Baltimore LEO's kill plain clothes LEO

[kingofthedemo]

''BALTIMORE – Baltimore police say that fellow officers fired the gun shots that killed a plainclothes officer during a melee outside a nightclub.

A 22-year-old civilian was also killed in the early Sunday morning shooting.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefield III said on Monday that no civilians fired any shots.

Officer William Torbit Jr. was on duty in plainclothes when he responded to a report of trouble at the club. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi (goo-lee-EHL-mee) says Torbit was trying to break up a fight when he was attacked and pulled out his weapon to defend himself.

At some point after that, officers opened fire, killing the officer. Police say Torbit was wearing his badge but there were no other indicators he was police.

The officers who fired are on administrative leave.''



If they killed one of their own, it could happen to you when your defending your self, it goes to show you, as soon as the cops arrive drop your gun!!!


Link to original story- Link Removed

 

[Kasper]

He should haver had is uniform on that way he would not have looked like a criminal or joe citizen with a gun. The officers who shot him will not get in trouble.

 

[kingofthedemo]

He should haver had is uniform on that way he would not have looked like a criminal or joe citizen with a gun. The officers who shot him will not get in trouble.

He probably heard the call on the radio, he was the first on the scene and he probably didn't have time to put his uniform on; he may not have even had it on him, of course the cops will not get in trouble they are cops and we all know that cops are infallible.....

 

[kingofthedemo]

He should haver had is uniform on that way he would not have looked like a criminal or joe citizen with a gun. The officers who shot him will not get in trouble.

Whats wrong with looking like a citizen with a gun? He was being attacked and reguardless of whether he was a LEO or a citizen, he had the right to defend himself...

 

[Desert Dude]

He probably heard the call on the radio, he was the first on the scene and he probably didn't have time to put his uniform on; he may not have even had it on him, of course the cops won't get in trouble the're cops and we all no that cops are infallible.....

Completly uncalled for statement.

 

[paulk]

He should haver had is uniform on that way he would not have looked like a criminal or joe citizen with a gun. The officers who shot him will not get in trouble.

I'm not sure you understand, it says "plainclothes officer" which implies he doesn't wear a uniform when on duty. This is different from an off duty uniform officer.

 

[NavyLCDR]

of course the cops won't get in trouble the're cops and we all no that cops are infallible.....

Completly uncalled for statement.

Not to mention grammatically pathetic as well.

 

[Hubs]

He was probably undercover, hence no uniform.

So unfortunate....

 

[GRiddle]

Whats wrong with looking like a citizen with a gun? He was being attacked and reguardless of whether he was a LEO or a citizen, he had the right to defend himself...

+1

I'm looking forward to the outcome of this article.

kingofthedemo has it on the money - if I'm in public and am attacked, I'm going for my weapon before my attacker does. I would hate for an LEO to see that and unload on me.

 

[Unfettered Might]

Since the gun wasn't pointed at them, they should have ordered him to drop his weapon because they didn't know what was going on.

The same is expected of us because of the very same reason. If you are not there from the start, order them to the drop their weapon unless they are pointing it at you, you might be shooting an undercover officer or even a law abiding citizen protecting themselves.

They were trigger happy.

 

[kingofthedemo]

Not to mention grammatically pathetic as well.

Well excuse me, I didn't know you were the grammar police. I had a ''few'' beers when I wrote that. Here's the grammatically correct version!

Original- ''of course the cops won't get in trouble the're cops and we all no that cops are infallible.....''

Corrected- of course the cops will not get in trouble they are cops and we all know that cops are infallible.....


Look, I think you guys are taking what I said out of context. I don't mean to offend anybody here. But, I felt like the police who fired on one of their own should be held accountable for their actions, maybe they should lose their jobs. I'm sure the family of the deceased officer would agree with this. In my opinion they were fallible! You can't justify their actions. They should have ordered him to drop his weapon, he was just doing his job when they shot him! There are some trigger happy cops!

 

[billv]

Most police want undercover and officers not in uniform to be observers. It makes for a better witness. And keeps those LEO's not in uniform alive and the scene less confusing.

 

[stevebonning]

There's not been much talk lately about this shooting, but what has come out publicly should be disturbing to all. The officer that was shot was an undercover cop; he apparently pulled out his weapon in an attempt to quell the disturbance that developed--I think that is a big mistake. Gaining order is never a reason to pull a weapon in a crowd. When the police arrived, they started shooting, something in the vicinity of 42 shots fired, all from the arriving police. The dead cop was on his back when shot. The civilian that was killed was unarmed, as was everyone else. There was no teargas/pepper spray used or other non-lethal weapons deployed.

I sent a ltr to my Md State representative using this shooting as as example of the data that stated one is 5x more likely to be shot by police than by an armed civilian.

If this incident is investigated fully and without bias, I suspect the Police dept will come out looking very bad, training will have to be addressed, non-lethal weapons will be stressed, and a few lawsuits will ensue.

 

[Kasper]

Whats wrong with looking like a citizen with a gun? He was being attacked and reguardless of whether he was a LEO or a citizen, he had the right to defend himself...

You end up getting shot by trigger happy cops. As I have found out he was undercover so more then likely looked like a scumbag to the uniform offices that showed up on scene. As for them telling him to drop his weapon that would allow the person time to turn and shoot at the officers. As for them getting in trouble it will be highly unlikely due to the justices system wanting the police officers not to be worried about what if's when responding to a call.

 

[austexsig]

What happened is tragic for everyone involved. There are many ''what if's'' that can be asked, as well as other questions. I work in law enforcement, and the one thing I am wondering, plaincothes or not, where was his badge? We all carry our badges/id's when carrying our weapons in the department in which I work, especially when off duty and carrying. Why did he not have his badge at least (like we carry when off duty/plainclothes) around his neck in a carrier and under his shirt. It's easy to pull out and display quickly with one hand while pulling a weapon with the other. There are so many variables here, it would be nice to hear/read how this actually happened instead of relying on the news media. My prayers go out to his family as well as those of the other victims and the cops involved.

 

[kingofthedemo]

You end up getting shot by trigger happy cops. As I have found out he was undercover so more then likely looked like a scumbag to the uniform offices that showed up on scene. As for them telling him to drop his weapon that would allow the person time to turn and shoot at the officers. As for them getting in trouble it will be highly unlikely due to the justices system wanting the police officers not to be worried about what if's when responding to a call.

He was being attacked by a large group of people, he unholstered his weapon in an attempt to defend himself. That makes him appear like a ''scumbag'' (Sic)?

 

[ohio pat]

police officer shot by another police officer

Not unusual, it use to be very common (urban rumor has it) that Chicago and Cook County Police would do that fairly frequently.

There was an error here, if the plainclothes officer advised his communications center that he was investigating a fight, he was a one man unit not in uniform, it should not have happened.

The same holds true when a ccw holder sees an officer in trouble, if he is going to help the officer he had better call the police by phone tell them what is going on and ask them if they want him to help the officer that is in trouble (getting beaten up in a fight). The ccw holder wants to be sure to tell the police how he is dressed so when the other police get there they don't think he is the bad guy.

Getting a ccw permit is a right, but remember it also carrys responsibility.

Pat Olvey
email [email protected] or [email protected]

 

[Kasper]

He was being attacked by a large group of people, he unholstered his weapon in an attempt to defend himself. That makes him appear like a ''scumbag'' (Sic)?

To the cops that shot him it did. As for what he looked like I don't know cause I was not there. But I am sure he looked like a suspect that was a scumbag to the cops that opened fire on him and the people standing next to or behind him.

And as I stated earlier it is highly unlikely they will be in any trouble for the actions they have taken. As they have to make split second decision on wither to shot or not and the judicial systems does not want the law enforcement officers afraid to take action out of fear of being in trouble if they make a bad decision.

 

[kingofthedemo]

To the cops that shot him it did. As for what he looked like I don't know cause I was not there. But I am sure he looked like a suspect that was a scumbag to the cops that opened fire on him and the people standing next to or behind him.

And as I stated earlier it is highly unlikely they will be in any trouble for the actions they have taken. As they have to make split second decision on wither to shot or not and the judicial systems does not want the law enforcement officers afraid to take action out of fear of being in trouble if they make a bad decision.

A bad decision? They killed someone! They deserve to lose their jobs! He was not pointing his gun in their direction. No one has the right to gun someone down just because they have a gun, you must identify that your target is a definate threat before you pull the trigger, this man was not a threat to the people who shot him, they made a grave mistake which they should pay for with their jobs. I'm sure the family of the deceased officer would agree with this.

Everyone is making the assumption that he did not have his badge on, maybe he did. It sounds to me like the cops saw a gun and shot him down. This is absurd! If you saw someone in a crowd of people with a gun would you just open fire? No, that person could be a legal concealed carry holder defending himself, or an undercover cop. If a concealed carry holder would have made the same rash and wreckless decision that these cops made. They would be in jail right now. You have to think before you shoot!

 

[wjh2657]

Another article stated he entered a fracas between two civilians and shot one of them (the 22 year old.) Who was unarmed by the way. I don't think the arriving officers were negligent. They happened on an armed man in civilian clothes who was firing at a bunch of unarmed civilians. Badge was probably hidden from their line of sight. Their immediate concern was to put him down before he shot any more people. I don't know situation that precipitated first shooting but the arriving officers probably handled it the best they could with what was before them at the time. Tragic circumstance all around, but too early in the information flow to put any blame on anybody.