is a shame that, like every profession in the world, a few bad ones often make the rest look bad. Nearly every officer I've ever known cares about their job and tries to help people whenever they can.

That being said, this video is ridiculous. This trooper should have never fired at the man and he has no business in the job, at all. If your THAT scared, wrong career choice. He needs to be held accountable for this.

[Cheesesteak]

I thought that too at first when I saw the guy reach back into his vehicle. But IMHO there's a real problem with the trigger happy, shoot-first-and-ask-questions later type and that's what I'm getting from this vid.

Worst part, the guy was only turning around to go back into his vehicle because the officer asked for his license...wtf?

[Eagle Road]

The dangers us cops face every day in Ameica are very real. I've taken plenty of weapons off of people and have had plenty of scares. That example somebody used of shootings in Germany is interesting, i'd like to know how many officers are killed their each year as compared to here also. Bottom line is there are WAY more cops getting murdered and shot at than innocent civilians, thousands every year. But you definitely hear alot more about the police involved shootings that were not justified or are borderline justified. It really is a shame that, like every profession in the world, a few bad ones often make the rest look bad. Nearly every officer I've ever known cares about their job and tries to help people whenever they can.

That being said, this video is ridiculous. This trooper should have never fired at the man and he has no business in the job, at all. If your THAT scared, wrong career choice. He needs to be held accountable for this.

Answer this for me if you would, and I'm not looking to pick your answer apart, just clarification. As that cop is swinging his car around the station there is NO sighting of the victims car in the camera, so if the vic pulled in BEHIND the officer's car, how did the cop know he wasn't wearing his seatbelt?


There is more wrong here than JUST the shooting, JMHO

[murph12]

I originally thought the truck in front of the camera at the beginning of the tape was the one that was pulled over, but now I see it was not. I really cant answer that because I have no idea what the officer saw around him. The dash cam is only getting a very funneled picture of whats directly in front, so it's really tough to tell. The one thing I do know is that guy is in trouble, that video is real bad.

[Eagle Road]

I originally thought the truck in front of the camera at the beginning of the tape was the one that was pulled over, but now I see it was not. I really cant answer that because I have no idea what the officer saw around him. The dash cam is only getting a very funneled picture of whats directly in front, so it's really tough to tell. The one thing I do know is that guy is in trouble, that video is real bad.

Appreciate your candor.

[slag]

If South Carolina SP fired the guy instead of putting him on paid leave or something like that, you know it's bad.

[wynnron123]

If South Carolina SP fired the guy instead of putting him on paid leave or something like that, you know it's bad.

They did not waste anytime. Didn't want this to become another Ferguson issue.

[iowaigglefan]

I did see that - and found this

while I was looking for more info on that story.

THIS IS TOTALLY MESSED UP

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...c-episode.html

[Ground_Meat]

I thought that too at first when I saw the guy reach back into his vehicle. But IMHO there's a real problem with the trigger happy, shoot-first-and-ask-questions later type and that's what I'm getting from this vid.

LEOs are trained to not allow suspects to go back into a car. With that being said, the trooper should have asked him, "do you have ID?" or "where is your ID located" - from there, the officer should have determined how the ID was going to be obtained.