Horrible - Father killed by off-duty cop who ran over his daughter

[reflection]

http://thegrio.com/2012/08/14/father-killed-by-off-duty-cop-who-ran-over-his-daughter/

An off-duty police officer was riding his motorcycle down First Avenue in the Maywood section of Chicago Saturday night when he crashed into a 4-year-old girl who was trying to cross the road with her older cousin. The 43-year-old officer then shot and killed her father in an altercation that followed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Taniyah Middleton and her 18-year-old cousin were crossing First Avenue at the same time an unnamed off-duty officer was riding his motorcycle on that road. Approaching the pair, the officer allegedly did not see them until it was too late, and in an effort to avoid them, jumped off his motorcycle. The motorcycle then skidded into the little girl.

Hearing all the commotion, the girl’s father, 26-year-old Christopher Middleton, ran outside their home. Immediately after he realized what happened, Middleton allegedly started attacking the officer, and at some point during the confrontation, the officer was able to reach for his gun and shot the girl’s father in the groin.

Christopher Middleton was pronounced dead at the hospital, while his daughter is being treated for her injuries.

No winners anywhere in this terrible story...

[lonestarnot]

1. Terrible.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Clearly a case of self-defense ...

[loli phabay]

3. sad story. no going to judge anyone here.

[drm604]

4. I can understand the father freaking out,

but I can't really blame the police officer for defending himself.

Maybe the officer was to blame for the accident, or maybe not, it's hard to tell from the story.

[HereSince1628]

8. My judgement would require things I don't now know...like the existing asymmetry of power

And intent. And negligence

Did the father have a weapon? Was he intent on killing the off-duty cop? Was the father just over-reacting without weapons to what he thought in the panic of the moment was a life threatening negligent attack on his daughter?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

18. Concur...not enough data

Sad times all the way round...

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. "...in an effort to avoid them, jumped off his motorcycle."

That doesn't make any sense at all. BS.


This license to kill shit is insane.

[loli phabay]

7. i think its just bad writing might be he grounded the bike to try to miss them

And came of the bike. Would make more sense.

[Egalitarian Thug]

15. I think I have a pretty good idea what happened, they are soft softpedalling the cops negligence.

I also noted the article make no mention of the cop being tested or arrested.

[loli phabay]

17. well seeing as he had a broken leg kinda hard to do roadside tests

Probuably took blood at the hospital and why would he be arrested if its still under investigation.

[Egalitarian Thug]

19. Because an officer discharged his weapon while off duty, in a civilian altercation, resulting

in a fatality. This happened in Illinois, not Floriduh.

Illinois still pretends to have laws regarding the conduct of police officers. Of course, they commonly ignore them or pretend they don't apply, etc., but this was one of the hotbeds of the labor movement a century ago and there are laws on the books that reflect that. A fact that pisses Lord Rahm off every day.

[loli phabay]

21. jjust because he discharged his weapon and there was a fatality doesn't mean an arrest

There is still the investigation. You know stuff like due process gathering statements etc. At least wait to see what happened before you hang the guy. For all you know it could be a justifiable homicide.

[Egalitarian Thug]

57. I'm sure it will be found to be 'justified'. We'll see, or rather we will never hear of this again.

[limpyhobbler]

38. Makes sense. The media usually helps cover up wrong doing by the police.

We can't say 100% for sure what happened here. But let's say if the cop was driving like a lunatic and ran the girl over, the media usually helps cover that stuff up. So it makes it so we can't really trust the reporting.

[Egalitarian Thug]

56. I've ridden longer than I'll admit and that's what it sounds like to me. He took the corner too

fast, hit his rear brake when he saw the peds & dumped it into them. Not uncommon, but puts the blame on him.

[snooper2]

67. how do you know he was going around a corner?

[Egalitarian Thug]

81. Just the most likely situation to go down. If he wasn't, it was worse as he wasn't even paying

attention to where he was going and didn't have the sense/ability to stand the bike on it's front wheel. In any case, they most common cause of going down as described is locking up the rear wheel.

[gollygee]

6. Very sad

No way of knowing if the cop was in the wrong. I can imagine a dad seeing his child killed - even if it were just an accident or the kids were in the wrong - going nuts and threatening him to the point where he felt the need to use a gun to protect himself. I'd need more information before I could feel like he was in the wrong. It sounds like just a horrible accident and then a horrible tragedy afterward.

[loli phabay]

9. i thought the child survived.

[reflection]

10. Yes, the child survived. n/t

[gollygee]

11. Oh, whoops

Doing too many things at once here.

Well I can imagine a dad worried upset about his kid getting badly hurt losing it as well, though it seems like he might have been more likely to run toward the kid to check on her instead of the motorcyclist.

[loli phabay]

12. yeah that would be my first instinct.

[Enrique]

13. if it happened that way, it's hard to say it wasn't justified

they say the cop broke his leg in the accident. Anyone who attacks someone that just broke their leg in an accident is crazy, even considering the daughter being hurt. And the cop can hardly be expected to just take a beating from two guys, he could die of shock.

The problem is that all of the information is coming from the cop's side, no other eyewitness accounts. Maybe it didn't happen like that.

[vaberella]

51. If he's still moving and your daughter is unconscious--you attack.

I don't see anyone logically asking the person..."Are you okay? Great, now I'm going to punch you." In the heat of the moment and I'm thinking my daughter is dead or severely hurt and the fool who caused it to happen is still up and awake--I'm going to attack. And it was a beating from one person.

[Marrah_G]

59. My first instinct would be to take care of my child.

Not attack the injured driver involved in the accident.

[gollygee]

74. I would have gone straight to my kid

but I think it's understandable for the dad to flip out, given how traumatic it must have been. Still, the cop broke his leg in the crash and couldn't get away. If he was getting beat horribly, I can't blame him for defending himself, and if his leg was broken that might have been the only way he could do that.

[NCTraveler]

88. If your daughter is severely hurt your are going to attack?

Really.

[inner lite]

97. Ah...so your daughter's lying on the pavement and your first impulse

is to start swinging? And another thing: this was at 10 at NIGHT!!!! The little girl was FOUR and crossing the street by herself! That is a busy street--1st avenue!

[Bandit]

14. Don't cops carry tasers?

Stupid turn of events if you ask me and the officer appears to be completely at fault..

[loli phabay]

16. not all cops do and none if they are off duty

[loli phabay]

22. maybe for the accident but not if two guys started beating him.

[derby378]

20. I'd call him the worst cop ever...

...except that I can think of a few who are even worse.

[Bake]

65. Another bad apple, I guess.

The barrel is starting to stink ...

Bake

[Marinedem]

23. I am leaning towards the cop's side on this one.

Hear me out.

1. A four year old crossing the street with an older cousin. How old? Obviously not old enough to know to look both ways. Highly negligent to allow young children out near the street on their own. Where was the super concerned father right before?

2. Other media sources indicate that the officer threw the bike to the ground with himself still on it in a last ditch attempt to avoid hitting the little kids, seriously injuring himself in the process.

3. Instead of tending to an injured daughter, the father assaults a seriously injured man who had just done everything to avoid hitting the little girl and her cousin.

4. The officer, while incapacitated is attacked by a enraged man. There is no excuse on this earth for what that man did. "Well his daughter was just hit." Yeah, well he should probably be loading her into the car and flooring it to the ER. Not trying to beat the fuck out of some man that was involved in the accident.

5. If I were in that cops position (Down, injured, broken leg, in no shape to fend off a man trying to rip me apart), I'm afraid I would have done the same thing. One warning then I'd have to look out for my life and the welfare of my family.

[sammytko]

24. Cousin was 18 yrs old according to story

And yeah, child should have been dad's first concern.

[inner lite]

96. Well that is even worse, then.

Because let's get real: they were crossing against the light. And First Avenue is a very busy street. Even in the daytime WITH the light I am always very cautious over there.

[progressivebydesign]

28. what Marinedem said. I agree.

This has happened to many times recently, where someone who was in an ACCIDENT was killed or beaten by a mob.

[L0oniX]

25. So uhm ...the cop was in fear for his life? Did the father have a gun or knife?

Zimmerman ...double standard?



O yea not only does the (at fault) kid get run down but also looses a father. Yea blame the kid and the 18 yo ...you broke the law so you deserve what happens.



Was the cop in uniform?

[Marinedem]

30. Just pointing this out:

Hands and feet were used to murder 801 people in 2009. I will never understand why people act like the worst that happens in a beating is a few little birdies flying around your head.

Being seriously injured and on the ground when the beating begins would greatly increase your chance of joining those statistics.

Given the situation, the officer did the only reasonable thing he could. It sucks that a little girl is without her father now, but that father saw more utility in beating up an injured man than in getting his own daughter to the hospital. He paid for his mistake with his life. All around, a very sad situation.

How many kicks to the noggin are suitable for ending your rational dialogue with the assaulter? Serious question BTW.

[L0oniX]

31. Stop ...I'm a police officer! ...I guess that didn't work.

[Marinedem]

32. I guess not.

Some people don't give two shits.

Better yet, "Hey, don't fucking assault me."

I don't care who you are. If you are laid out and someone is trying to beat your ass, you have the right to fight back using as much force as it takes to end it. IF I were in that situation, I'd have probably done the same thing.

The take-away here is simple: Don't assault ANYONE.

A little girl has no father now because he was to stupid to comprehend that basic rule of life. Sad, but true.

[Union Scribe]

36. Too stupid? What compassion.

He witnesses some asshole hit his kid, you think he's thinking clearly at that moment? You're pretty insistent about putting all the blame on this guy in this thread, what's that all about?

[Marinedem]

39. He assaulted someone. Stupid.

The fact that he is dead does not make him worthy of kid gloves when discussing the events.

He wasn't thinking clearly? I guess if you are laying helpless on the ground and someone is about to knock your head in you;d be gracious enough to let someone beat you to death since they aren't thinking clearly.

[Zalatix]

42. As you said to me, no discussion with you would be meaningful.

The cop hit the man's kid. He was highly negligent, and that is being generous.

How does a TRAINED COP hit a kid while on a bicycle?

[Mike_Valentine]

44. You are just guessing...

It is unclear what the children did or what the rider did prior to the collision....

[Zalatix]

83. True, who would ever wonder why a cop would hit a kid.

It's not like they get any kind of driver's training or anything.

[Ben_Caxton]

86. Feel free to wonder to your heart's delight

I believe it was your declaration of negligence without any facts that is concerning.

There are scenarios where the children could be at fault and just as many where the driver was at fault. From the OP we don't know...

[Zalatix]

90. It's concerning to you, perhaps.

The so-called "lack of facts" seems to have you favoring the cop's innocence over the kid's innocence. As a parent, I favor the kid over the cop.

[Ben_Caxton]

93. As a rational person...

... I wait until I know what happened to make a determination.

[sammytko]

47. It was a motorcycle

[gollygee]

72. He was on a motorcycle,and we don't know

if the kids were crossing legally at a crosswalk, or dashed out between two cars, or what. It could have very well been just an accident on the cop's part. Have you evern been in a car accident? Things just happen. I'm sure he didn't plow the girl down on purpose. He wouldn't have intentionally dropped his motorcycle and broken his leg if he weren't trying to avoid her.

[datasuspect]

80. when they dart out into the street at night?

nah, that's never happened before.

[snooper2]

69. He didn't witness anything, he heard a commotion and ran outside..

we have only a few facts of the case at this point...

Try at least to use the ones we have at our disposal while speculating

[NickB79]

95. Compassion is going to your injured child's side

And getting her medical attention. That should have been his first and only concern. Attacking the man who hit your daughter while she's lying unconcious on the ground kind of makes your concern about compassion ring hollow.

[Zalatix]

35. And the police officer couldn't fight back?

These guys are not just thugs. They're well-trained thugs.

[Marinedem]

37. Reading is fundamental.

He was just in a serious accident and had a broken leg. He was in no condition to play at fisticuffs.

"Thugs"? Your bias is showing. It's obvious you have a prejudice against law enforcement. No further discussion with you will be meaningful.

Good night.

[Zalatix]

40. If reading is fundamental then bullshit checking must be sacred.

Case in point: why is this guy riding a motorcycle if his leg is broken?

As for thugs - you betcha. When you have an axe murderer breaking down your door the cops take several minutes AT BEST to reach you. Unless you happen to have a gun to protect yourself.

Question: When you stand up to protest Chris Christie the cop thugs are RIGHT THERE to protect him... so exactly who do the police ultimately protect and serve?

Hint: it ain't necessarily you.

[Marinedem]

43. This may be hard to follow, but please try.

He. Broke. It. In. The. Crash.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

64. LOL. I know, right?

[Marrah_G]

61. His leg was broken in the accident..........

It was an accident, the cop's leg was broken in the accident.

[snooper2]

70. And you posted "if reading is fundamental" ROFL

I ride my bike all the time with a broken leg no problem! When the left is broken I just keep it leave it in second gear wherever I go LOL

[NCTraveler]

89. If Reading is Fundamental...

"why is this guy riding a motorcycle if his leg is broken?"

You win the internet.

[Confusious]

55. 31,224 deaths involving guns in 2000

I'll give you 17,352 deaths, they were suicides.

but still a little lopsided, don't you think?

That is all.

[gollygee]

58. I don't see how this is at all like Zimmerman

Based on what we know so far anyway.

First of all, obviously Zimmerman wasn't even a cop.

Zimmerman got out of his car and intentionally chased Trayvon Martin down, when he was in no danger and had been told by a police dispatcher not to. This guy got into a motorcycle accident. He didn't intentionally put himsef in harm's way, it was just an accident. And this guy was attacked by the father of the injured girl, he didn't chase the guy down, and the cop was injured so he couldn't just leave. I can understand why the dad was distraught, but I can understand also that the cop's options to protect himself might have been limited.

[morningfog]

26. You are 8 times more likely to be killed by a cop than a terrorist in the US.

[Zalatix]

41. Ouch. Facts are biased against cops.

[RZM]

66. That's not very high, given that cops outnumber terrorists in the US by a huge margin

And they are out there in the community 24-7.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

99. Not according to Fox.

[progressivebydesign]

27. You attack an armed officer, you get shot. Period.

Sad story... but there have been far too many killings in the inner city, where someone accidentally killed or hurt a pedestrian, and were dragged out and beaten to death. Sad story... but you don't fucking attack someone in an accident.

[seabeyond]

29. No winners anywhere in this terrible story... i am going to agree with others

if story holds, the cop was defending himself. and what father goes to fight instead of taking care of daughter.

[PufPuf23]

33. No winners BUT the off duty cop was negligent as a motorcylist

and used his weapon and skills to murder a victim.

The off duty officer should never had been a cop, motorcyclist, nor allowed to have a firearm.

[Marrah_G]

62. No one who has had a motor vehicle accident should be allowed to be a cop, ride a bike or own a gun?

Seriously, by the replies on this thread, no one has ever been in a car accident.

[dmallind]

77. How do you know he was negligent?

You think it is impossible for a pedestrian to be at fault? How fast can you react when a toddler bursts into your path in front of you and what's the stopping distance at whatever speed you drive when pedestrians are present? Do the math and prove that no kid has EVER walked into the road within that distance of a moving vehicle.

He absolutely could have been negligent. He also absolutely could have been completely blameless. Or anywhere in between. Anyone who claims they know which with this information is either lying or idiotic.

[Iggo]

34. Yay, Cops!

They're the best!

[redgreenandblue]

45. I see the authoritarians are out in force making excuses for the cop.

There are no excuses. He should not have used his gun, period. He should be convicted and jailed.

[Ben_Caxton]

46. Much better...

... To take an ass kicking with a broken leg.

The fact that this guy is a cop in his day job is irrelevant.

This could happen to anyone and the results would be the same.

The best way not to get shot is not to assault anyone.

[redgreenandblue]

48. If you run over a child then yes, you should take an ass kicking rather than shoot the father.

[Ben_Caxton]

49. Got it...

Once a traffic accident has occurred, there is the option for an assault at the discretion of the injured party or any other relatives in the vicinity.

Interesting law... Where is that on the books again?

[redgreenandblue]

50. Any decent human being would not fire a gun under such circumstances.

Besides, you are presuming guilt of the person who was shot.

[Ben_Caxton]

53. I know many...

... 'decent human beings' who would defend themselves if they were attacked. Especially if they were physically unable to retreat, for reasons of oh... Hmmmm... A broken leg?

[Zalatix]

63. +10,000

[4th law of robotics]

68. Does that apply to any traffic fatalities?

You'd driving along, you get in a wreck. One of the passengers in the other car is killed so that grants the driver of that car the right to beat you silly.

Is that what you're getting at?

[redgreenandblue]

84. If I ever came into such a situation, the thing I wouldn't do is draw a gun.

But then again, I don't carry a gun so I wouldn't be able to in any case.

[Lizzie Poppet]

73. Bull.

Unless you can read minds, you have no way of knowing if the irrational person assaulting you is going to be content with an "ass kicking," or if he's going to cripple or kill you...over an accident. Just because it's understandable that someone seeing their kid hurt might react with anger doesn't mean that it's somehow okay for that anger to express itself in assault.

[RegieRocker]

76. He only kicked the ass of the little girl right?

If he didn't put the bike down or run off the road or into a parked car then I have no sympathy for this person at all. Only disgust. If he did one of those things he did all he could do. I doubt the father would've acted that way if he had.

[Lizzie Poppet]

78. Did you actually read the article?

He crashed trying to avoid her. Yes, he failed in that attempt, but he apparently made the effort. There's also no indication that the father saw the accident, only the aftermath.

[RegieRocker]

79. Jumping off the motorcycle and abandoning it to

hit the little girl is not acceptable and I made that clear. Did you not read?

[Lizzie Poppet]

82. Yep, I read.

That description of what he did on the bike is pretty sketchy. It sounds to me like how a non-rider would describe someone laying a bike down. You don't just "jump off" a bike, letting it continue to roll onwards under all but the strangest of circumstances. Like movie stunt stuff... Do you ride? I do.

[redgreenandblue]

85. A decent person would not fight back in such a situation and certainly not draw a gun.

When you are standing there having just destroyed one life out of your own stupidity or negligence, the thing you don't do is draw a gun and take another life. One should rather accept what is coming than let it come to that.

The actions of the cop are the actions of a coward.

[Lizzie Poppet]

87. Absurd.

It's not a matter of courage, it's a matter of sanity (and basic human instinct). I sincerely doubt that more than one person in a million, you included, is going to sit there and allow an enraged man to beat on them (at minimum...remember: you have no idea if he's going to stop at a beating), regardless of the fact that they may have caused an accident.


Oh, and you seem to be under the impression that the little girl was killed. This is not the case.

[vaberella]

52. That's what I'm seeing as well. n/t

[Union Scribe]

92. Yep. People don't even get how well trained they've been

since childhood to automatically think that if a cop, on or off duty, does something then they must have had a good reason for it. 'Cause they're the good guys, the heroes. So it has to be someone else's fault.

[exboyfil]

54. I have never ridden a motorcycle

but do you lay it down to avoid a collision? Would it not be better to use your brakes (frictional surface of rubber on pavement versus sliding side of metal on ground)? I don't know the answer. I can see perhaps veering and laying it down because of the sudden steer. The first big question is how fast was the officer going. The second was the officer impaired in any fashion.

According to one news story both the father and the 18 year cousin were striking the officer. The officer, already injured in the accident, draws his gun and fires once to the groin. Would the officer have fired if it was just an outraged father yelling at him? Any evidence of the officer being struck by the father or kicked by the 18 year old? Any witnesses besides the family members of the father?

If two people are attacking you, and you are already injured. I think using your gun is justified. Lets wait to hear more facts before making a final judgement.

[reflection]

60. Like you, I don't ride

but I know a lot of riders. I assume that if you are getting ready to plow into someone you reflexively try to turn away, which, given the fact that you are not braking and weren't ready for it, will often dump the bike. So it probably wasn't a "well let's see which way I want to handle this" thought process and more of a "ohshitI'mabouttohitsomeone, ohshitthebikeisfalling" thought process.

Now granted, all this is supposition, but that's all any of us have to go with on this so far.

[snooper2]

71. You have to take every situation on a case by case basis period..

I've had to make split second decisions and you do what you can at that moment in time...

Unlike pretty much ANYBODY else who looked at this story I actually pulled up the street in question, non-divided two lane with an occasional middle turn lane for either direction of traffic. Without knowing the cross streets, direction of travel, speed, weather conditions and TALKING TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ACTUALLY ON THE SCENE..

everyone is just spouting crap about what should have "or even did" happen.



I did once ditch my bike to miss a deer in the road but in that split second decision I knew hitting the ditch (because I knew the road) would be a better option for me and my bike versus getting 100+ lb deer in the face

[reflection]

75. You know, I actually knew a (former) trucker

who was young and green. He had only been at it for a few weeks and was making a run one night.

He saw a horse that had wandered onto the roadway and decided he was going to "bounce it into the ditch." He figured he had a big truck, so what the hell.

it didn't quite work out the way he envisioned.

He is no longer a trucker and I imagine he no longer tells that story either. At a restaurant, when he told all of us this story every table within earshot began alternatively laughing at him or calling him some variant of "dumbass."

Deer or horse, I'm with you. I'd take my chances with just about anything else instead of hitting one.

(sorry for threadjacking my own thread)

[Fumesucker]

94. I'm a long time rider, over forty years..

Once you lay the bike down you have zero control over where either it or you are going. Metal has a much lower coefficient of friction than does rubber so the bike is going to go a lot further than if it was on its rubber tires with the brakes on. You also have a lower coefficient of friction than do the tires so you also are going to go a lot further than you would on the bike with the brakes on.

Not to mention that there's an excellent chance you'll end up underneath the motorcycle if you lay it down, road rash is bad enough without a 500 lb bike on top of you grinding you into the pavement at speed.

Here's what's possible on a motorcycle by a trained officer, as long as you keep it up on two wheels.

[Rex]

98. Should not have attacked the cop.

I won't judge the cop for defending himself. It is beyond tragic now that the little girl will wake up and have no father.

A sad story for everyone involved.