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I Am Glad I Am Not a Cop

BoneheadNW

New member
To have to make split-second, life and death decisions is not a job I would want, or could do. Sure, there are some situations where my job has life or death type decisions, but they are not based on potential violent actions of another person. Read below.
Bone
SEATTLE -- A 13-year-old boy was shot early Sunday morning after refusing to obey an officer and reaching into his pocket for a phone, which the officer mistook for a weapon.

Seattle Police Sgt. Deanna Nollette said the boy was shot in the leg. The teen was taken to Harborview Medical Center where he was expected to recover.

The shooting occurred just after 3 a.m. near the intersection of 26th and South Washington.

Nollette said the officer was on routine patrol when he encountered two teens who he thought were behaving suspiciously. When he approached, the two ran off.

He found them again a short time later and ordered both to stop. One of the boys complied, but Nollette said the other threw off his jacket and refused to show the officer his hands.

The teen allegedly walked toward the officer and reached into his pocket and began to pull out a black cell phone, at which point the officer fired twice.

Nollette said the officer did not know it was a phone and thought it was a weapon.

"It's a horrible situation to put an officer or anybody, an officer in this particular case who's in a full uniform, marked patrol car, he's making a reasonable demand for someone to just show their hands," said Deputy Chief John Diaz.

"And then you have one person comply and one being very agitated and unwilling to follow instructions. They don't have a lot of time to make a decision."

The officer, a 3-year veteran of the department, was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure any time an officer fires a weapon in the line of duty.

The other boy, who Nollette said is 14 years old, was interviewed and released to his parents.

Officials said the boy admitted to investigators that he and the wounded boy had been spraying graffiti on buildings in the area.

Nollette said the department's shooting review board would be investigating the incident.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Lets see if I have the situation straight. 2 punks, out at 3 am. I presume that is well past curfew? Both are vandalizing buildings with spray paint (tagging with their gang symbols?). Both run when encountered. When a second encounter occurs, one disobeys the officer and shows aggressive behavior. He approaches the officer in a confrontational manner. BANG BANG

While I believe police officers have a very difficult job to do and am glad that I am not one of them, I also think the officer showed great restraint for not shooting "center of mass" and putting two shots into this kid's chest. Honestly, I think it would have been both "reasonable" and "justified" under the circumstances.

It would have been horrible for the officer if he had shot center of mass, but it certainly would have been justified. I would think that there would be a huge deal of mental stress, feelings of guilt (even in a totally justified shooting) and remorse in any shooting of an individual where it was a one-on-one confrontation, so I think the officer is very relieved that he was either a bad shot or chose not to shoot center of mass in THIS PARTICULAR case.

I'm curious if the punks parents are going to try to sue the officer/department/city over this?
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I agree with you BH. And those split second decisions can make or break a persons entire career. I know they train for it, but when it comes down to it they have to decide correctly or they could end up dead.
I'm glad the kid was only hit in the leg, I hope he learned from this experience. To many times the kid or perp would be dead for not thinking clearly when they could have simply cooperated with the officer.
 

BoneheadNW

New member
While I am one who is known to question authority (that was how I was raised) and believe that even cops should be held accountable, it appears to me that he was justified in fearing for his safety (given the little info from the story).
Bonehead
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
That seems justified to me. It sucks for the cop though.

Cops sure have it rough these days. If they aren't in trouble for being to "tough" they get in trouble for being to friendly:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...12/rcmp_photos_071012/20071012?hub=TopStories

B.C. cops cause stir by posing with students

Updated Fri. Oct. 12 2007 11:56 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Photographs of police officers getting friendly with a group of female students have caused a stir at British Columbia's largest university this week.
A series of pictures were recently leaked anonymously to the University of British Columbia's student newspaper, The Ubyssey, showing two officers chumming with a group of women they had stopped to reprimand for drinking on the Vancouver campus.
RCMP Constables Scott Grabarczyk and Ben Savard can be seen in the photos, taken July 1, 2007, pretending to handcuff the women and letting them sit in the back of their police cruiser.
Witnesses told CTV British Columbia that a group of about 20 young people were waiting at the bus the evening of July 1, several with open liquor, when the officers approached the group and asked them to dump out the drinks.
They said some female foreign exchange students from Ireland began flirting with the officers and taking pictures.
Police officials said they are taking the situation seriously and are reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"An RCMP officer has to abide by the RCMP Code of Conduct, which states that, among numerous things, that they should be conducting themselves in an honourable manner, will not bring discredit to the RCMP, etc.," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Annie Linteau.
Students who were asked by CTV Vancouver seemed split on the issue. Some said the officers' actions were good clean fun, while others saw it as unprofessional.
"The police are in a difficult situation between being too hard on students and not very understanding, and being too friendly with students," Boris Korby, the news editor The Ubyssey, told CTV.
With files from CTV's Shannon Paterson
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have to side with the police officers again. Spreading good will to cute Irish lasses. I can't blame them a bit. Looks like they went above and beyond expectations. I probably would have done the same thing in their place. Give the guys a break. :beer:
 

ddrane2115

Charter Member
SUPER Site Supporter
100% with the cop on the shooting, no doubt. What about tasers, would this have worked and did the police dept have them at this time.
 

thcri

Gone But Not Forgotten
L

It would have been horrible for the officer if he had shot center of mass, but it certainly would have been justified. I would think that there would be a huge deal of mental stress, feelings of guilt (even in a totally justified shooting) and remorse in any shooting of an individual where it was a one-on-one confrontation, so I think the officer is very relieved that he was either a bad shot or chose not to shoot center of mass in THIS PARTICULAR case.

I'm curious if the punks parents are going to try to sue the officer/department/city over this?


I bet the parents do sue.. But I think parents should be sued for allowing their kids to be out that late at night. Bob your right in the fact this policeman was able to just wound this kid. If he would have killed the kid he would not have been able to live with this the rest of his life. Even though he was not at fault, just doing his job it would have mentally effected him the rest of his life.

The only thing I have to say is "Shame on the lazy ass parents" that allowed these kids to run at 3:00 in the morning. No parent in their right mind should allow this.

murph
 

BoneheadNW

New member
OK, prepare to be infuriated. Here is the latest (and I have highlighted some sections):
The father of the 13-year-old boy wounded by a Seattle police officer Sunday morning insists that his son complied with the officer's commands to put up his hands and was shot for no reason. George Trotman of Seattle gave his son's version of the Central District shooting on Sunday evening, several hours after police officials told reporters that the officer thought the boy was pulling a gun from his pants.



Instead, the boy had pulled a cell phone in a black case. The boy, who was hit in the shin and the thigh, was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where he was listed Sunday night in satisfactory condition.

The shooting occurred about 3 a.m. The boy and a 14-year-old friend were in the area to spray graffiti, police said. Deputy Police Chief John Diaz said the 13-year-old failed to put his hands in the air after being commanded to do so.

"That's a lie," Trotman, 57, said. "He was shot for no reason whatsoever. He said he was cooperative with the police."

Trotman believes that the officer stopped his son, who is of Filipino and Caucasian descent, and his friend, who is white, because they appeared to be Hispanic. The officer who fired his weapon is white. His son told him that the police "bypassed a couple of white kids who were roaming in the area."

Sgt. Deanna Nollette, a police spokeswoman, said Sunday night that she did not want to debate Trotman. But investigators, she added, have corroborated the officer's version of events with the 14-year-old.

The officer was on patrol in a marked police car when he spotted the two boys in the 2500 block of Yesler Way, Diaz said.

The boys saw the officer and ran. Trotman believes that they were running to a friend's house, adding that his son was staying at the 14-year-old's home and that they had sneaked out.

The officer chased them and found them a couple of blocks away at 26th Avenue South and South Washington Street. Thinking that the boys were acting suspiciously, he put his cruiser's spotlight on them and ordered them to put their hands up, police said. The 14-year-old did. Trotman's son, police said, appeared to be "agitated" and took off his large jacket and threw it to the ground.

The officer continued to order the boy to put his hands into the air. Police say the boy didn't, but his father said he did.

At one point, the boy lifted his T-shirt and pulled out a black object either from his pocket or the waistband.

The officer, who had his gun drawn, shot twice, hitting the boy in the leg.

After Sunday's shooting, investigators discovered the cell phone in the black case. Investigators don't know why the boy pulled out the phone.

Trotman said his son told him at Harborview that the officer asked him whether he had any weapons -- and the boy pulled out the cell phone.

But Nollette, the police spokeswoman, said that just before the boy was shot, his hands were near his pockets, and he was moving toward the officer.

Diaz described the situation as tragic for the officer and the boys. Seattle police have contacted the two families to offer support.

The 14-year-old was not detained.

At a news conference Sunday morning, Diaz said the parents of the 13-year-old are understandably angry. "We are very thankful he wasn't hurt more seriously," Diaz said.

Trotman said he was alerted by a telephone call that his son was at Harborview and had been shot by a police officer. "I was quite shocked and quite angry, which I'm trying to keep under control. From my point of view, it seems unjustified."

He intends to hire a lawyer to investigate seeking compensation from the city over the shooting. "The whole thing doesn't smell right."

The officer, who is in his 30s, is a three-year department veteran assigned to the East Precinct.

Seattle police say the officer has not been involved in previous shootings. He is on administrative leave as homicide detectives investigate. Seattle police officials expect to release his name on Monday.

The Sunday shooting marks at least the third officer-involved shooting for the year, police said.

Police say the neighborhood where the Sunday shooting took place has seen a recent rash of stabbings and other shootings. It is also known as a hot spot for drug dealing.

At the tree-lined intersection where the shooting occurred, bright pink paint marks the position of the officer's police car.

Neighbor Shawn Smith, 24, was in bed when he saw emergency lights from police cars flicker through his apartment window. Before that, he heard a "bam-bam."

"They sounded loud, but I didn't think it was that close," he said.

His housemate spotted two boys on the ground, one bleeding profusely from his leg.

An officer approached cautiously, Smith said, and placed handcuffs on the shooting victim.

While some neighbors said they heard the boy cry, Smith said the 13-year-old was relatively quiet.

"But he was moving his leg," he said. "I thought that was bad since he was just shot."
 

BoneheadNW

New member
This morning's commentary on the event is attached.
Bonehead
SEATTLE - I'm glad the kid's not dead; glad for him, and glad for the cop that shot him.

The 13-year-old had been stopped by the Seattle police officer around 3 o'clock Sunday morning.

The boy and his 14-year-old friend had sneaked out of the house and were apparently out to tag the area with graffiti.

The young teen was shot after the officer had told the pair to put their hands in the air.

Instead, the 13-year-old is said to have reached into his pocket or into his waistband for what turned out to be a cell phone.

Thinking it was a gun, the officer shot the boy in the shin and thigh.

He'll be OK.

Now we get to the boy's father.

His reaction is that the cop shot because his son is part Filipino.

He's calling the officer a liar and immediately started talking about how he's going to sue the city.

Mind you, the boy's friend has backed up the police officer's account of what happened, but hell, why let facts get in the way when dad sees dollar signs and can throw the race card around.

I'll be blunt: Dad is an ass.

And we wonder why it's so difficult to recruit police officers.

I'm just glad, for the boy and the cop, that this didn't turn out worse.
 

Bulldog1401

Anybody seen my marbles?
SUPER Site Supporter
I can only respond with admiration for each forum member that read this article and interpeted as it should be. :respect: You are right that these people are put in incredibly difficult situations and your understanding of their position is right on target. The last thing in the world that offficer wanted to do is open fire on that youth.. but he had to weigh that against possibly not returning home to his family if he hesitated. A lot of the popular undertow, such as much of rap music, tends toward disobedience and resistance to the rules of society and the police in general. Unfortunately these youth are still impressionalble and can receive the wrong message easily. I agree that the parents are largley to blame here.
 

urednecku

Active member
Site Supporter
Keep in mind the Officer had just a fraction of a second to make a decision that we, or a jury, will have an unlimited amount of time to make. ("Monday moring quaterbacking") I think he made the correct decision, given the circomstances described. :myopinion: He stopped any possible threat, non-lethaly. :applause: The boys knew they were wrong, & proved it when they ran. If the dad does sue, I would like to be on that jury. :shitHitFan: Our Law Enforcement has enough trouble trying to do their job safely and going home to THEIR children and wife as it is. :respect: I see enough of these punks when I go to town, that's why my children are now home-schooled. ...OK, I'll geto off now. :soapbox: I'ts just that this kind of crap gets my blood preasure up. :mad:
 
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