Officer Who Shot 8-Year-Old Boy Pleads Not Guilty (case of "apparent road rage")

[Purveyor]

VISTA, Calif. --

A San Diego police officer claims caution prompted him to unload five bullet rounds at an 8-year-old boy and his mother during an off-duty traffic dispute, but prosecutors Tuesday called it a case of "apparent road rage."

Frank White pleaded not guilty to one felony count of discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner and one misdemeanor count of drawing a concealed weapon in public. He faces up to nine years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors accuse White of firing at Rachel Silva's Honda Accord from the driver's seat of his own car after a screaming match triggered by a near-collision at a busy intersection.

One bullet struck Silva's son Johnny in the knee; the boy was hospitalized and required surgery. Two others struck Silva in the upper arm.

White, 28, answered a single procedural question at his arraignment before Superior Court Judge Marshall Hockett and was released on his own recognizance. He declined to speak with reporters as he left the courthouse with his wife, Jacquellyn.

White's attorney, Richard Pinckard, entered the plea on his client's behalf.

"We don't believe that there's anything to support that our client's conduct was unreasonable under the circumstances," Pinckard said after the hearing.

MORE...

San Luis Obispo Tribune: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/348/story/425285.html

[phantom power]

1. I'd like to know why he wasn't charged with murder-2.

[dysfunctional press]

6. holy habeus corpus...who died?

:shrug:

isn't a death usually a pre-requisite for a murder charge?

[phantom power]

16. Oh....

Good point.

:dunce:

[timtom]

8. Because it appears no one was killed.

No corpus dilecti.

[YOY]

2. Officer Friendly needs to lose his badge and spend some time in the pokey.

and his lawyer can enjoy an easy lose.

[zanne]

3. Yup. We're just a bunch of short-tempered, gun totin' freaks.

The answer to everything is a loaded gun. If there was a national IQ test, we'd be rated as Developmentally Disabled.

[bluestateguy]

7. It's too bad the mother of this kid was not armed

Then she could have defended herself and her child from this thug cop.

[zanne]

9. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a poster is kidding or serious.

This is one of those times. Please...take the meds.

[dysfunctional press]

10. it's too bad she blew at twice the legal limit, and already has a felony child-endangerment charge..

i'm definitely NOT defending the cop- he should do some hard time. but i could also see 'the system' giving HER a possibly well-deserved smackdown- possibly even to the point of taking her child away.
it wouldn't surprise me if it all eventually gets settled "out of court"

[MindPilot]

17. This is one fucked up case. She's no prize, that's for sure,

and unfortunately it will no doubt count against her.

I just hope it doesn't obscure the fundamental issue which is this cop's absolutely abhorrent behavior while off-duty.

If he can't keep himself out of a road rage incident off the job, how can he be expected to exercise the proper restraint while in uniform?

Another big issue is if I remember the story right, is that at the time, SHE was given a BAC test, and HE was not. What kind of shit was that? Drug test the victim, but not the shooter. Also the story goes that the little boy was interviewed by police in the hospital against the then-guardian's wishes and without a lawyer present.

[emilyg]

25. It should count against her.

[fl410]

11. Uh, this is a cop...a representative of the government who some people want to be the only ones

allowed to be armed. Sure makes -me- feel safe.

[sakabatou]

4. Jeebus

What is going on with these cops?

[bluestateguy]

5. Well this has convinced me now

We have a local property tax renewal vote coming up where the county is asking for more money for cops and prisons. I was leaning to vote no, and now I am definitely voting no.

Maybe if this tax fails the county will have to let out some non-violent drug offenders from prison. That would be a good thing.

[izquierdista]

12. Calling all enablers!

It won't be long until the excuse makers chime in, telling us how stressful it is to be a cop, how we don't know until we ride around with them, and he was just "blowing off a little steam", and how we shouldn't judge the whole department by this one aberrant case, or the case of the bicyclist tackled in New York, or any of hundreds of cases already racked up this year. No, cops like this are misunderstood and they do a tough job and need the support of the public. :eyes:

[BlooInBloo]

13. Fuck them, and fuck cops.

[Irreverend IX]

22. You make no secret of your disdain for police...

And yet you feel that they're the only ones who should have ready access to firearms. Interesting logical disconnect.

[fl410]

As I'm beginning to discover, quite a few people around here feel that way.

It defies any explanation. :eyes:

[BlooInBloo]

27. ? What disconnect? I've repeatedly said that my issue with cops isn't guns per se....

... saying explicitly that they'll use nightsticks, broom handles or anything handy.

There's no disconnect. There's not even any significant relation between the two issues.

[klyon]

14. can you say civil suit

she should collect big time but still it is very sad that our officers aren't given better training and help with anger issues. I doubt this is his first time losing his cool.

[gratuitous]

15. How about the cop's lawyer's statement?

"We don't believe that there's anything to support that our client's conduct was unreasonable under the circumstances."

I think that sums up our national psychosis about redemptive violence quite well.

[MindPilot]

18. What do you expect the lawyer to say?

"My client is clearly a moron. He fucked up beyond belief and quite frankly he should be in prison. But that's just my opinion; we'll have to wait for the jury to decide."

[dysfunctional press]

19. well...they already have a justification for that all lined up-

"White told investigators that he fired because he thought Silva was trying to hit him with her car...White's wife, a police dispatcher, was in their car."

[MindPilot]

20. "Silva was trying to hit him with her car"

Yeah, she was trying to get out of the parking space and he was in the way...because he was shooting at her.

This took place in a crowded parking lot; it's not like she was chasing him down with her car.

[dysfunctional press]

21. i was just quoting the article- it's the sum total of my knowledge of the case...

but cars are often considered "deadly weapons", especially when you take aim with one at an armed cop. like i said, not knowing the actual circumstances, i don't know how far it will get him- only that it will be used as seemingly his justification to blast away at will.

[gratuitous]

24. Since he squeezed off five rounds from his own driver's seat

At least, that's what the allegation is, I'd say that the officer might have, I don't know, panicked or something - especially considering his poor marksmanship. I don't expect his attorney to do anything but zealously represent his client (as is the attorney's duty), but there's no duty for him to say something quite so fatuous.

[LeftHander]

23. ahh this should be attempted murder....and numerous others nt

[JerseygirlCT]

26. Good grief!

Nothing unreasonable about opening fire on a highway??????


I'm sorry, but some of these people are getting entirely too comfy with the idea of using firearms. He needs to be off the street for a very, very long time. And off the guns forever.

[Evoman]

28. Geez....now they can shoot you in anger too? Cool..you don't even have to break the law

to get a cops bullet in your body and the bodies of your children.

Nice to know....justice isn't color blind, but it sure has problems seeing blue.