Blackfork
Member
A Killing Without Cause
And a slap on the wrist for the Fairfax police
Thursday, November 30, 2006; Page A22
FAIRFAX COUNTY police officer Deval V. Bullock is a good cop who made one disastrous mistake: Bumped by his own car door, he accidentally fired his weapon and killed an unarmed, nonviolent, non-threatening suspect during a routine arrest in January. The shooting of Salvatore J. Culosi, an optometrist under investigation for being a sports bookmaker, was unintentional. But it was also negligent; under the circumstances, Mr. Bullock should not have had his finger on the trigger, nor even aimed his weapon at Mr. Culosi. Now the Fairfax police department is recommending a slap on the wrist for Mr. Bullock -- three weeks without pay and his removal from the police SWAT team. The punishment is lenient, to say the least, but even so it is too much for the police union.
For months before this egregious shooting, an undercover police detective had been placing bets with Mr. Culosi, who had no criminal record; had never owned a firearm; and presented no threat of violence, flight or resisting arrest. It is still unclear, 10 months after the fact, why despite that profile police decided to arrest Mr. Culosi with a SWAT team, which is trained and equipped for use in dangerous situations. After Mr. Culosi's death, the police department said it would conduct a review of policies and procedures involving the use of such teams. But if there was such a review, its results have not been made public. One wonders if the SWAT team in Fairfax, lacking frequent opportunities to respond to situations involving imminent danger and threats, is deployed simply to give its officers something to do. If so, that's bad policy and bad policing.
The SWAT team guy got three weeks suspension, and the police union is unhappy about THAT.
There's more, at the Washington Post or www.theagitator.com.
And a slap on the wrist for the Fairfax police
Thursday, November 30, 2006; Page A22
FAIRFAX COUNTY police officer Deval V. Bullock is a good cop who made one disastrous mistake: Bumped by his own car door, he accidentally fired his weapon and killed an unarmed, nonviolent, non-threatening suspect during a routine arrest in January. The shooting of Salvatore J. Culosi, an optometrist under investigation for being a sports bookmaker, was unintentional. But it was also negligent; under the circumstances, Mr. Bullock should not have had his finger on the trigger, nor even aimed his weapon at Mr. Culosi. Now the Fairfax police department is recommending a slap on the wrist for Mr. Bullock -- three weeks without pay and his removal from the police SWAT team. The punishment is lenient, to say the least, but even so it is too much for the police union.
For months before this egregious shooting, an undercover police detective had been placing bets with Mr. Culosi, who had no criminal record; had never owned a firearm; and presented no threat of violence, flight or resisting arrest. It is still unclear, 10 months after the fact, why despite that profile police decided to arrest Mr. Culosi with a SWAT team, which is trained and equipped for use in dangerous situations. After Mr. Culosi's death, the police department said it would conduct a review of policies and procedures involving the use of such teams. But if there was such a review, its results have not been made public. One wonders if the SWAT team in Fairfax, lacking frequent opportunities to respond to situations involving imminent danger and threats, is deployed simply to give its officers something to do. If so, that's bad policy and bad policing.
The SWAT team guy got three weeks suspension, and the police union is unhappy about THAT.
There's more, at the Washington Post or www.theagitator.com.
Why? Is a badge a license to kill, like James Bond?
