Colorado police officer WILL NOT face charges for mistakenly shooting dead a good Samaritan who....

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Shove it way with your foot.

Have your gun holstered (at the very least) when LE shows up.

Be as far from the bad guy as you can get.

Having your hands up as LE approaches is probably a good idea.
 
So why can't cops be held accountable?

It's like they get a special pass because they were scared and they killed some one.

It's bs, a citizen on the street would be charged.
 
Kinda amazing how many posts seem to tacitly endorse a death sentence for holding a rifle when the police arrive.

Would it be the same if instead of shooting the perp the victim was unarmed and wrestled the rifle away from the gunman before being shot?

What if instead of a nice safe pistol that he could holster he had one of those black rifles he'd fetched from his truck?
 
Even without charges, even exonerated - as was pretty justified in those circumstances - the cop will remember killing a decent person for the rest of his life. The officer is going to need therapy, and get it from the department. He will likely quit and find another job in not too long.

What happened to the citizen is tragic. I have great sympathy for his survivors. I have a great deal of sympathy for the officer and loved ones. This is only happy for those who were not killed in the mass shooting.
 
Even without charges, even exonerated - as was pretty justified in those circumstances - the cop will remember killing a decent person for the rest of his life. The officer is going to need therapy, and get it from the department. He will likely quit and find another job in not too long.
Unless you PERSONALLY know that cop, that is all nothing more than assertion pulled out of thin air.

He might regret it for the rest of his life.
He might regret it for a couple of days.
He might not regret it at all.
He might joke about it until the day he dies.

You have literally NO idea how he feels about it.
 
So why can't cops be held accountable?

It's like they get a special pass because they were scared and they killed some one.

It's bs, a citizen on the street would be charged.

Special pass? What do you expect? Again,they get a call shots fired... Instant sphincter clench before they get there with fight or flight kicking in and they ain't paid to flee. They roll up on the scene and see a body on the ground and a guy holding a rifle. Would you assume this is just someone that doesn't like to see weapons laying around and is just trying to tidy up? Or are you going to order the suspect to freeze would your weapon trained on his CM? Can you say for certain or for sure the suspect disobeyed the order? Whether by confusion or nervousness of his own?

Keep in mind, these are not soldiers they are constables. Their main training is filling out reports and securing crime scenes after the fact. You cannot expect a civilian to do any more than his training. Putting myself in his place... I can see circumstances and nuances where I would do the same. It's not a special pass to recognize this is not a superman or a demigod.
 
There has to be accountability for police, our communities are not war zones with open rules of engagement. The cop killed a person and will not stand charges of any kind.

Police today are under more scrutiny than I can remember in my lifetime. With cameras in so many places and people taking videos of their interactions with the public combined with the current war on police to say there's no accountability is just silly. If anything the pendulum has swung the other way, with LEO's having to operate with the understanding that they're possibly on video and the split second decisions they have to make will be second guessed by people who have never put themselves in harms way. They're often convicted in the court of public opinion before facts are known. The result of nonsense like this is escalating crime rates in our cities as LEO's are incentivized to not patrol aggressively lest they be the next ones to be targeted for doing their jobs. It's this anti-police attitude that has more people getting killed as criminals know there are few consequences to their actions.
 
So why can't cops be held accountable?
They are. The incident was fully investigated.
It's like they get a special pass because they were scared and they killed some one.
It was decided that the all of the requirements for lawful self defense were met.
It's bs, a citizen on the street would be charged.
That statement shows a lack of understanding of use of force law.


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They are. The incident was fully investigated.
It was decided that the all of the requirements for lawful self defense were met.
That statement shows a lack of understanding of use of force law.


.

Name one instance in which a cop was killed by a citizen in which that citizen walked away no charges.
 
Police today are under more scrutiny than I can remember in my lifetime. With cameras in so many places and people taking videos of their interactions with the public combined with the current war on police to say there's no accountability is just silly.
The United States does not have a national police force with uniform and consistent standards of conduct. Police are purely a state and local matter.

In some jurisdictions police are held accountable for their actions. In others they are not.
 
Well that would shatter my theory that there is a double standard regarding homicide as has been seen the last 2 years.

I get that the situation had all the components to satisfy a justifiable homicide on the surface, I am not stupid. That's why he walked

The cop still killed an innocent US citizen, if a "defender" had killed a cop in uniform or plain clothes that citizen would be fried
 
The United States does not have a national police force with uniform and consistent standards of conduct. Police are purely a state and local matter.

In some jurisdictions police are held accountable for their actions. In others they are not.

We may not have a national police force, but we do have a national media, much of which is anti police and often does nationalize police shootings. The pressure to then prosecute those officers is often significant.
 
We may not have a national police force, but we do have a national media, much of which is anti police and often does nationalize police shootings. The pressure to then prosecute those officers is then significant.
Significant but not dispositive.

If the local authorities choose to look the other way, the national media can say whatever they want. Nothing will be done. And that of course leaves aside the fact that the media protects those with whom it feels an affinity. It will ignore police misconduct, or at the very least soft peddle it if it would be embarrassing to those in charge, with whom they are aligned.
 
Significant but not dispositive.

If the local authorities choose to look the other way, the national media can say whatever they want. Nothing will be done. And that of course leaves aside the fact that the media protects those with whom it feels an affinity. It will ignore police misconduct, or at the very least soft peddle it if it would be embarrassing to those in charge, with whom they are aligned.

In theory, maybe, but I don't remember the last time the MSM (CNN, MSNBC, NYT, etc) sided with the police. If it did happen recently it was an anomaly.
 
In theory, maybe, but I don't remember the last time the MSM (CNN, MSNBC, NYT, etc) sided with the police. If it did happen recently it was an anomaly.
Ashlii Babbitt. Where the killing is mentioned at all, the man who shot her is being hailed as a hero.

They don't have to side with the police. They just have to remain silent.
 
Ashlii Babbitt. Where the killing is mentioned at all, the man who shot her is being hailed as a hero.

They don't have to side with the police. They just have to remain silent.

Agreed, and it was an anomaly due to her political leanings not aligning with the MSM's. My point is that generalizations in this thread claiming the police get special passes and are not held accountable when they shoot citizens is false.
 
Agreed, and it was an anomaly due to her political leanings not aligning with the MSM's. My point is that generalizations in this thread claiming the police get special passes and are not held accountable when they shoot citizens is false.
Likewise you cannot generalize that they WILL be held accountable. It's purely a state and local matter, which is subject to change over time and is entirely subject to the political situation prevailing in that particular jurisdiction.
 
It seems to me that we are seeing more and more stories where cops show up and shoot first, ask questions afterward. Might not be quite that bad, but not far off. Active shooter situations is a big thing these days. If dispatch tells them there is an active shooter there or even someone with a gun, you should expect cops to show up expecting a fight. Anyone who carries a gun for self defense should keep that in mind.

Best advice in a similar situation I can come up with is to stand off to the side with your gun holstered and not visible. Let the cops come in and secure the scene before trying to talk to them. If you can't stand off to the side, re-holster and keep your hands visible. If you are prepared for the worst, something less than that will be less of a burden.
 
Well that would shatter my theory that there is a double standard regarding homicide as has been seen the last 2 years.
One incident, absent relevant facts, would "shatter your theory"? Oh boy.

I get that the situation had all the components to satisfy a justifiable homicide on the surface, I am not stupid. That's why he walked.
Okay then, end of story.

The cop still killed an innocent US citizen, if a "defender" had killed a cop in uniform or plain clothes that citizen would be fried
If one shoots a uniformed officer at a crime scene it would be hard to imagine a self defense justification, but it is possible. Why do you think that relevant here?

Now, had it gone to trial, the difference between the case and a case involving a civilian shooter would be this: a Wisconsin jury would be permitted to consider wether the shooter had had the opportunity to retreat safely and whether a reasonable person would have done do. That does apply to a sworn officer.
 
Oh wow THE COPS GET AWAY WITH IT AGAIN.

John "I back the blue" Doe is smiling with pride today because this is "reasonable".

So why can't cops be held accountable?

It's like they get a special pass because they were scared and they killed some one.

It's bs, a citizen on the street would be charged.

Well that would shatter my theory that there is a double standard regarding homicide as has been seen the last 2 years.

I get that the situation had all the components to satisfy a justifiable homicide on the surface, I am not stupid. That's why he walked

The cop still killed an innocent US citizen, if a "defender" had killed a cop in uniform or plain clothes that citizen would be fried

Really? Are you flipping serious?

The cops get a call that some guy is shooting people. They show up and -: wonder of wonders - there's a guy standing over a dead body holding a gun!

What do you expect their first impression will be?
 
I am not going to argue about this shooting, because there are always many details that come out when a thing like this is fully described. The DA's call here may be the only right one.

The problem I have is that, so close to always as makes no difference, that when a police officer shoots someone dead, the shooting is ruled justified and proper. Apparently police officers are pretty much perfect in that respect. I am sorry, but the older I get, the more my belief in the possibility of human perfection fades away.
 
The problem I have is that, so close to always as makes no difference, that when a police officer shoots someone dead, the shooting is ruled justified and proper. Apparently police officers are pretty much perfect in that respect.
You haven't been paying much attention to the news in recent years.
 
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