LAPD: Mistaken identity shooting of two Latinas put bullets in nearby houses, trees, cars.

[Poll_Blind]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-torrance-shooting-20130209,0,4414028.story

Details emerge in LAPD's mistaken shooting of newspaper carriers

Law enforcement sources told The Times that at least seven officers opened fire. On Friday, the street was pockmarked with bullet holes in cars, trees, garage doors and roofs. Residents said they wanted to know what happened.

"How do you mistake two Hispanic women, one who is 71, for a large black male?" said Richard Goo, 62, who counted five bullet holes in the entryway to his house.

Glen T. Jonas, the attorney representing the women, said the police officers gave "no commands, no instructions and no opportunity to surrender" before opening fire. He described a terrifying encounter in which the pair were in the early part of their delivery route through several South Bay communities. Hernandez was in the back seat handing papers to her daughter, who was driving. Carranza would briefly slow the truck to throw papers on driveways and front walks.

As bullets tore through the cabin, the two women "covered their faces and huddled down," Jonas said. "They felt like it was going on forever."

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck described it as a "a tragic misinterpretation" by police officers working under "incredible tension."

Kind of conspicious for what he's not saying, isn't it?

He's not saying something like "We shouldn't have tried to gun you down like Bonnie and Clyde for no defensible reason, at all."

He's also not saying "Any citizen or, god forbid, group of seven citizens, who used deadly force with such reckless abandon would be immediately incarcerated as being extremely dangerous to the public."

There's a whole lot he's not saying. Right now all he can muster is "tragic misinterpretation".

Hmmm...

Anyway, worth reading the whole article. It's only two pages. Very scary description of one of the people in the neighborhood (whose car alone had six bullet holes in it), hearing bullets slamming into the front door, dragging their wife off the bed and climbing on top to protect her from the hail of gunfire with his own body. Apparently he called 911 asking the police to come but was notified...(wait for it)...that they were already there.

Already there, indeed.

PB

[nc4bo]

1. The lawsuits will start piling up.

I mean, who in the hell shoots at people before even identifying who they are shooting?

What if there had been kids in the car, behind the tree, behind the house siding? The injured innocent humanbeings

What in the hell is wrong with these people - it's crazy-insane!!

Sounds like there are entire police departments in need of a purge.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. So at least 7 officers opened fire putting bullet holes in cars, trees, garage doors and roof

They really want this guy dead.

[Brother Buzz]

3. And in my morning paper

Dead center, above the fold.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. The story?

Or a bullet hole?

[lpbk2713]

4. The gang that couldn't shoot straight.

The only reason the ladies are still alive is because they were such piss poor shots.

[DJ13]

5. Roidrage mixed with a bloodlust for revenge

[jsr]

6. The firing squad couldn't wait

to check for identification.

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. This needs to not go quietly away. Along with that second shooting.

Where they managed not to hit the guy they were shooting at.

[Cali_Democrat]

8. Anyone read the comments in the article? A lot of sympathy toward Dorner

People despise the LAPD.

[tama]

11. Should anyone be surprised?

People don't have to agree and approve of Dorner's actions to know who their real enemy and greatest threat is.

[kestrel91316]

9. Charlie Beck is a terrible Chief. Bill Bratton would have

blown a gasket in public over those buffoons, and probably personally throttled them.

[tama]

10. Sack em all

Get rid of LAPD. They have zero regard for public safety, corrupt to the core and totally incompetent public enemy number one.

[OldDem2012]

12. They were throwing out newspapers....how could the police officers not see that?? Incredible. nt.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Wait, this morning it was two detectives.

[jsr]

14. Those officers will be awarded disability for stress related to the incident

and a big fat pension and benefits for life.

[Catherina]

15. Wait until they get to use drones.

Police forces around the country with drones

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. The bullet holes through the back window on the passenger side

could very well have killed her. Way to go, LAPD, way to go.

I got into an argument over this with my father today. He wanted me to understand how "stressful that situation must be..." Ummmm... I think we better take a long hard look at our police recruits to make sure that they don't break under the pressure and shoot up innocent trucks that look nothing like the subject's.

[rightsideout]

17. Holy Tacoma Batman!

[Fire Walk With Me]

18. I note two interesting and conflicting items in the picture:

-A crime scene tag denoted as "46", meaning at minimum 46 bullets were fired at least in that part of the picture.
-A "Crime Stoppers" bumper sticker on the LAPD cruiser. Little old lady stoppers would be more accurate.

[SunSeeker]

19. Looking at that picture, it is a miracle these women survived. nt

[proReality]

20. Save us from "good guys with guns"!!! nt

[jonthebru]

21. I know some police officers.

I know they are trained to be much more selective in their firearm use. LAPD must have poor hiring and poor training culture.

[coalition_unwilling]

23. RIP America: a nice idea for awhile. We have met the enemy and it is us. - n/t

[cantbeserious]

27. Yes - America's Depraved Gun Culture Has Made American's The Target - We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

eom

[davidn3600]

24. Would someone please explain again why its ok for cops to have high capacity magazines?

And exempt them from every gun control law?

Good god.

[Poll_Blind]

25. Honestly, I'm not even sure they had high capacity magazines. It looks like...

...it could have been seven cops unloading 10/11 round clips.

That's a shitload of lead balls moving 800 mph in a densely populated urban area...

PB

[krispos42]

26. Looks like the LAPD needs magazine limits, too. n/t

[justabob]

28. I am surprised more people were not injured/killed

I get it that LAPD is under pressure etc, but this is over the top crazy, and completely unacceptable.

[suffragette]

29. In their overzealousness to protect one person, they endangered every other person

in that neighborhood.

Tension, stress? Imagine the tension and stress of the people huddling under that onslaught of bullets.

[tblue37]

30. I am a car idiot. I hate cars. I hate driving. I know absolutely NOTHING

about car makes and models.

But even I could tell--and even at 5:00 a.m.--that this bright blue van bears no resemblance whatsoever to a charcoal gray or black pickup truck.

The cops who unloaded into this van all need to be fired and charged.

We need to keep this incident front and center until a real investigation and cleanup is done on the LAPD.

[WinkyDink]

31. While OJ got a ridiculous ESCORT!

[kwassa]

32. Johnnie Cochran got rich by suing LAPD

long before the OJ trial, because this has been going on for many decades.

because this is unfortunately typical of the LAPD hyper-aggressive, over-the-top enforcement without any reasonable safeguards.

I recall during Darryl Gates' tenure the LAPD knocking down the wrong house with a battering ram mounted on an armored personnel carrier.

[malaise]

33. There was no mistaken identity here

They simply opened fire

[tblue37]

34. This is a comment that someone posted on the article

linked in the OP:

"I'm not driving any car that look like Droner's <sic> car until the LAPD stop that manhunt."

Oh, if only it were that simple to stay safe from the LAPD.

The shot up van looked nothing like Dorner's car. So to stay safe, you would need to not drive any car at all, since the fact that it is a vehicle is apparently enough similarity to unleash a barrage of bullets.

Oh, and since being at home, even in bed, did not protect the residents of that neighborhood from the risk of being shot by police fire, that means that refraining altogether from driving would not be sufficient protection, either.

I guess the only way to protect yourself during the manhunt for Dorner would be to move to another part of the state--or maybe to even another state, since Dorner "sightings" anywhere in CA would probably lead to similar shooting situations.

[Egalitarian Thug]

35. Can anyone tell me when LAPD dropped all marksmanship requirements? n/t

[DesMoinesDem]

36. Gang retaliation

The LAPD is just another gang. The only difference is that they claim immunity.