It's just open season on YBM!

I'm sorry but what ever happened to shooting out the tires, warning shots, or non-fatal shootings.

Only In Amerikkka: Cops Cleared In Murder Of Pace University Football Player Danroy Henry

Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:52 AM PST

When will this bullsh*t end???

Despite all the people who spoke out about the shooting of Danroy “DJ” Henry, the cops who fired on him in his car face no type of reprimand.

A Westchester grand jury has cleared two police officers of any criminality in the controversial shooting death last year of a Pace University football player, prosecutors said today.

The Westchester County DA’s office said the probe, where more than 400 people were interviewed, yielded no indictments by the grand jury into the tragic death of Danroy Henry, Jr., on Oct. 17 outside a Mount Pleasant bar.

After hearing testimony and examining ballistics and toxicology reports, the grand jury declined to indict Officer Aaron Hess, who said he fired his gun to protect himself from the path of Henry’s car.

Officer Ronald Beckley, who also fired at Henry’s vehicle, was also cleared of any wrongdoing.

Investigators later determined that Henry had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 — way above the state legal limit of .08 — when he was killed.

The DA said the investigation was conducted in coordination with three other law enforcement agencies, including the NY State Police, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety’s Forensic Identification Unit and the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

Again: so because the 20-year-old college kid was drinking, he deserved to die???

This was somebody’s baby! Will the murder of young black men by overzealous cops ever become a crime??

Source

The Easton family of Danroy “D.J.” Henry Jr. is dumbfounded, but vows to persevere after a New York grand jury brought no charges against a police officer who fatally shot the popular Pace University football player.

“It’s hard for my family,” Danroy Henry Sr. said last night. “This is an unfortunate roller coaster. For them, the tragedy is that he could be treated so horribly for following directions. That this process would work so hard against him. It’s designed and administered in such a way to protect its own interests. It’s hard to explain that to them. For me personally, it’s energizing.”

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said jurors found “no reasonable cause for an indictment” in the death of 20-year-old “D.J.” Henry, who was shot Oct. 17 outside of a bar in Thornwood, N.Y.

Henry said now that the grand jury process is done, the evidence the police used is available to the family’s lawyers, which includes video-tape surveillance as well as 911 calls. Henry has also asked the Justice Department to look into the shooting. He was told at the time not to expect any federal involvement until the state investigation would need to run its course.

“We’re not surprised at all,” he said. “This is what we were predicting would happen. The procedures they used to investigate this were akin to you or I being victimized by someone and them saying I’m going to have my brother and sister investigate this, and my mother and father will make a decision. The process is fraught with institutional biases that we’ve been trying to point out from the beginning.”

Cops were called to a disturbance that spilled out of the bar after the Pace homecoming game. Henry, who had been in the bar earlier, was parked in his Nissan in a fire lane when a policeman knocked on the driver’s-side window. Police said Henry sped off; his family said he moved away at parking lot speed, believing the officer was instructing him to move. Henry’s car hit the officer, who then fired through the windshield.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.c...id=1316917

That's terrible.

Police are SWINE.

This has been happening since forever. Why is anyone surprised?

I'm glad you've taken all the facts of the case into consideration before your commented. I know one of the police officers periphally involved.

The kid was parked where he shouldn't have been, and there was a huge drunken brawl taking place. If the kid had listened to the police officers, he would still be alive.

Instead, he took off and his car aimed for one of the policemen. The policeman had no recourse but to fire his weapon, for his own safety, the safety of other officers, and the surrounding crowd.

Every time a cop gets out of their car to make a traffic stop, or any other matter their life is on the line.

BlackAdder7 said:

I'm glad you've taken all the facts of the case into consideration before your commented. I know one of the police officers periphally involved.

The kid was parked where he shouldn't have been, and there was a huge drunken brawl taking place. If the kid had listened to the police officers, he would still be alive.

Instead, he took off and his car aimed for one of the policemen. The policeman had no recourse but to fire his weapon, for his own safety, the safety of other officers, and the surrounding crowd.

Every time a cop gets out of their car to make a traffic stop, or any other matter their life is on the line.

I see... was there video footage? I just don't understand why he didn't have anyone drive for him if he was drunk. Just sad.

BlackAdder7 said:

I'm glad you've taken all the facts of the case into consideration before your commented. I know one of the police officers periphally involved.

The kid was parked where he shouldn't have been, and there was a huge drunken brawl taking place. If the kid had listened to the police officers, he would still be alive.

Instead, he took off and his car aimed for one of the policemen. The policeman had no recourse but to fire his weapon, for his own safety, the safety of other officers, and the surrounding crowd.

Every time a cop gets out of their car to make a traffic stop, or any other matter their life is on the line.

How do you know he didn't listen to the police officers. The confusion is in what message was given and heard. I've been parked near fire hydrants or in loading zones and have had officers tap on my window and I proceed to move my car. I've never been shot at for being illegally parked thank goodness. How do you know his car aimed for one of the policemen? That would imply that he was not really drunk if he indeed intended to run over a cop; reason unknown. Also, it's not clear to me whether he hit the officer who tapped on the window or if he hit some other officer who would have had to be standing in the middle of the street in order to be hit by a moving car. The police are giving us one story and the family/friends are giving another. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Still...this kid didn't deserve to be murdered. I hope his family files a civil suit and wins.

HotGritz said: How do you know he didn't listen to the police officers. How do you know his car aimed for one of the policemen? That would imply that he was not really drunk if he indeed intended to run over a cop; reason unknown. Also, it's not clear to me whether he hit the officer who tapped on the window or if he hit some other officer who would have had to be standing in the middle of the street in order to be hit by a moving car. The police are giving us one story and the family/friends are giving another. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Still...this kid didn't deserve to be murdered. I hope his family files a civil suit and wins.

Well if there was a huge mob brawling maybe there are hundreds of witnesses that probably all have talked about it both officially and unoffcially. there's probably a lot more eyewitness account than just the cop and the victim's friends/family.

I'm not sure what you mean by "That would imply that he was not really drunk if he indeed intended to run over a cop; reason unknown."

ufoclub said:

HotGritz said: How do you know he didn't listen to the police officers. How do you know his car aimed for one of the policemen? That would imply that he was not really drunk if he indeed intended to run over a cop; reason unknown. Also, it's not clear to me whether he hit the officer who tapped on the window or if he hit some other officer who would have had to be standing in the middle of the street in order to be hit by a moving car. The police are giving us one story and the family/friends are giving another. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Still...this kid didn't deserve to be murdered. I hope his family files a civil suit and wins.

Well if there was a huge mob brawling maybe there are hundreds of witnesses that probably all have talked about it both officially and unoffcially. there's probably a lot more eyewitness account than just the cop and the victim's friends/family.

I'm not sure what you mean by "That would imply that he was not really drunk if he indeed intended to run over a cop; reason unknown."

The autopsy said he was liquored up. Does it sound reasonable that a drunk person would just up and attempt to run over a cop without cause or does it sound more reasonable that said drunk person had little control and clarity behing the wheel? To your first paragraph, yes there were witnesses (family and friends and bystanders) and they contradict what the cops are saying. The cops are basically saying that D.J disobeyed direct policie orders and attempted to kill a cop. Many witnesses cry bullshit.

you people sometimes just amaze me. I hope you need a cop sometime, and they don't show up because they're afraid of a lawsuit.

[Edited 2/15/11 17:57pm]

drinking & driving is a twatty thinhg to do, but why are they shooting this guy?.. their ultimate goal should have been to stop the car.

1) the cop should have got his slow arse out the way.

2) if they cannot aim properly at the tyres they shouldn't have a gun

DoffieParker said:

drinking & driving is a twatty thinhg to do, but why are they shooting this guy?.. their ultimate goal should have been to stop the car.

1) the cop should have got his slow arse out the way.

2) if they cannot aim properly at the tyres they shouldn't have a gun

Im not gonna pretend I know about this story, but if I see a car speeding toward me my first thought isnt gonna be "blow out the tires"....

And you can still drive in a straight line with a blown out tire.... Ive seen criminals do it all the time on Cops....

.

[Edited 2/15/11 18:12pm]

tinaz said:

DoffieParker said:

drinking & driving is a twatty thinhg to do, but why are they shooting this guy?.. their ultimate goal should have been to stop the car.

1) the cop should have got his slow arse out the way.

2) if they cannot aim properly at the tyres they shouldn't have a gun

Im not gonna pretend I know about this story, but if I see a car speeding toward me my first thought isnt gonna be "blow out the tires"....

And you can still drive in a straight line with a blown out tire.... Ive seen criminals do it all the time on Cops....

.

[Edited 2/15/11 18:12pm]

exactly! ok i can understand what you are saying about shooting out tyres, but honestly. if the cop had time to pull a gun, aim etc etc why didn't he just have the sense to get out the way? (& then get the tyres) weren't there 2 cops? there must be other ways of managing dangerous driving?

i dunno, police shooting anybody like this is inconcieveable in uk. a guy was shot last week, but only after he shot at the police, they had been briefed, knew he was armed & dangerous. it made national news

while i admire the americans 4 the no nonsense approach, this incident seems a bit extreme

BlackAdder7 said:

you people sometimes just amaze me. I hope you need a cop sometime, and they don't show up because they're afraid of a lawsuit.

[Edited 2/15/11 17:57pm]

You people???

hold the FUCK up....

there is a lonnnnngggg history of cops mistreating many people in black communities nation wide.

That said, things are better, but the sores still affect my community DAILY.

Call the cops??? You don't even want to know what I personally have been through and seen growing up. Talk about apathy?!! Shit that cops not showing up when you need them most is OLD news.

OK! I have watched more than one woman bleed to death on my street and lay dead over 24 periods because of cops not wanting to show up.

Wanna know about how many missing young black children are never found because of a lack of interest by the cops?!

Listen, crimes against black people BY the police have happened wayyy too much and are still happening to this very day.

Who does this hurt? EVERYBODY including the police themselves because when danger is close, the community does not aid in keeping an open line of communication to help officers that actually care about cleaning up their neighborhoods and keeping their communities safe.

And as a mother of young black men may I say this...

My kids have ONE time to fuck up and get killed, just ONE! Because my black kids will be treated instantly as perps. They only need to be a the wrong place at the wrong time and fall victim to being treated like straight up criminals before going to great lenghts to prove they are innocent. This is why black mommas are overly strict, so that their sons grow to be vigilant, because they don't have the luxury to have someone give them the benefit of doubt in any situation.

Its just the way things are, so what you are reading in this thread is YEARS and YEARS of frustrations of a community that has been systematically mistreated by its own police.

"you people" ????

I watched a woman get stabbed and limbs were chopped off as a fucking kid, she laid there for over 24 hours on a fucking sidewalk... we called the police, they wouldn't show... why? Because we lived in a fucking black neighborhood and white cops didn't even want to show up.

I've seen 12 cops gang up and beat up a visibly pregnant 17 year old black girl till she stopped moving for shoplifting a damn bag of fucking chips.

I've witnessed my 12 year old brother be beaten by 8 cops because he was in a stolen car with some buddies. They beat him til he was unrecognizable and brought to a station and refused to let my mom have access to him for 4 days... his eyes were swollen shut and he had 2 broken ribs from the assault the police gave him.

I had my son be searched without any cause just because he was walking down a street that was known for high crime, but he's an honor student just trying to a library to study. He had a gun drawn on him, he was only 14 fucking years old. Fuck you.

Lets not go their with the fucking Charles Stuart case were ALL black kids were rounded up and thrown in jail, finger printed and beaten for no fucking reason other than walking down a fucking street at the wrong time... over 100 underaged teens were arrested that day.

Average calls took ove 40 minutes for police response.... and two separate police stations were UNDER five miles away.

You people.... my fucking ass!!! It is that type of statement that makes people seem superior or different from the rest of us, that evil thought of entitlement and privileged that you deserve more consideration..... fuck you and all the other fucking assholes that keep up with the "You people" bullshit.

It is YOUR people that are being mistreated.... citizens just as good as me or you and someones child..... just like a child in your family was murdered over a trigger happy scared policeman that made a real bad call.

How much faith would you still have in police? Many in the black communities STILL work with police and do their best to stop crimes even help officers.... after all that bullsit I still do.

so fuck you thoroughly shaken down and rubbed together... how much faith would you have in the very same people who have shown you that they have no faith in you?

[Edited 2/16/11 0:38am]

paintedlady said:

BlackAdder7 said:

you people sometimes just amaze me. I hope you need a cop sometime, and they don't show up because they're afraid of a lawsuit.

[Edited 2/15/11 17:57pm]

You people???

hold the FUCK up....

there is a lonnnnngggg history of cops mistreating many people in black communities nation wide.

That said, things are better, but the sores still affect my community DAILY.

Call the cops??? You don't even want to know what I personally have been through and seen growing up. Talk about apathy?!! Shit that cops not showing up when you need them most is OLD news.

OK! I have watched more than one woman bleed to death on my street and lay dead over 24 periods because of cops not wanting to show up.

Wanna know about how many missing young black children are never found because of a lack of interest by the cops?!

Listen, crimes against black people BY the police have happened wayyy too much and are still happening to this very day.

Who does this hurt? EVERYBODY including the police themselves because when danger is close, the community does not aid in keeping an open line of communication to help officers that actually care about cleaning up their neighborhoods and keeping their communities safe.

And as a mother of young black men may I say this...

My kids have ONE time to fuck up and get killed, just ONE! Because my black kids will be treated instantly as perps. They only need to be a the wrong place at the wrong time and fall victim to being treated like straight up criminals before going to great lenghts to prove they are innocent. This is why black mommas are overly strict, so that their sons grow to be vigilant, because they don't have the luxury to have someone give them the benefit of doubt in any situation.

Its just the way things are, so what you are reading in this thread is YEARS and YEARS of frustrations of a community that has been systematically mistreated by its own police.

"you people" ????

I watched a woman get stabbed and limbs were chopped off as a fucking kid, she laid there for over 24 hours on a fucking sidewalk... we called the police, they wouldn't show... why? Because we lived in a fucking black neighborhood and white cops didn't even want to show up.

I've seen 12 cops gang up and beat up a visibly pregnant 17 year old black girl till she stopped moving for shoplifting a damn bag of fucking chips.

I've witnessed my 12 year old brother be beaten by 8 cops because he was in a stolen car with some buddies. They beat him til he was unrecognizable and brought to a station and refused to let my mom have access to him for 4 days... his eyes were swollen shut and he had 2 broken ribs from the assault the police gave him.

I had my son be searched without any cause just because he was walking down a street that was known for high crime, but he's an honor student just trying to a library to study. He had a gun drawn on him, he was only 14 fucking years old. Fuck you.

Lets not go their with the fucking Charles Stuart case were ALL black kids were rounded up and thrown in jail, finger printed and beaten for no fucking reason other than walking down a fucking street at the wrong time... over 100 underaged teens were arrested that day.

Average calls took ove 40 minutes for police response.... and two separate police stations were UNDER five miles away.

You people.... my fucking ass!!! It is that type of statement that makes people seem superior or different from the rest of us, that evil thought of entitlement and privileged that you deserve more consideration..... fuck you and all the other fucking assholes that keep up with the "You people" bullshit.

It is YOUR people that are being mistreated.... citizens just as good as me or you and someones child..... just like a child in your family was murdered over a trigger happy scared policeman that made a real bad call.

How much faith would you still have in police? Many in the black communities STILL work with police and do their best to stop crimes even help officers.... after all that bullsit I still do.

so fuck you thoroughly shaken down and rubbed together... how much faith would you have in the very same people who have shown you that they have no faith in you?

[Edited 2/16/11 0:38am]

I completely agree with the bolded statements (which isn't to say that I disagree with others).

That said, I didn't think BlackAdder was referring to Black people when saying "you people". I took it to mean people around this site and perhaps elsewhere on the internet that may be more (perhaps deservedly) cynical in regards to police and their behavior.

FauxReal said:

paintedlady said:

You people???

hold the FUCK up....

there is a lonnnnngggg history of cops mistreating many people in black communities nation wide.

That said, things are better, but the sores still affect my community DAILY.

Call the cops??? You don't even want to know what I personally have been through and seen growing up. Talk about apathy?!! Shit that cops not showing up when you need them most is OLD news.

OK! I have watched more than one woman bleed to death on my street and lay dead over 24 periods because of cops not wanting to show up.

Wanna know about how many missing young black children are never found because of a lack of interest by the cops?!

Listen, crimes against black people BY the police have happened wayyy too much and are still happening to this very day.

Who does this hurt? EVERYBODY including the police themselves because when danger is close, the community does not aid in keeping an open line of communication to help officers that actually care about cleaning up their neighborhoods and keeping their communities safe.

And as a mother of young black men may I say this...

My kids have ONE time to fuck up and get killed, just ONE! Because my black kids will be treated instantly as perps. They only need to be a the wrong place at the wrong time and fall victim to being treated like straight up criminals before going to great lenghts to prove they are innocent. This is why black mommas are overly strict, so that their sons grow to be vigilant, because they don't have the luxury to have someone give them the benefit of doubt in any situation.

Its just the way things are, so what you are reading in this thread is YEARS and YEARS of frustrations of a community that has been systematically mistreated by its own police.

"you people" ????

I watched a woman get stabbed and limbs were chopped off as a fucking kid, she laid there for over 24 hours on a fucking sidewalk... we called the police, they wouldn't show... why? Because we lived in a fucking black neighborhood and white cops didn't even want to show up.

I've seen 12 cops gang up and beat up a visibly pregnant 17 year old black girl till she stopped moving for shoplifting a damn bag of fucking chips.

I've witnessed my 12 year old brother be beaten by 8 cops because he was in a stolen car with some buddies. They beat him til he was unrecognizable and brought to a station and refused to let my mom have access to him for 4 days... his eyes were swollen shut and he had 2 broken ribs from the assault the police gave him.

I had my son be searched without any cause just because he was walking down a street that was known for high crime, but he's an honor student just trying to a library to study. He had a gun drawn on him, he was only 14 fucking years old. Fuck you.

Lets not go their with the fucking Charles Stuart case were ALL black kids were rounded up and thrown in jail, finger printed and beaten for no fucking reason other than walking down a fucking street at the wrong time... over 100 underaged teens were arrested that day.

Average calls took ove 40 minutes for police response.... and two separate police stations were UNDER five miles away.

You people.... my fucking ass!!! It is that type of statement that makes people seem superior or different from the rest of us, that evil thought of entitlement and privileged that you deserve more consideration..... fuck you and all the other fucking assholes that keep up with the "You people" bullshit.

It is YOUR people that are being mistreated.... citizens just as good as me or you and someones child..... just like a child in your family was murdered over a trigger happy scared policeman that made a real bad call.

How much faith would you still have in police? Many in the black communities STILL work with police and do their best to stop crimes even help officers.... after all that bullsit I still do.

so fuck you thoroughly shaken down and rubbed together... how much faith would you have in the very same people who have shown you that they have no faith in you?

[Edited 2/16/11 0:38am]

I completely agree with the bolded statements (which isn't to say that I disagree with others).

That said, I didn't think BlackAdder was referring to Black people when saying "you people". I took it to mean people around this site and perhaps elsewhere on the internet that may be more (perhaps deservedly) cynical in regards to police and their behavior.

I hope so too. I am just tired of it always being the "black communities" fault in every situation.

Policemen are just human and they mess up and do wrong just like the rest of us.

paintedlady said:

FauxReal said:

I completely agree with the bolded statements (which isn't to say that I disagree with others).

That said, I didn't think BlackAdder was referring to Black people when saying "you people". I took it to mean people around this site and perhaps elsewhere on the internet that may be more (perhaps deservedly) cynical in regards to police and their behavior.

I hope so too. I am just tired of it always being the "black communities" fault in every situation.

Policemen are just human and they mess up and do wrong just like the rest of us.

Yeah, I don't think this situation really had to come to what it did. Yes there were people around, yes he could've sped off and hurt someone, but how is that different than the average high speed chase with hundreds of commuters around? Not like police instantly pull out guns and start blasting then.

On a random sidenote, on that same site I read an article about "Tragic Mulattos" posted lower on the page that pissed me off. Apparently all multiracial/bi-racial people need to A) suck it up and stop complaining and B) Just call themselves Black.

FauxReal said:

paintedlady said:

I hope so too. I am just tired of it always being the "black communities" fault in every situation.

Policemen are just human and they mess up and do wrong just like the rest of us.

Yeah, I don't think this situation really had to come to what it did. Yes there were people around, yes he could've sped off and hurt someone, but how is that different than the average high speed chase with hundreds of commuters around? Not like police instantly pull out guns and start blasting then.

On a random sidenote, on that same site I read an article about "Tragic Mulattos" posted lower on the page that pissed me off. Apparently all multiracial/bi-racial people need to A) suck it up and stop complaining and B) Just call themselves Black.

Its this type of tpoic that opens up many unhealed wounds on both sides.

We as a nation still have far to go in regards of understanding. I feel for the police that have to do virtual triple duty in the neighborhoods they care about that happen to have black people in them.

I know so many good people that do not trust police in general and many don't care enough to try to understand why.

I feel for that family, I have my own thoughts on why they wouldn't know their own son was out driving as an underaged drinker.... but many people's children do this very same thing and death by policeofficer is usually never even considered.

we do not live in a country here where ppl get killed and hurt and no one shows up.... thank God.... we have killings and crime here too, although it is not as bad as America.

Our police officers are viewed differently, yet there is corruption 2, but all in all, most are genuine. the worst thing they do is get you for traffic violations....

even still the saddest thing is that a young man lost his life..... to me it would be my worst nightmare if one of my kids got hurt or killed……

i pray for his family as they will live with this tragedy forever

the police officers were found not guilty, by a jury who would have seen the evidence.... if it was all a facade... then this is when i hope hell truly exists

[Edited 2/16/11 3:11am]

I am white so I am going to put my 2 cents in as an outsider.

What this needs in order to stop is a million man march meets M.A.D.D. type of thing. There needs to be a focused group of people that gets together to fight police brutality against black citizens. PERIOD.

This group has to stick to topic and not discuss education, unemployment etc in the African American Community. To be effective they have to zero in on this and not get caught up in hunger, homelessness and royalties in the record industry.

I have lived in neighborhoods where people didn't need to know my name I was simply "THE" white lady and could go a few days without seeing another white person. What I learnt is that blacks do not like to call the police and that means that they will wait along longer to call the police on a scary neighbor then white folks will. That leads to the problem escalating until it is so crazy you just have to call them.

So why do they wait? To the black communities The men in blue are not much different them Jesse James and his band of outlaws who could shoot a man for snoring too loud. The don't think of the men in blue as rational at all. They think of them as "shoot first and come up with a better plan" later types. So basically they avoid getting help until it is almost too late. By the time they call, it is a HUGE problem that is scary and need immediate attention and of course most likely their are already guns involved before the officer Jesse James arrives. So now Officer Dirty Harry has an equal chance of being shot and it isn't so much fun anymore so he'll just finish that donut and coffee before responding to this call.

The whole thing is nasty and unless concerned citizens go after this topic, and it is lead by hopefully a female with normal hair and a decent speaking style like the late Rosa Parks, and the group stays on topic and doesn't try to get rid of every single problem plaguing the black community, IT WILL CONTINUE.

Given that I am white I can not be the one to lead. Some one has to step forward though.

[Edited 2/16/11 7:56am]

certainly a shame that this young man lost his life. Very sad and tragic indeed. BUT let's not forget that a drunk behind the wheel of a 3000+ lb vehicle is a deadly weapon, so to say the cop should have moved faster or something is really a stupid thing to say. (IMO)

It said somewhere that he hit another cop prior to being shot? if that's the case I can imagine that's probably why the other officer felt he had to shoot. But I don't know....I wish it would have turned out differently. I wish it was not a race issue. I'm assuming the cops were all white?

Shorty said:

certainly a shame that this young man lost his life. Very sad and tragic indeed. BUT let's not forget that a drunk behind the wheel of a 3000+ lb vehicle is a deadly weapon, so to say the cop should have moved faster or something is really a stupid thing to say. (IMO)

It said somewhere that he hit another cop prior to being shot? if that's the case I can imagine that's probably why the other officer felt he had to shoot. But I don't know....I wish it would have turned out differently. I wish it was not a race issue. I'm assuming the cops were all white?

Shorty, what I have noticed is that it seems that all cops, black or white etc, seem to pull the trigger faster when the suspect is black. The problem is with all law enforcement in general and the trust level that that has caused in the black community. What they are left with is either crazy shit or no law enforcement at all.

Deadflow3r said:

Shorty said:

certainly a shame that this young man lost his life. Very sad and tragic indeed. BUT let's not forget that a drunk behind the wheel of a 3000+ lb vehicle is a deadly weapon, so to say the cop should have moved faster or something is really a stupid thing to say. (IMO)

It said somewhere that he hit another cop prior to being shot? if that's the case I can imagine that's probably why the other officer felt he had to shoot. But I don't know....I wish it would have turned out differently. I wish it was not a race issue. I'm assuming the cops were all white?

Shorty, what I have noticed is that it seems that all cops, black or white etc, seem to pull the trigger faster when the suspect is black. The problem is with all law enforcement in general and the trust level that that has caused in the black community. What they are left with is either crazy shit or no law enforcement at all.

Yep. Even black cops shoot black folks. It's more of an establishment vs. the people thing. Always has been.

Deadflow3r said:

Shorty said:

certainly a shame that this young man lost his life. Very sad and tragic indeed. BUT let's not forget that a drunk behind the wheel of a 3000+ lb vehicle is a deadly weapon, so to say the cop should have moved faster or something is really a stupid thing to say. (IMO)

It said somewhere that he hit another cop prior to being shot? if that's the case I can imagine that's probably why the other officer felt he had to shoot. But I don't know....I wish it would have turned out differently. I wish it was not a race issue. I'm assuming the cops were all white?

Shorty, what I have noticed is that it seems that all cops, black or white etc, seem to pull the trigger faster when the suspect is black. The problem is with all law enforcement in general and the trust level that that has caused in the black community. What they are left with is either crazy shit or no law enforcement at all.

Being the son of a police officer, this is gospel truth. My father told me he would chastise his co-workers(black and white) who got out of line with suspects. Once he rose in rank, any cop under his command who didn't do the job right was in serious trouble.

BlackAdder7 said:

you people sometimes just amaze me. I hope you need a cop sometime, and they don't show up because they're afraid of a lawsuit.

[Edited 2/15/11 17:57pm]

I agree. Why people think they can do whatever they want to without consequence is beyond me.

paintedlady said:

FauxReal said:

I completely agree with the bolded statements (which isn't to say that I disagree with others).

That said, I didn't think BlackAdder was referring to Black people when saying "you people". I took it to mean people around this site and perhaps elsewhere on the internet that may be more (perhaps deservedly) cynical in regards to police and their behavior.

I hope so too. I am just tired of it always being the "black communities" fault in every situation.

Policemen are just human and they mess up and do wrong just like the rest of us.

And in kind, I'm tired of it always being the cops' fault in every situation.

Deadflow3r said:

Shorty said:

certainly a shame that this young man lost his life. Very sad and tragic indeed. BUT let's not forget that a drunk behind the wheel of a 3000+ lb vehicle is a deadly weapon, so to say the cop should have moved faster or something is really a stupid thing to say. (IMO)

It said somewhere that he hit another cop prior to being shot? if that's the case I can imagine that's probably why the other officer felt he had to shoot. But I don't know....I wish it would have turned out differently. I wish it was not a race issue. I'm assuming the cops were all white?

Shorty, what I have noticed is that it seems that all cops, black or white etc, seem to pull the trigger faster when the suspect is black. The problem is with all law enforcement in general and the trust level that that has caused in the black community. What they are left with is either crazy shit or no law enforcement at all.

Timmy84 said:

Deadflow3r said:

Shorty, what I have noticed is that it seems that all cops, black or white etc, seem to pull the trigger faster when the suspect is black. The problem is with all law enforcement in general and the trust level that that has caused in the black community. What they are left with is either crazy shit or no law enforcement at all.

Yep. Even black cops shoot black folks. It's more of an establishment vs. the people thing. Always has been.

I'm with ya on the establishment vs. the people. that's where I think it's at. SOME (most?)policemen feel they are above the law. I think the power goes to their head.

I remember that story. So sad.

Deadflow3r said:

I am white so I am going to put my 2 cents in as an outsider.

What this needs in order to stop is a million man march meets M.A.D.D. type of thing. There needs to be a focused group of people that gets together to fight police brutality against black citizens. PERIOD.

Good idea, and there's many community groups that take to the streets fo their own communities and have done that for years, but that seldom gets any media attention. That's been done since the 60s, not much has changed. This is why there will always be mistrust between the Black community and police departments. No real form of community relations when you have a history of police officers never paying the price for murdering many unarmed, black males. It's one thing if these suspects actually committed a crime and was an immediate threat to police officers and the community at large, but in many of these cases, those young males were unarmed, so you can't expect a community who has experienced these type of shootings for years and barely seeing police officers pay for these crimes, to embrace trust in police departments.

One would be living in a glass house not to know this, and looking from "the outside" when some don't live within these communities, but yet angry because the cops get blamed for it, doesn't help either, because they're not looking at this with an open mind, but coming to terms with it, with their own prejudices.

There's two sides to a situation, and often times, in these "particular" situations, the cops are the ones in the wrong. Why shoot to kill first if there is no weapon drawn from the suspect? It's like our police officers need some serious re-training, and many should not be cops. Not everyone is qualified to be a police officer.

You're talking about communities who are also trying to stop the violence control the violence within their own, especially youth violence, with no "real" help from polititicians or law enforcement agencies, coming to the table to try and work with members of those communities. Some of these politicians only come into these communities (lower-income/middle-class minority communities) and want these same people to vote them into office, but when the community cries out for help from those politicians, suddenly they're missing in action or too busy to take time to listen to their concerns. It's a catch-22 situation between many black communities and police departments. It doesn't matter how economically well or educated blacks are, many racially-prejudiced cops will shoot-to-kill first because they see one thing as a threat, and that is the person's color, from the stereotypical assumption they already had in their mind of that/those individual(s) when deciding to pull that trigger.

How many times have undercover black cops been mistaken as the "suspect" by white, black, hispanic, etc., cops when making that 3-second decision to shoot first, ask questions later, but rarely do any of them (whether that cop is white, black, hispanic) make that same decision to pull the trigger first when the suspect may be white. An ugly reality but true. A very difficult situation on a national basis, as far as finding effective ways to improve community relations between minority communities, and better job training among police officers.