Jury acquits man who shot police officer

[ebd10]

It still doesn't justify shooting someone for shining a flashlight!!!!

If that was the case Security Guards, Hikers, Joggers, Newspaper Boys...all who use flashlights at night, would be open season for inadvertantly shining a light in a doorway or window.

That argument is specious. This was not an inadvertant shining of a light into a window, this was the intentional, volitional, shining of a light into someone's home for the purpose of seeing who or what was in there. The homeowner suspected, rightly according to the jury, that his life could be in danger, based upon the premise that anyone who has entered the boundaries of your home while you are there, probably has nothing good in store for you. The cop, in his zeal to find out who the rock thrower was, abandoned caution, common sense, and procedure, and became the focus of The Fickle Finger of Fate. It boils down to a convergence of bad choices by the cop and bad experiences of the homeowner's.

 

[Daniel T]

Sam59, as you seem to have difficulty grasping the situation, I'm just going to point to you Matthew Courtney's post on page 4.

Read it a couple times until enlightenment dawns. Alternately, you could read NineseveN's posts, but they're a bit longer. Good luck.

 

[sam59]

House

Would it have been ok to shoot through the front door with all that banging?

 

[Sindawe]

Would it have been ok to shoot through the front door with all that banging?

Good question, and one I think would depend on the layout of the house and "front door"

Example: A friend has a house here in Colorado. Its been renovated a couple of times over its 100+ years, and one of the renovations involved enclosing the porch in drywall and adding a new "front door". The original front portal is still there, along with the door and lockset. If person unknown is banging on what is NOW the exterior door, shooting through that would not be OK. If persons unknown are past that point and now banging on the old front door, they are within the exterior walls of the house, so shooting should be OK.

 

[Daniel T]

Perhaps. Was the front door inside an enclosed porch behind a 7 foot wall that had to be climbed over?

Police like to talk about the totality of the circumstances, which I agree with. However, it doesn't seem like some people are paying any attention that that right now.

 

[ebd10]

Would it have been ok to shoot through the front door with all that banging?

No.

BUT, we have to take into consideration the training and mindset of the shooter. Obviously, I don't have all of the facts, but I'm willing to bet that he had a little training in the military, or none at all. Therefore, he qualifies as a "gun owner" but not as what we understand to be a shooter. Plus, how many of us, having been subjected to the crimes that he has been subjected to, would be willing to take the chance that the dark form shining a flashlight in their window and banging on their glass door at oh-dark-thirty is really a cop/drunk/postman/avon lady/whatever?

The cop decided to play 'cowboy' and discovered that some people don't play. If anything, he should at least be forced to write a 5000 word essay on "Why I Won't Break The Law Ever Again"

 

[sam59]

"Police like to talk about the totality of the circumstances, which I agree with. However, it doesn't seem like some people are paying any attention that that right now"

I have the funny feeling (As X-72) if a Police Officer did the same thing, the same individuals justifying shooting at an unknown target would want to fry him.

This being a gun board I would expect better safety. I guess we agree to disagree.

 

[Strings]

>"Police like to talk about the totality of the circumstances, which I agree with. However, it doesn't seem like some people are paying any attention that that right now"

I have the funny feeling (As X-72) if a Police Officer did the same thing, the same individuals justifying shooting at an unknown target would want to fry him.

This being a gun board I would expect better safety. I guess we agree to disagree.<

Given the totality of the circumstances... no, I wouldn't want to fry a cop in reversed situation. Nice try on goading more antagonism, though...

Us, I'd like you to meet Them. They will be Our enemy for the next confrontation...