Watch The video at this link - before it disappears (as the courts may decide it has to be removed).
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-federal-judge-orders-release-of-videos-20150714-story.html#page=1
Now think about what just happened in the video (even though it was about 2 years ago). Watch it again if you want and really think about what happened. Then answer this - were the police justified in using deadly force in that situation. I am not going to answer it for you, you need to answer that for yourselves; just as the cops had to make their own decisions, you get to make your decisions. There is a difference though, the cops had to do it in a split second while in a real life situation and not while watching a video. I am not justifying there actions, just stating a fact about why it is different than us watching a video.
Now, many people will condemn tem for using deadly force. Many say it was not justified. Others, while not praising the officers (since they shot an unarmed suspect who was not the guy for whom they were searching) certainly are not condemning them but are supportive of them. I will do neither
but I will say this, I may well have shot the guy too but then again maybe not. It depends.
Let me give you a scenario that might be closer to home for you and then think about and answer whether or not you would shoot in the situation I am about to give (one that will be very similar in nature to the one in the video just one that would be more likely for the average guy or gal to encounter since we usually do not go out hunting down suspected violent criminals).
You are home at 1AM, up late and watching a good Bogart movie. You here some noises on the outside of your dwelling, sounds like someone was screwing around with your door. You grab a hand gun and go to investigate. You find a guy trespassing on your property. You tell him not to move, he stops. You tell him hands up - he puts his hands up. You take out your cell one handed, gun in other, and start to call 911. The guy move, you tell him top. He puts his hands down near his waist. You order him to put his hands up and he does. Then he drops his hands and starts moving them erratically. You tell him to put up his hands and not to move; he does it but then drops them to his head and then slightly lifts his hat at the back of his head as maybe he is going for something under it. His hands go back up after another command from you. Then he suddenly takes off his hat. He then drops his hands, with his hat in his left hand (the side to which the cops who shot him were reportedly standing so we will say you are also to your suspect's left), to his waist level. Watch though what he does with his right hand - he moves it momentarily to his right hip and then out from the hip like drawing a gun. Or maybe he was moving his hand toward the hat, and remember that just a moment before it looks as if he was about to reach under his hat. it depends on how you think about it during a stressful few moments. If you do not see it in the first view shown on the video, wait for the view from an additional angle shows. How he moves his right hand can be seen plainly. Granted, it can also be seen to contain nothing but we cannot see inside the hat and by te time the hand is coming up empty - it was too late - the first shots were fired.
Those are the facts of our scenario - pretty much just how they appear in the video with the part about the guy fiddling with and removing his hat and moving his right hand. Now think about it relative to our closer to home scenario. What would you have done in that scenario when the guy removed his hat and he moved his other hand toward his hip with that all being at least partially obscured from your view (because you are to his left)? Would you have just stood there while allowing him to have done all that and thus maybe have allowed him to do what may or may not have come next like draw a weapon and shoot you. Would you have yelled at him some more not to move. Would you have thought - holy shit, he's going for gun and if so would you have shot him. Would you have run away to cover. Do not change the scenario - do not tell me you would have stayed inside. This is being asked to see what you would have done had you confronted the suspect while you were armed with a gun. Then think about the actual shooting and answer whether or not the cops were justified to have shot the guy - regardless of how you think you would have reacted.
I will make only one critical assessment of how the officers handled this situation and it is one of something which I have seen all to often in such videos. I also saw it repeatedly throughout my 32 year career in law enforcement even though, for the several that I had collateral duties as a firearms instructor, I taught my students to do otherwise. I immediately saw that those officers used their guns as their magic shields; in other words - the only thing they stood behind was their guns - THEY DID NOT TAKE COVER, not even did they get behind concealment. That was a glaring error on their part and it, in my opinion, was one of the deciding factors that added up to why they shot this guy. Maybe that was because it seemed as if there was no cover or concealment but there were the police cars and they would have been much better than nothing. Maybe they have been trained to point the nose of their cruisers at suspects so they get it all on the police video cameras but I was never taught that and never taught it to anyone. I was taught that you could angle your car, during a stop, to offer protection to you and your partner. Apparently these officers did not do that and I think, if they had done so, they may have spared a moment or two longer and seen that the suspect was unarmed. I am not saying it would have happened for sure, simply that it may have, but we will never know now because it is too late. I do know though, that taking cover should be one of your primary considerations in any such encounter if for nothing else - for your own safety.
Now that you have watched the video, and probably read the article and hopefully answered my questions about our closer to home scenario or otherwise just figured what you would have done in that real life scenario, answer one more question and please be very honest about it. How many times did you watch that video before making up your mind whether or not you would have shot the guy or as to whether or not the cops were justified to soot him. Remember, they did not have a video to watch; it was happening in real time and thus as fast as watching that video once but with the potential of them being injured. They were there in the heat of the moment facing potential danger and did not have the convenience of being able to watch it unfold in the safety of their living room while sipping a cocktail on a hot summer's night. Again, I am not making excuses for them, I am telling you factual information on which they, at least in part, probably based their decision to shoot and that is information you should consider too in judging them or in deciding whether or not you would use deadly force in a similar situation.
This was a case of an innocent man being gunned down by police because they mistakenly believed he was drawing a weapon. Or, if you prefer, it happened, as some critics say, because it was an execution of an innocent man carried out by trigger happy police who shot the guy because he would not obey their commands.
Regardless of what anyone thinks on what were the motivations - it was a sad situation with an even sadder result because an innocent man lost his life.
A hat tip to Kenny over at Knuckledraggin My Life Away for having the link posted here.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-federal-judge-orders-release-of-videos-20150714-story.html#page=1
Now think about what just happened in the video (even though it was about 2 years ago). Watch it again if you want and really think about what happened. Then answer this - were the police justified in using deadly force in that situation. I am not going to answer it for you, you need to answer that for yourselves; just as the cops had to make their own decisions, you get to make your decisions. There is a difference though, the cops had to do it in a split second while in a real life situation and not while watching a video. I am not justifying there actions, just stating a fact about why it is different than us watching a video.
Now, many people will condemn tem for using deadly force. Many say it was not justified. Others, while not praising the officers (since they shot an unarmed suspect who was not the guy for whom they were searching) certainly are not condemning them but are supportive of them. I will do neither
but I will say this, I may well have shot the guy too but then again maybe not. It depends.
Let me give you a scenario that might be closer to home for you and then think about and answer whether or not you would shoot in the situation I am about to give (one that will be very similar in nature to the one in the video just one that would be more likely for the average guy or gal to encounter since we usually do not go out hunting down suspected violent criminals).
You are home at 1AM, up late and watching a good Bogart movie. You here some noises on the outside of your dwelling, sounds like someone was screwing around with your door. You grab a hand gun and go to investigate. You find a guy trespassing on your property. You tell him not to move, he stops. You tell him hands up - he puts his hands up. You take out your cell one handed, gun in other, and start to call 911. The guy move, you tell him top. He puts his hands down near his waist. You order him to put his hands up and he does. Then he drops his hands and starts moving them erratically. You tell him to put up his hands and not to move; he does it but then drops them to his head and then slightly lifts his hat at the back of his head as maybe he is going for something under it. His hands go back up after another command from you. Then he suddenly takes off his hat. He then drops his hands, with his hat in his left hand (the side to which the cops who shot him were reportedly standing so we will say you are also to your suspect's left), to his waist level. Watch though what he does with his right hand - he moves it momentarily to his right hip and then out from the hip like drawing a gun. Or maybe he was moving his hand toward the hat, and remember that just a moment before it looks as if he was about to reach under his hat. it depends on how you think about it during a stressful few moments. If you do not see it in the first view shown on the video, wait for the view from an additional angle shows. How he moves his right hand can be seen plainly. Granted, it can also be seen to contain nothing but we cannot see inside the hat and by te time the hand is coming up empty - it was too late - the first shots were fired.
Those are the facts of our scenario - pretty much just how they appear in the video with the part about the guy fiddling with and removing his hat and moving his right hand. Now think about it relative to our closer to home scenario. What would you have done in that scenario when the guy removed his hat and he moved his other hand toward his hip with that all being at least partially obscured from your view (because you are to his left)? Would you have just stood there while allowing him to have done all that and thus maybe have allowed him to do what may or may not have come next like draw a weapon and shoot you. Would you have yelled at him some more not to move. Would you have thought - holy shit, he's going for gun and if so would you have shot him. Would you have run away to cover. Do not change the scenario - do not tell me you would have stayed inside. This is being asked to see what you would have done had you confronted the suspect while you were armed with a gun. Then think about the actual shooting and answer whether or not the cops were justified to have shot the guy - regardless of how you think you would have reacted.
I will make only one critical assessment of how the officers handled this situation and it is one of something which I have seen all to often in such videos. I also saw it repeatedly throughout my 32 year career in law enforcement even though, for the several that I had collateral duties as a firearms instructor, I taught my students to do otherwise. I immediately saw that those officers used their guns as their magic shields; in other words - the only thing they stood behind was their guns - THEY DID NOT TAKE COVER, not even did they get behind concealment. That was a glaring error on their part and it, in my opinion, was one of the deciding factors that added up to why they shot this guy. Maybe that was because it seemed as if there was no cover or concealment but there were the police cars and they would have been much better than nothing. Maybe they have been trained to point the nose of their cruisers at suspects so they get it all on the police video cameras but I was never taught that and never taught it to anyone. I was taught that you could angle your car, during a stop, to offer protection to you and your partner. Apparently these officers did not do that and I think, if they had done so, they may have spared a moment or two longer and seen that the suspect was unarmed. I am not saying it would have happened for sure, simply that it may have, but we will never know now because it is too late. I do know though, that taking cover should be one of your primary considerations in any such encounter if for nothing else - for your own safety.
Now that you have watched the video, and probably read the article and hopefully answered my questions about our closer to home scenario or otherwise just figured what you would have done in that real life scenario, answer one more question and please be very honest about it. How many times did you watch that video before making up your mind whether or not you would have shot the guy or as to whether or not the cops were justified to soot him. Remember, they did not have a video to watch; it was happening in real time and thus as fast as watching that video once but with the potential of them being injured. They were there in the heat of the moment facing potential danger and did not have the convenience of being able to watch it unfold in the safety of their living room while sipping a cocktail on a hot summer's night. Again, I am not making excuses for them, I am telling you factual information on which they, at least in part, probably based their decision to shoot and that is information you should consider too in judging them or in deciding whether or not you would use deadly force in a similar situation.
This was a case of an innocent man being gunned down by police because they mistakenly believed he was drawing a weapon. Or, if you prefer, it happened, as some critics say, because it was an execution of an innocent man carried out by trigger happy police who shot the guy because he would not obey their commands.
Regardless of what anyone thinks on what were the motivations - it was a sad situation with an even sadder result because an innocent man lost his life.
A hat tip to Kenny over at Knuckledraggin My Life Away for having the link posted here.
All the best,
Glenn B
1 comment:
It looks like a classic furtive movement shooting.
After seeing the video, and reading the District Attorney's report (linked to the LA times article) that Diaz had a .22 BAC and had meth in his system, as well as meth on his person, it somewhat explains possibly why he was acting like an aggressive clown.
I'd say he basically got shot for acting in a manner consistent with pulling and concealing a weapon and repeatedly ignoring commands that he stop doing so. A sad waste, but it's on him for acting in a stupid manner.
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