Police Kill North Carolina College Student Accused of Stealing PlayStation 3 Consoles

[Erebus]

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,234178,00.html

This is getting tons of air time on the cable news networks. Dead kid's dad is a lawyer, this one is going to get thick.

Monday , December 04, 2006
WILMINGTON, N.C. — An 18-year-old student accused of assaulting another student and taking two PlayStation 3 consoles was shot and killed by a special police unit helping serve arrest warrants.

The State Bureau of Investigation is examining the case and three deputy sheriffs on the team are on paid leave, New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey said Sunday.

Peyton Strickland, 18, was killed Friday night at a home he shared with three roommates. His German shepherd dog, Blaze, also was shot to death.

The deputies were helping police for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington serve an arrest warrant that charged Strickland with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering a vehicle.

Causey declined to identify the suspended deputies — members of an elite emergency response team — because he feared for their safety.

Roommate Mike Rhoton said Strickland was unarmed, but may have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door, which the roommate said was bashed in by officers.

"If this boy would've come to the door, opened the door, we probably wouldn't be talking," the sheriff said.
Strickland was a Durham native attending Cape Fear Community College. Ryan David Mills, a 20-year-old UNC-Wilmington student who lived at a different address, also was arrested on the same charges and released Saturday on bond.

The warrant alleged that Strickland and Mills assaulted another UNC-Wilmington student and took two PlayStation video game consoles from him Nov. 17, the day the new video game was released.

The sheriff said Justin Raines, the UNC-Wilmington student who was assaulted and robbed, had waited three days in line to buy two Playstation 3 units for $641 each at a Wal-Mart store. He was unloading the units at his campus apartment when a car pulled up and one man beat him to the ground while another took the Playstations, the sheriff said.

Except for the beating, Causey said he couldn't disclose why Strickland was considered dangerous enough to warrant the special unit's presence.

Strickland was the only son of Raleigh lawyer Don Strickland, who said in a statement released Sunday that the son "had tremendous potential and was just coming into his own."

Strickland was due in court in January on a separate assault charge in Wilmington, according to Donald Beskind, Don Strickland's law partner. He declined to give details on the charge but called it "the kind of thing that happens between two kids."

 

[Dave P]

His German shepherd dog, Blaze, also was shot to death.


Whack Em, Stack Em??

 

[ceetee]

Strickland was due in court in January on a separate assault charge in Wilmington, according to Donald Beskind, Don Strickland's law partner. He declined to give details on the charge but called it "the kind of thing that happens between two kids."

Also:

Strickland was the only son of Raleigh lawyer Don Strickland, who said in a statement released Sunday that the son "had tremendous potential and was just coming into his own."

Yep... From simple assault to strong-armed robbery in just weeks. I'd say his potential was limitless...

 

[GTSteve03]

Roommate Mike Rhoton said Strickland was unarmed, but may have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door, which the roommate said was bashed in by officers.

Video game controller, wallet, whatever.

They all look the same to a trigger-happy cop.

I feel safer at night knowing these folks are out there protecting my freedom.

 

[QuestionEverything]

Ever feel like these brave public servants should have their Glocks replaced with Liberator pistols? I'm sure the guy had time to go open his door--I wonder how many tenths of a second they gave him before kicking it in. After all, he might have flushed those PlayStations and then they would have no case. And that video game controller must have been indistinguishable from a Hi-Point; if the Wilmington cops are that jumpy I'd like to know whether the PD issues Depends to its officers. Sounds like this kid was something of a scumbag, but in death he'll accomplish more than he could have in life by further exposing the corruption in the police force. Millions and millions protected and served.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

sounds like a fairly bad situation. however most of these details are preliminary.

Roommate Mike Rhoton said Strickland was unarmed, but may have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door, which the roommate said was bashed in by officers.

the news report makes it unclear if the roommate (Rhoton) was at the residence when the warrant was executed. this statement merely says what Rhoton thought was in Strickland's hand, but does not otherwise say that he was or was not at the home when the warrant was served?

Question Everything wrote:

I'm sure the guy had time to go open his door--I wonder how many tenths of a second they gave him before kicking it in.

well, we just don't know at this point. we dont know how many seconds lapsed between the knock & announce and the entry. we don't know the information they were given either. i think in North Carolina there is some state registration of guns, so possibly they were able to see if he owned firearms? that it itself is not good or bad, but also keep in mind the warrants are for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. both are violent felonies, so that could have been a deciding factor on how long to wait prior to breaching the door. also there could have been other situational issues, like someone peering out a window and then running towards the back of the house instead of coming to the door, etc. we simply don't know what happened, yet we are quick to judge.

i think we just need to get more facts before rushing to the traditional THR cop-bashing, for once.

 

[JohnBT]

Anybody seen the photo that's reported to have been one of ten on facebook? It's a photo of three guys posing with handguns, a rifle and a shotgun. I got three hits on it by Googling his first and last names and facebook.

IF there are photos, maybe the police had seen them.

John

 

[pcosmar]

Why waste the manpower, I mean once someone is accused of a crime, they are already guilty. Just use a smart bomb and blow the place. That way no officers get hurt, and no time has to be wasted on investagating or trial.

 

[orionengnr]

Strickland was the only son of Raleigh lawyer Don Strickland, who said in a statement released Sunday that the son "had tremendous potential and was just coming into his own."

His promising career of crime has been put on hold...indefinitely.

 

[Manedwolf]

Future police procedure for raids, I guess...Place your hands in the yellow circles, and don't answer that you're a "meat popsicle".

/movie ref

 

[QuestionEverything]

Check out this story for more information...

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4325&Itemid=2

Apparently Strickland "exchanged words" with the police and his roommate mentioned that they didn't provide a copy of the warrant they said they had. I don't doubt they really did have a warrant, but...

"Anytime you have a high-risk entry like this, you feel that your life is at risk."

High risk? These are a couple of punks who beat a guy down with blunt objects and the cops act like they're raiding the Manson gang. If kiddo asks for a warrant, showing it to him isn't going to hurt. I hear time and time again that cops can "tell" if someone's dangerous and/or up to no good, but they evidently can't distinguish small-time Mickey Mouse hoods rebelling against their lawyer daddies from hardened, deadly criminals.

 

[Sindawe]

Not taking the word of the roommate as fact, but does not service of said warrant require it to be presented to the occupants of a place to be searched? "No-knocks" excepted.

Manedwolf: Better review that flic again.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

i seriously doubt he was shot and killed by police because he asked to see the warrant (which was obviously legitimate, seeing the Sheriff himself is saying it is). that is outrageously far-fetched.

im also wondering what "exchange of words" occurred. there is a big difference between "you fat donut-eating PIG" and "come and get me copper i've got a gun too" or something that may cause the officers to believe he was armed?

and sindawe is correct on having to show a copy of the search warrant.

 

[griz]

Not enough info for a verdict, and not enough civility for THR IMHO.

 

[cbsbyte]

Even though we don't know the full story of what happened. And the victum might have provoked the Deputy, it is still hard to justifiy the shooting unless the victim actually pulled a weapon. I am slowly coming to the point to where the idea of disarming the police might not be such as bad Idea.

 

[Zundfolge]

The most appropriate and truthful title of the news story would be.

"Trigger happy JBTs shoot dirtbag."


Nobody is in the right here ... cops shouldn't be executing "no-knocks" for stolen video games, but the punk shouldn't be strong arm robbing people either.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Future police procedure for raids, I guess...Place your hands in the yellow circles, and don't answer that you're a "meat popsicle".

Is that from the Fifth Element?

 

[ilbob]

im also wondering what "exchange of words" occurred. there is a big difference between "you fat donut-eating PIG" and "come and get me copper I've got a gun too" or something that may cause the officers to believe he was armed?

I am not so sure there is any difference as a practical matter. Disrespect to an officer of the law could be construed as being harmful to his/her delicate psyche. Office safety is the only thing that matters, so the proper thing to do in either case is to shoot first when met with an inadequate amount of respect.

OTOH, I am unlikely to grieve a whole lot over a dead robber.

 

[lurkersince03]

Guilty until proven innocent. For the police, and for the kid. He was charged, not convicted. And yes, it looks bad, and you're free to come to your own conclusions about both sides of the story. But you have to ask yourself if, given you were in a similar situation, you'd want a jury full of people who jumped to the same conclusions some of you guys do.

 

[ozwyn]

definitely from fifth element.

As far as the shooting incident and who they assigned to make the arrest and how it was conducted, from what little information there is, it appears as though the rational decision making process was broken at the top and worked its way down.

 

[Juna]

Why waste the manpower, I mean once someone is accused of a crime, they are already guilty. Just use a smart bomb and blow the place. That way no officers get hurt, and no time has to be wasted on investagating or trial.

Totally agree. It's guilty once accused in this country lately. When's the last time you saw publicity about a crime after they were convicted? You're either in this kid's situation and never get to court, or you're crucified in the media so much that it doesn't matter whether you get off b/c everyone still thinks you're guilty & you're shunned from society. I really fear ever being suspected of anything b/c of the screwed up justice system in this country. If you make it to court, the DA wants to win, no matter what.

 

[eastwood44mag]

I'll stick to my old NES, thank you very much. Never gotten into a fight over it, probably never will.

This is just one heck of a screwed up mess.

 

[Outlaws]

Glad he got shot.

I know we need to watch the police so things don't get out of control, but when someone is already charged with one count of assult and is now wanted for assult and armed robbery, the person is asking for an instant verdict via a gunshot.

 

[QuestionEverything]

Well, it all comes down to what exactly the kid said to the officer before the door was broken down. If it wasn't "Get ready to die, piggie" or something similar, I find it very hard to justify the police response in this case. I'd like to think this wasn't a shoot I or the majority of responsible gun-owning citizens would make, and the cops should be held to at least an equal standard. I mean, "He may have been holding a video game controller?" The official story reeks of damage control after a lethal blunder.

But I concur that the victim in this case was a lowlife if the charges of robbery are true. Doesn't make him any less deserving of due process, though.

 

[MRJ152]

The way I look at it is the kid should never have put himself in that situation. I don't agree cops should go around shooting at random, however, I don't have to worry about cops showing up at my door and shooting me for what some believe was for no reason. WHY? Because I don't put myself out there like that. I'm sorry it may seem insensitive, but I feel the kid put himself in a situation that he could have easily avoided by doing one of two things; answering the door when asked or not stealing the items in the first place. I would be willing to bet that his father bailed him out of many things through his life and he thought this was going to be another one. I think we have missed the boat here... people these days constantly look to put blame on someone else. Nobody has any responsiblity / accountability anymore.