Police Shoot, Kill 80-Year-Old Man In His Own Bed, Don't Find the Drugs

[Peggy Reist]

In California of course.

Vid: Police Shoot, Kill 80-Year-Old Man In His Own Bed, Don't Find the Drugs They Were Looking For - Hit & Run : Reason.com

 

[JimTh]

Ya gotta kill em before ya grill em.

 

[BluesStringer]

The final scene of that video with the widow watching an old home-video of her now-dead husband, was gut-wrenching. I was frankly amazed at the composure she maintained throughout the previous 6 or so minutes. I guess I have to wonder if her interviews were a series of composure mixed with similar breakdowns and the video editors just saved a breakdown to end with a bang, or if she just held it together and lost it at the end just like it shows in the video. Except for that question of "artistic" license, the video was done well I thought.

I'll be very surprised if the cop who shot the old guy ever faces any charges. It makes me wish the man had actually opened fire with his weapon, the only difference if he had being that he might've inflicted injury or death on his jack-booted thug attackers. He, unfortunately, would've still died though, and any dead or injured cops would've been canonized for their courage under fire. Good grief I'm getting tired of these stories.

Blues

 

[Eidolon]

I wonder if he reached for the weapon as they came through the door but even so the fact that the cops story and the physical evidence don't match raises huge red flags.

 

[r1derbike]

I believe they were following the official edict to, "shoot first and ask questions later".

 

[Kennydale]

It's what's coming. The militarization of our community police departments. I'd still like to think there are more good LEOS then what this report portrays.

 

[BluesStringer]

It's what's coming. The militarization of our community police departments. I'd still like to think there are more good LEOS then what this report portrays.

I don't know what this report portrays as far as how many LEO's are "good" vs. trigger-happy thugs like the one who opened fire in this instance, but as to the part I put in bold, even if what you'd "like to think" were true, what would it matter to the citizen? How does anyone know anymore who they're allowing into their personal space when they roll their window down during a traffic stop? It could be Officer Friendly (to the extent that he still even exists), or it could be Daniel Harless, or Ramos and Cicinelli, or Johannes Mehserle and the list goes on and on and on endlessly. The point is, law-abiding citizens, or mentally ill homeless people, or people like Oscar Grant who simply got caught up in an investigation for an incident that he had nothing to do with, don't know before they're threatened with death, beat to death, or shot to death that they (we) got one of the bad guys that night instead of Officer Friendly. And we also can't count on the bad guys being held accountable for their abuses, as all three of the above links prove. Harless simply lost his job, Ramos and Cicinelli were acquitted (how could a Prosecutor blow a case like the Kelly Thomas murder???) and Mehserle got less than two years for calmly standing over Oscar Grant and shooting him in front of dozens of witnesses and on several cameras (again, how could the Prosecutor blow that case???).

To me it doesn't matter how many are good vs. bad anymore. Without accountability within their departments and the injustice system, none of them can be trusted to protect your rights or to protect you from themselves and/or their comrades.

Blues

 

[Firefighterchen]

What are the other cops doing to make sure their fellow criminal wearing a badge goes to prison? Nothing? ... I'd like to think clouds are fluffy pillows..but in reality I'll just fall to my death if I tried to lay on them...just like I'd probably die if I called the police for help.

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[gunnerbob]

What are the other cops doing to make sure their fellow criminal wearing a badge goes to prison? Nothing? ... I'd like to think clouds are fluffy pillows..but in reality I'll just fall to my death if I tried to lay on them...just like I'd probably die if I called the police for help.

Sent from my HTCONE using USA Carry mobile app

Chris Dorner tried to do the right thing, look what they did to him.

From Wiki: (emphasis added by me)

"On July 28, 2007 Dorner and his training officer, fellow police officer Teresa Evans (now a sergeant), went to the DoubleTree Hotel in San Pedro regarding a mentally ill man, Christopher Gettler, who was causing a disturbance.

Two weeks later, Evans gave Dorner a performance review that stated he needed to improve in three areas. The next day Dorner filed a report alleging that Evans had used excessive force in her treatment of Christopher Gettler. Dorner accused Evans of twice kicking Gettler in the face while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground.

An internal review board investigated these claims and listened to the testimony of several witnesses. Christopher Gettler's father, Richard Gettler, testified that after his son had returned home his face was puffy and his son claimed that he was kicked by a police officer. His father didn't report this to the police because the injury was minor and his son was unable to explain why he had been kicked. Christopher Gettler claimed that he had been kicked by a female officer who was "almost black" with dark hair. Evans was described in official documents as white with blond hair. Gettler then partially corrected himself, saying she had light hair. He also thought that his injuries had been caused by a club. Gettler's father said that his son's mental illness prevented him from being a good witness. Gettler has schizophrenia and severe dementia.

Dorner was represented by former Los Angeles police captain Randal Quan and maintained that Evans had kicked Christopher Gettler after handcuffing him.

Three witnesses, including two hotel employees and a port police officer, testified that they did not see Evans kick Christopher Gettler. Evans also denied kicking Christopher Gettler. The port police officer recalled telling Dorner to fix his tie; however, a photograph from the scene showed that Dorner was not wearing a tie.

The board's three members – two LAPD captains and a criminal defense attorney – unanimously ruled against Dorner. They found that his claims lacked credibility and that he was motivated in part by his fear that his training officer would give him a poor evaluation that could end his career. As a result, Dorner's employment was terminated on September 4, 2008.

Appeal

In 2010 the case was examined by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe who upheld the LAPD's decision to fire Dorner.

Judge David P. Yaffe said he was "uncertain whether the training officer kicked the suspect or not" but nevertheless upheld the department's decision to fire Dorner, according to LA Times. In that case, Dorner could be legally fired for filing a false police report even if the report was true. Dorner appealed his termination by the LAPD Board of Rights by filing a writ of mandamus with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which upheld the LAPD's action. He then appealed to the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, which affirmed the lower court's ruling on October 3, 2011. Under California law, administrative findings (in this case by the LAPD) are entitled to a presumption of correctness and the petitioner (in this case Dorner) bears the burden of proving that they were incorrect. The appeals court concluded that the LAPD Board of Rights had substantial evidence for its finding that Dorner was not credible in his allegations against Sergeant Evans.

On February 9, 2013, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck ordered a review of the disciplinary case that led to Dorner's dismissal. Chief Beck said officials would re-examine the allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues."


I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to think that an LAPD LEO would kick a mentally ill person and lie about it. I also don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to think that the department would cover it all up to save face...

 

[MZIngrahmm]

re: I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility to think that an LAPD LEO would kick a mentally ill person and lie about it. I also don't think it's out of the realm of possibility to think that the department would cover it all up to save face...
I lean more toward these acts and demeanors by LAPD LEOs as being, standard.