Florida cops kill bystander, but charge suspect they were trying to shoot with her murder

This goes beyond stupid. Florida cops were called to a bar because someone had discharged a weapon in the club.

They said he pointed his finger at them so they tased him , but since his clothes were too loose that had no affect.

According to police he then put his hand in his waistband so they shot at him 9 times, hitting him 5 times.

One of the other 4 bullets killed a 23 year old woman who was just an innocent bystander, and another one of the bullets hit another cop.

No that guy has been charged with first degree murder because a cop cant shoot straight at all, and just unloads shooting everything including other cops.

So the cop kills someone because hes an idiot and there will be no consequences for him .

Shoot first ask questions later should be the new police motto.

In order to prevent an armed individual from causing harm to any members of the public or to any of the surrounding officers, Ofc. Sanguino discharges his firearm nine times striking Roach at least five times,” the affidavit said.

link


eta.

This is another article that says another cop was also shot in the leg.

link

During the commotion, a bullet from Officer Eduardo Sanguino’s gun struck 22-year-old innocent bystander Maria Fernanda Godinez. Another stray bullet hit one of the officers in the leg

originally posted by: alienjuggalo
This goes beyond stupid. Florida cops were called to a bar because someone had discharged a weapon in the club.

They said he pointed his finger at them so they tased him , but since his clothes were too loose that had no affect.

According to police he then put his hand in his waistband so they shot at him 9 times, hitting him 5 times.

One of the other 4 bullets killed a 23 year old woman who was just an innocent bystander, and another one of the bullets hit another cop.

No that guy has been charged with first degree murder because a cop cant shoot straight at all, and just unloads shooting everything including other cops.

So the cop kills someone because hes an idiot and there will be no consequences for him .

Shoot first ask questions later should be the new police motto.

In order to prevent an armed individual from causing harm to any members of the public or to any of the surrounding officers, Ofc. Sanguino discharges his firearm nine times striking Roach at least five times,” the affidavit said.

link

That is standard, to charge the lawbreaker with murder in 'friendly fire' shootings.
It happened a few years ago in my area.
The man that was sought was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Link to extended story: Reading Eagle
The story contains a lot about the aftermath, regarding the officer that accidentally shot his fellow officer being allowed to claim his time on suspension for the purposes of qualifying for his pension.

Oh, that's just rich. Wouldn't it be nice if life worked out like that for the rest of us??

Weren't we all taught in grade school that it wasn't right to blame others for the things we did? Next time somebody gets drunk and kills someone on their way home maybe they can slap the officer that didn't catch him in time with the manslaughter charge. Or even the bartender for serving alcohol to someone that was going to be driving. Why stop with just one person being charged with the offense someone else committed? There's enough to go around several times I would think. /sarcasm

If anybody is feeling slightly frisky, you better pray that you get an officer on scene that can shoot half straight.

I've lost all ability to be shocked at this point.

5 out of 9 shot hit the intended target. And he still lives. That in itself shows the ineptitude of the LEO involved.

I don't want to take anything away from the innocent woman who got killed, but I am pretty frightened of this "fine" example of police shooting. I'd be better off with a wrist rocket I think them to call them

So the cop sprayed the general area in front of the bar with gunfire so that the perpetrator wouldn't harm anyone else? That makes a lot of sense. The irony here is simply delicious. Not sure how first degree murder is going to go over in court though. Unless there's some statute that allows that charge in a case like this. Seems some lesser charge might be more appropriate.

Two sets of laws....

One set with wrist slapping for the LEOs

Prison for everyone else.

It's a brave new world

originally posted by: olaru12
Two sets of laws....

One set with wrist slapping for the LEOs

Prison for everyone else.

It's a brave new world

Makes me think I might want to try to get a job with the local PD.

Having read the article, and looked at the postings the following can be stated:

If you have ever been in a gun fight, the first thing that you will realize, along with the experts, there is no way to aim carefully. Bullets will fly freely. The body moves and reacts, the muscles tense and relax. The idea of a person firing a weapon and hitting just one person in such an occasion is only the fiction of Hollywood.

The second is this should not be surprising at all, as it is the law as it is written in a majority of states. In the event of a crime, the person committing the crime and any of his or her accomplices are equally guilty of any and all crimes that occur. That means if a person is shot by the police who is there to arrest the suspect, that person then has the charges that go along with such added to the list of charges, if the person dies, then the suspect and all of the accomplices are guilty of said death.

Only a grand jury will be able to have final say over what the charges should be, during the inditement of the suspect. Then the lawyers and da will sit and kick back and forth what is and is not a fair charge and plea deal. Then if the person pleads guilty, the trial is bypassed, if not then it goes to trial.

The guy survived getting hit with 5 bullets.... Lucky SoB, well at least until he got charged with manslaughter.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

If you have ever been in a gun fight, the first thing that you will realize, along with the experts, there is no way to aim carefully. Bullets will fly freely. The body moves and reacts, the muscles tense and relax. The idea of a person firing a weapon and hitting just one person in such an occasion is only the fiction of Hollywood.

Well this was not a gunfight since the guys gun was not loaded.

Obviously he did not fire a shot.

this trigger happy cop needs to be charged with murder, and attempted murder (one count for every bystander in the area). the dead cop's family should also sue that cop and the city for wrongful death.

What a crock of bull! The cop is just as responsible for this woman's death as the suspect. They should both be charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

I just went over this with Zaph in another cop thread, yet here they don't hesitate to drop the manslaughter charge, only on the wrong person, totally unbelievable.

originally posted by: sdcigarpig
Having read the article, and looked at the postings the following can be stated:

If you have ever been in a gun fight, the first thing that you will realize, along with the experts, there is no way to aim carefully. Bullets will fly freely. The body moves and reacts, the muscles tense and relax. The idea of a person firing a weapon and hitting just one person in such an occasion is only the fiction of Hollywood.

Total and unadulterated equine feces!

I have seen video after video of professional marksmen in real-life, "condition red" scenarios and situations, where they are fully in command of their weapon! It's only the poorly or untrained, average shooter, that will let bullets "fly freely"...
Heck! Even in basic defensive shooting classes, you are taught that what lies beyond your target is as important to assess before pulling the trigger, as your target and your own position are.

Panic has no place in a gun battle. If you can't control your emotions, how are you ever going to control your weapon? And those that can't prove that they can handle the potential stresses involved with law enforcement, should never be allowed to strap on a weapon and be let loose on the public!

A pretty sick legal system. The police get to charge the ejit with serious crime, and at the same time it glosses over their incompetence, and to think I laughed so much at, 'Freebie and the Bean' !

a reply to: GoOfYFoOt

Exactly. Even hunters are taught to know what is beyond your target and off to either side before you fire. You don't want to miss and shoot someone while they are sitting in their living room just across the ridge.

You would think that officers would be taught that even more so than your average hunter...

You can't just go popping off rounds like a 9 year old with an Uzi.

ETA - Or maybe you can if you can just charge someone else for your dumbassery.

No one hurt or killed before police show up.

From link provided:

“In order to prevent an armed individual from causing harm to any members of the public or to any of the surrounding officers, Ofc. Sanguino discharges his firearm nine times striking Roach at least five times,” the affidavit said.

In order to protect the public the police opened fired shooting the suspect, another police officer and killing a innocent bystander!!!!

Yet the suspect who has no rights had no control of the situation and didn't have the means to shoot anyone is gonna be charged.

a reply to: alienjuggalo

So if I start spraying bullets at a mugger, I can hit whoever I want and not go to jail?! Amazing.

You know... it fits in with a lot of American accountability logic. For example, most Americans view Israel's reaction to Gaza ok. In fact, it's exactly the same. Hamas (armed suspect) fires shot from Gaza (the bar) and Israel (police) respond by unloading their weapons on Gaza (the bar) and then blames Hamas (armed suspect) for all the resulting deaths in Gaza (people in the bar).

It's par.

Florida states that if you have a gun during a crime it is 10 years, any one hurt during the crime you face 20 years, and if some ones dies, it's life if not a capital murder charge where the death sentence is likely.

it's called the 10,20 life law.

Provisions The law specifies exactly what categories of crimes fall under it, it mandates that offenders be sentenced to the law's maximum allowable extent for the committed felony, and that the mandatory sentences must be completed consecutively to any additional sentence an offender must serve.[2][6] The law's name comes from three main mandatory sentences: 1) producing a firearm during the commission of certain felonies mandates at least a 10-year prison sentence; 2) firing one mandates at least a 20-year prison sentence; and 3) shooting someone mandates a minimum sentence of 25 years to life regardless of whether a victim is killed or simply injured. The maximum penalty is a life sentence unless the defendant is charged with felony murder or first degree murder in which case the maximum is the death penalty.[2][6]

In addition to the "10-20-Life" rule itself, the law also established or increased other mandatory minimum sentences:[2]
. At least a sentence of 3 years in state prison for felons who possess a firearm; .
.At least a 15-year prison sentence if the offender is in possession of either a machine gun or a semiautomatic gun with a high-capacity box magazine while committing a crime listed under statute 775.087;
.At least a 3-year prison sentence for aggravated assault with a firearm;
.At least a 3-year prison sentence for aggravated assault on a police officer;A,B
.At least a 3-year prison sentence for aggravated assault on a person aged 65 years or older;A
.At least a 3-year prison sentence for aggravated battery on a person aged 65 years or older;A
.At least a 5-year prison sentence for aggravated battery on an officer;A,B
.At least an 8-year prison sentence for possessing a machine gun, or semiautomatic firearm while committing any type of battery on an officer or person aged 65 years or older.A
It also created minimum sentences for convicted drug traffickers. Drug offenses that warrant a mandatory sentence begin at the level of a three-year prison term. Depending on the type of drug, the amount of it, and also whether the drug has resulted in anyone's death, the minimum penalties may increase to 7, 15 or 25 years, life or death.[2] ^A If a defendant is convicted, the degree of the offense shall be raised as follows:[7][8]

Assault - from a misdemeanor of the second degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. Battery - from a misdemeanor of the first degree to a felony of the third degree.
Aggravated assault - from a felony of the third degree to a felony of the second degree.
Aggravated battery - from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree. ^B

Under Florida law, a law enforcement officer classifies as follows:
Any emergency care provider
Firefighter
Law Enforcement Explorer and Officer
Correctional Officer
Public transit employee or agent

Waiver of mandatory minimums

Under Florida law, the prosecutor in a case is the only person eligible to waive any mandatory minimum.[9] The only way a judge can issue a waiver is if he or she were to sentence the defendant as a youthful offender which would cap the maximum penalty at 6 years of any supervision whether it be prison or probation. One of the qualifications for a youthful offender sentence is that the defendant be no more than 20 years of age at the time of the sentence.[10][11]
2 Provisions

there is another law in Florida, that says that anyone injured or killed resulting from a crime, the suspect can be charged with the for it, regardless if they themselves did it or someone else. i haven't found that one yet. i know two people that went to jail because of that one.

then there was this in the first link,

Roach now faces a charge of first-degree felony murder. When he fired, Sanguino had probable cause to believe Roach was committing attempted armed burglary and armed trespassing, investigators concluded.

the cop had no way of knowing if things had changed or what was really happening.

and for those coming down on the cops. first thing they all say is he should have used his tazer, well he did and that didn't work. the guy reaches for his waist where the gun was and pulls it they had no way of knowing if it was loaded or not. one thing you don't do as a cop when some resists and acts as if they are gonna pull a gun and shoot, is wait to see if the gun is loaded. if you do someone might get dead.

and those that day they can't shoot, hitting 5 out of 9 times your target in a situation like this where people are moving isn't all that bad. it's not like they were all standing still in one spot, they were probably zigin and zagin falling, diving for cover.

originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
a reply to: GoOfYFoOt

Exactly. Even hunters are taught to know what is beyond your target and off to either side before you fire. You don't want to miss and shoot someone while they are sitting in their living room just across the ridge.

You would think that officers would be taught that even more so than your average hunter...

You can't just go popping off rounds like a 9 year old with an Uzi.

ETA - Or maybe you can if you can just charge someone else for your dumbassery.

You would think!

But, here in Florida, LEO certifications can be had with a fairly brief (6 mo. +/-) course where the main curriculum seems to revolve around Assertiveness, Perceived Authority & General Shoulder-Mounted Block Carrying...

It's rather humorous, to be honest. I am in my mid 40's, and have many, many friends since high school, who now permeate the ranks of the local Sheriff's Office. That, coupled with my years working for the town's only gun shop, have afforded me the luxury of being acquainted with most of the cops in these parts!

But, occasionally, I find myself dealing with the latest rookie to come down the pike. It really has been bewildering to me, to witness the changes in their attitudes, as the years pass by.

And the Brass wonders why their overall image has dropped so drastically...!