Good thing no innocent bystander was hit by this stray bullet

[GNBRETT]

What ? ???

The kid can be in the wrong all day long but we can't loose sight of what we're there for and what we stand for. Obviously this is just another snip it that hurts all who work in law enforcement and gives every POS on the planet something to talk about.

really, the kid can wrong all day long and I cant punch him in the face after an attempted Robbery? we cant lose sight of what were there and stand for? really? ??? the cop was there to catch an attempted robbery suspect who ran from him on foot.

if im chasing some little punk who was with another little punk wearing a ski mask who was about to rob a store and he turns on me as soon as im about to grab him after ive been chasing him for a block or so that's exactly what im gonna do is punch him in the face as hard as I can to hopefully knock him out so he doesnt try to fight with me and take my gun or pull out his gun and shoot me.

that type of force is 100% reasonable when your referring to a robbery that just went down or was about to go down for which you interrupted and that's exactly how I would write it in my report considering you had no time to use any other less lethal force to stop him at that point.

if he had wrote it the way it happened and stated that he didnt feel that he could holster his weapon in him in time and punched him in the face to knock him out im sure he would have likely been written up for it since he still had his weapon in his hand but that's about it. he surely would not have been fired for it. no way no how.

maybe you havent been in too many foot pursuits with would-be robbers where you work but where this cop works which is a known violent place (PG County which is right outside Washington DC) where gun violence is an every day occurence its pretty common for robbery suspects to be armed and shoot at the police after a foot pursuit.

should he have done it with a gun in his hand? nope. but if he had time to holster his weapon which he obviously didnt since the kid stopped running and immediatly turned towards him to face him vs. getting on the ground to surrender a punch to the face with his fist would be reasonable all day long and twice on Sunday. punching someone in the face is LOWER on the force continuum then ur Baton, Taser or OC spray would be under those circumstances.

so yes punching a likely armed robbery suspect in the face is reasonable. you cant ASSume it was a strong arm robbery and that they were not armed.

or maybe you think the cop should have waited till he turned around completely and pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot him???? cmon, ur in LE and should know a little better then most how fast things can happen so to get up on ur high horse and say we cant lose sight of what were there for is absolute nonsense.

 

[m_ridgeway]

really, the kid can wrong all day long and I cant punch him in the face after an attempted Robbery? we cant lose sight of what were there and stand for? really? ??? the cop was there to catch an attempted robbery suspect who ran from him on foot.

if im chasing some little punk who was with another little punk wearing a ski mask who was about to rob a store and he turns on me as soon as im about to grab him after ive been chasing him for a block or so that's exactly what im gonna do is punch him in the face as hard as I can to hopefully knock him out so he doesnt try to fight with me and take my gun or pull out his gun and shoot me.

that type of force is 100% reasonable when your referring to a robbery that just went down or was about to go down for which you interrupted and that's exactly how I would write it in my report considering you had no time to use any other less lethal force to stop him at that point.

if he had wrote it the way it happened and stated that he didnt feel that he could holster his weapon in him in time and punched him in the face to knock him out im sure he would have likely been written up for it since he still had his weapon in his hand but that's about it. he surely would not have been fired for it. no way no how.

maybe you havent been in too many foot pursuits with would-be robbers where you work but where this cop works which is a known violent place (PG County which is right outside Washington DC) where gun violence is an every day occurence its pretty common for robbery suspects to be armed and shoot at the police after a foot pursuit.

should he have done it with a gun in his hand? nope. but if he had time to holster his weapon which he obviously didnt since the kid stopped running and immediatly turned towards him to face him vs. getting on the ground to surrender a punch to the face with his fist would be reasonable all day long and twice on Sunday. punching someone in the face is LOWER on the force continuum then ur Baton, Taser or OC spray would be under those circumstances.

so yes punching a likely armed robbery suspect in the face is reasonable. you cant ASSume it was a strong arm robbery and that they were not armed.

or maybe you think the cop should have waited till he turned around completely and pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot him???? cmon, ur in LE and should know a little better then most how fast things can happen so to get up on ur high horse and say we cant lose sight of what were there for is absolute nonsense.

If hes running id rather you shoot him than punch him with your gun.

 

[TallTom]

As was pointed out.....The COPS LIED to cover it up. If it was good bust, they have nothing to worry about in telling the truth to anyone in or out of the dept.

And I know for a fact that these videos do not represent the majority of cops that are out there. The dis-heartening part are the ones that find these cops actions as defensible blaming it on "snippets" or "segments". Poor cops they are getting such a raw deal these days. Maybe it's time that everyone gets to see "snippets" and "segments" of what crap cops have been getting away with for way too long. I come from 3 generations of law enforcement. There were always bad cops. But never as many as there seem to be now. The ethics nowadays are completely different than when being a cop was honorable. Bad cops were quickly taken off the force by their own back when my dad and grandad were cops.

I posted that video a couple of weeks ago of the cop that did the smack down on the stripper. I called Lt. Sully IA at Pensacola PD. That cop was a problem officer that had PLENTY of prior issues prior to that video that THEY released to the public. The dept was using great restraint by not already dumping that piece of crap before then. That cop had a long list that, if he were a civilian, the cops would be calling a piece of crap that deserves to be smacked down.

 

[StromBusa]

It is such a tough situation these days. Too much crime....Too many loopholes....Too many lawyers... Too many stereotypes... Too many bleeding hearts.. and Too many snippets. If the guys were knocking off the store, they shouldn't be too surprized to get shot. If they were getting coffee, they should work on communicative skills. I am real glad that I don't have to do the beat cop thing because I would rather let my bullets do the running. We do not know the whole story here for sure, however, the cop does not come off to well in the video, and lying on the report is no better than knocking off the store. However, without knowing the whole story , he may have been showing remarkable restraint with the pistol whip. An accurate report is a prerequisite to the officers credibility however, so I have know idea about this deal. Stray bullet in the sky is a bad thing. "Gun discharged when I struck the suspect" would have covered it though.

 

[Rollin20z]

that type of force is 100% reasonable when your referring to a robbery that just went down or was about to go down for which you interrupted and that's exactly how I would write it in my report considering you had no time to use any other less lethal force to stop him at that point.

Way to go Roscoe!! Now work on your statement you'll be giving to the family of that little innocent child that you just killed with your stray bullet that was discharged from your gun because you were trying to apprehend an ASSumed ATTEMPTED ROBBERY suspect because he was wearing a ski mask and you figured bashing him in the head with your loaded weapon was your best option.


"Ma'me, I'm sorry I killed your child but the gentleman we arrested was wearing a ski mask and we ASSumed was about ready to rob a store, and punching him in the head with my loaded weapon was the only thing I could come up with at the time."

 

[lankeeyankee]

Way to go Roscoe!! Now work on your statement you'll be giving to the family of that little innocent child that you just killed with your stray bullet that was discharged from your gun because you were trying to apprehend an ASSumed ATTEMPTED ROBBERY suspect because he was wearing a ski mask and you figured bashing him in the head with your loaded weapon was your best option.


"Ma'me, I'm sorry I killed your child but the gentleman we arrested was wearing a ski mask and we ASSumed was about ready to rob a store, and punching him in the head with my loaded weapon was the only thing I could come up with at the time."

Now Rollin you know that your going to get the POPO upset here. We all know that cops always write there reports accurate, always act professinal, and most of all tell the truth. Just as another member stated a while back. A cop puts on a badge with respect, when that cop removes his badge he is a law obiding citizen and would never do anything to jeporadize his postion.
I am sure he had a good reason for bashing a kid over the head with a loaded weapon. Yeah maybe he was running away, I always thought police have special training to restrain a suspect? I think he was a nice cop, 30 years ago he would have broke the kids knee caps with a billy club stick.
I am glad my tax dollars are being spent well on these so called trained officers.
NO, its not an easy job I admit either is a brain surgeon so I didnt make my career being a brain surgeon I pursued another field which I have skills in and I wish some cops would use this logic rather then getting manly high feeling, or possibly feeling tough. Is it from childhood that this behavior happens

 

[1busa]

We can sit here and go back and forth on how this police officer handled or didnt handle the situation correctly. He shoulda did this or shouldnt have did that. There are people that have commented that we have only seen a snippet and that we dont know the whole story or situation??? I guess they have access to the extended forum version that others dont........ It is the truth to an extent however we dont know what all transpired from that video clip however there is 2 facts that we do know. That officer had an accidental discharge of a firearm.(FACT) He then wrote an inaccurate police report to cover his and his partner then corroborated with his false official statement(FACT) Whether those kids were there to rob the gas station or to buy a slurpee is irrelevant. What is being called into question is this public servants integrity When you are in a position of authority your actions and conduct are held to a higher standard. Is it fair in most cases no, but thats the way it is and if you dont like it or cant handle the pressure the local walmart could always use another late night shelf stocker. The minute that cop conducted himself in that manner and demonstrated reckless behavior IE: Negligent discharge of your weapon and a false official statement in his police report his integrity is now under suspicion. If he would have just told the truth in his report "hey the kid turned around I panicked and hit him with my gun, it was an accidental discharge." But no, that would have been too easy. Instead he chose to lie and that makes him a DIRTY cop, if he had the lack of integrity and gull to cover this up what else has he done or might try to cover up in the future?? When you lose integrity as a police officer you lose the trust of your peers and the community that you serve...........after all you are a public servant not a self servant. He has no business ever carrying a gun let alone a badge again, good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[TallTom]

We can sit here and go back and forth on how this police officer handled or didnt handle the situation correctly. He shoulda did this or shouldnt have did that. There are people that have commented that we have only seen a snippet and that we dont know the whole story or situation??? I guess they have access to the extended forum version that others dont........ It is the truth to an extent however we dont know what all transpired from that video clip however there is 2 facts that we do know. That officer had an accidental discharge of a firearm.(FACT) He then wrote an inaccurate police report to cover his and his partner then corroborated with his false official statement(FACT) Whether those kids were there to rob the gas station or to buy a slurpee is irrelevant. What is being called into question is this public servants integrity When you are in a position of authority your actions and conduct are held to a higher standard. Is it fair in most cases no, but thats the way it is and if you dont like it or cant handle the pressure the local walmart could always use another late night shelf stocker. The minute that cop conducted himself in that manner and demonstrated reckless behavior IE: Negligent discharge of your weapon and a false official statement in his police report his integrity is now under suspicion. If he would have just told the truth in his report "hey the kid turned around I panicked and hit him with my gun, it was an accidental discharge." But no, that would have been too easy. Instead he chose to lie and that makes him a DIRTY cop, if he had the lack of integrity and gull to cover this up what else has he done or might try to cover up in the future?? When you lose integrity as a police officer you lose the trust of your peers and the community that you serve...........after all you are a public servant not a self servant. He has no business ever carrying a gun let alone a badge again, good riddance to bad rubbish.

+1. Nice summation.

If he would written it up truthfully, the cop would be in hot water with his dept. for use of excessive force. So they lie to cover it up. Don't stop doing it, just don't let anyone find out.

 

[dadofthree]

Think about this. If he had used proper technique , a little thing like trigger finger discipline would have allowed him to get away with it. Because the gun would have never discharged. Wasn't there, have little to no input. Cops are a menace to society, fire them all.

 

[nabusa]

really, the kid can wrong all day long and I cant punch him in the face after an attempted Robbery? we cant lose sight of what were there and stand for? really? ??? the cop was there to catch an attempted robbery suspect who ran from him on foot.

if im chasing some little punk who was with another little punk wearing a ski mask who was about to rob a store and he turns on me as soon as im about to grab him after ive been chasing him for a block or so that's exactly what im gonna do is punch him in the face as hard as I can to hopefully knock him out so he doesnt try to fight with me and take my gun or pull out his gun and shoot me.

that type of force is 100% reasonable when your referring to a robbery that just went down or was about to go down for which you interrupted and that's exactly how I would write it in my report considering you had no time to use any other less lethal force to stop him at that point.

if he had wrote it the way it happened and stated that he didnt feel that he could holster his weapon in him in time and punched him in the face to knock him out im sure he would have likely been written up for it since he still had his weapon in his hand but that's about it. he surely would not have been fired for it. no way no how.

maybe you havent been in too many foot pursuits with would-be robbers where you work but where this cop works which is a known violent place (PG County which is right outside Washington DC) where gun violence is an every day occurence its pretty common for robbery suspects to be armed and shoot at the police after a foot pursuit.

should he have done it with a gun in his hand? nope. but if he had time to holster his weapon which he obviously didnt since the kid stopped running and immediatly turned towards him to face him vs. getting on the ground to surrender a punch to the face with his fist would be reasonable all day long and twice on Sunday. punching someone in the face is LOWER on the force continuum then ur Baton, Taser or OC spray would be under those circumstances.

so yes punching a likely armed robbery suspect in the face is reasonable. you cant ASSume it was a strong arm robbery and that they were not armed.

or maybe you think the cop should have waited till he turned around completely and pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot him???? cmon, ur in LE and should know a little better then most how fast things can happen so to get up on ur high horse and say we cant lose sight of what were there for is absolute nonsense.

If you are an LEO I an not believe you have a badge. Thinking like you is the reason why people started to record police.

 

[Rollin20z]

If you are an LEO I an not believe you have a badge. Thinking like you is the reason why people started to record police.

I'll just have to say nicely said.

I'd still like to hear how he'd explain it to the parents if that stray bullet caught an innocent child. ??? But that's probably asking too much.

It's with attitudes like that where Karma is appreciated when she comes full circle.

 

[TreyYoung]

My guess is we have over 1,000,000 (one MILLION) PO's in this country, and you scrubs continue to try and stereotype. I would think most of you could do the math. I would suggest that there are just as high a PERCENTAGE of unethical, unlawful, idiot, abusive, A-holes, in any of your/our respective fields of employment. Don't get me wrong, debating what this one individual PO did is great, but to suggest these incidents are in the majority is dumb...

My wife got stopped a couple days ago for doing 20 over; the PO gave her a warning, and my guess is that officer is part of the 99% of police Officers that are no different than most of you.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

If the cop lied, he's wrong. If PG Cty covered up the lie, they're wrong. (And PG Cty is NOTORIOUS for having a corrupt police force!). However, the video proves very little. When I watch that video, here's what I take away:

1) The suspect was walking (possibly just coming out of a run) in some manner that was other than casual and turned around as if annoyed. (Guilty or innocent, that's not smart.)
2) Suspect is carrying something (empty bag, towel?).
3) Lead officer draws weapon and strikes suspect in head/face, gun fires accidentally.
4) 2nd officer trails and is surprised by sound of gun fire, but does not draw weapon.

That's about it as far as facts in the video. Most everything else is speculation or heresay from with the police or the suspects. Now, questions that I have based on the video include:
1) What was the suspect carrying and why? If it's a bag, why is it empty?
2) Was the suspect running prior to the video footage?
3) Why did the officer feel the need to draw his gun? Why did he strike the suspect?

Questions that I have from the story/reporting/claimed statements (none of which are proven facts):
1) Not too many folks wear ski masks to go to a store and if they do, they raise them upon entering a store. Why did the other suspect not raise his? Might be his right to keep it down, but any knucklehead knows that if ya walk into a gas station convenience store at night with a ski mask, it's gonna worry folks.
2) If they were up to nothing bad, why did they feel the need to avoid the police? Contrary to popular belief, police don't often beat people up/kill them/throw them in jail just for being there.
3) If they were up to nothing bad, why did suspect B abandon suspect A? Most friends would stick around to help their friends, not run without cause.
4) Exactly how did the office lie about an accidental firearm discharge? Looks to me that the video shows that it was accidental.
5) What did PG Cty actually do to in terms of cover up?
6) Were there any witnesses to all of this? Store owner/operators? Other customers?

The reality seems to be this: There is a pittance of evidence, a lot of police said/suspects said, a lot of hyperbole from fox news and suspect lawyer all leading to a ton of public speculation that is based more on emotion and assumption than on actual fact or sworn testimony.

I'm not saying that cops s/b allowed to do whatever they want, whenever they want, with or without cause. BUT, they have a TOUGH job, they risk their lives EVERY day (and if you've never been on Rhode Island Ave/in Brentwood and a lot of other PG Cty locales after dark, trust me...it ain't Disneyland) and they often have very little time to make tough decisions. Most of they time, they do OK...sometimes, they make mistakes. All I'm saying, is that before anybody gets hanged, there s/b a full investigation...not just a few seconds of video that can't possibly convey the context of the situation.

One more thing, while it may be your right to walk around in a Ski mask...at night...in PG Cty...into a gas station...while police are there...in a neighborhood that is notorious for crime, often committed by members of your general demographic......it's STUPID (my bad, perhaps I should say "poor judgement) to exercise that right.