In a recent case, police were called to a downtown Orlando nightclub because of a report of a man brandishing a firearm. The surveillance video is found here.
A man was thrown out of a nightclub for fighting (:19). He pulled a pistol out of his waistband (:31), drops it on the ground, and waits outside of the locked nightclub with the pistol in a low ready position. He sticks the handgun back into his waistband at :58 and continues to pace outside of the club.
The police officers (2 of them) confront the armed man at 1:40 with guns drawn. He does not obey commands to raise his hands. More officers arrive They shoot him with a Taser at about 1:55, at which time both of his hands go to his waistband. Most of the cops retreat, and the one center screen fires 9 shots. Seven of them hit the suspect, and one travels through the door of the nightclub and strikes a female bystander in the head, killing her. The suspect, who lived, is charged with murder for her death.
The local press does a story, and this is where the main point of this post comes in:
There is one commenter who has made the following statements
Another case of excessive force by Police. My prayers for Mr. Roach’s full recovery.
been tasered by the Police and his arm movements were caused by the
electric shock – NOT because he was reaching for his unloaded gun.
This was an attempted assassination. And 9 shots? really?
Given
these conditions – 9 shots from a 40 S&W is a ridiculous case of
excessive force. A Police Officer is responsible for every bullet he
fires. Spraying 9 rounds in a crowded downtown area is reckless.
Also,
Mr. Roach had already been tasered by another Officer and was
convulsing from the electric shock – he was not reaching for his
unloaded gun.
My questions, which he won’t answer:
1 When is it appropriate for a person to use lethal force?
2 How can you tell if a gun is unloaded simply by looking at it?
3 How many times can you shoot someone?
1 Comment
SiGraybeard · January 28, 2015 at 11:08 pm
…and being 5 feet away is so far that he can't be a threat? How out of touch can one guy get?
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