Per ABC News the cop who shot the young man in North Carolina

[gopiscrap]

is now in custody. The other day a young black man was in a traffic accident and seeking help. He came upon a cop (or cop cam upon him) upon encountering this young man, the cop with out asking any questions, shot him several times, killing him.

[Tx4obama]

1. There are more details to what happened than that...

See a fuller story here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023673564

[gopiscrap]

2. thanks Tx4obama!

[Tx4obama]

3. Also, he turned himself in Saturday afternoon and was released Sunday on $50,000 bond

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023674378

[gopiscrap]

4. Shit, if we wasn't a cop he probably wouldn't have gotten bail.

[TorchTheWitch]

5. it isn't as simple as that

Though I agree that shooting wasn't necessary, it wasn't like he just shot him for no reason. The guy got into a car accident and went to someone's house for help. The woman in the house thought he was trying to break-in when he pounded on the door, so she called the police. Police came thinking the guy was a burglar, and while three officers approached him he started running toward them apparently right at the officer who ended up shooting him. One of the other officers tried tazering him but it didn't work. What they believed about this guy and his actions of running at them are understandable given his actions, but the officer didn't need to shoot him to stop him. The police didn't know anything about his car accident or looking for help until he was already dead. His behavior was rather strange with his pounding on that woman's door so hard she thought he was trying to break in and then running at the police. I don't know, maybe he had some injury from the accident where he couldn't yell for help?

http://news.yahoo.com/ferrell-kerrick-police-unarmed-shooting-charlotte-191520307.html

[Gravitycollapse]

6. No, this is a pretty simple case of murder. The man was running towards them...

That alone is not imposition of violence. They were wrong to taser, which probably missed in the dark, and they were wrong to shoot.

What they should have done was let him run up to them like any other human being would have done.

[gopiscrap]

8. yup I agree

[TomClash]

9. " . . . let him run up to them like any other human being would have done . . ."

Exactly.

[SamReynolds]

14. Yeah, actually.

But the question is, "WHO claimed he was 'running up to them'?".

[TorchTheWitch]

13. it's not murder

It's voluntary manslaughter which is why he was charged with that. Police aren't going to let someone they believe was trying to break into someone's house just charge them like he did. Any reasonable thinking person would have believed he was intent on harming them. They didn't know anything about his accident or needing help... all they knew about him was that he was believed to be a burglar and that he charged at them for no apparent reason. You don't charge at someone especially not at police or of course they'll think you have hostile intent. That's why I thought his actions were strange. They were so strange that the woman whose door he pounded on thought he was trying to break in. It's also why I was wondering why he wasn't calling for help. Had he done that the woman would have realized that he wasn't trying to break in and would have called the police to help him instead of thinking he was trying to break into her house. Had he also not charged at the police and hailed them and called for help while walking toward them they wouldn't have thought he had hostile intent.

"What they should have done was let him run up to them like any other human being would have done."

Like anyone is going to just let some strange big dude charge them at 2:30 in the morning and not think they had hostile intent. Get real. Had he done that to me I'd have been scared shitless, and doubly scared shitless had I known that a resident had just called the police about him for trying to break into her home. No normal human being just lets a strange big dude charge at them in the wee hours of the morning without thinking he had hostile intent.

It's a shame that the police and the woman who thought he was trying to break into her house had no idea that he had a car accident and was just looking for help. But his behavior was not appropriate in trying to get help either from the woman who's door he pounded on or the police who he charged at and who believed he was a burglar. And I DID say that shooting him was not necessary and that I agree with the voluntary manslaughter charge the officer got because shooting him wasn't necessary. Subduing him was since they obviously believe he intended doing them harm by charging at them, but it wasn't necessary to shoot him. Instead if pulling the trigger he should have first ordered him to stop just as the police normally do to an unarmed person they believe has hostile intent.

[indepat]

7. It is not open season on black boys and black men: only on scary black boys and

scary black men.

[Logical]

10. Cops basically do not want ANY risk, shoot if any doubt I might get hurt! nt

[defacto7]

11. Oh god, not this again....

Be sure to shoot before you try anything else that may work.

It used to be considered the last resort.

[gopiscrap]

12. yeah no kidding

but in our cop glorification culture, we now let the cops be lazy and get away with everything.