Police shoot and kill man armed with a hairbrush

Police shoot and kill man armed with a hairbrush

www.cnn.com

A bystander who said he saw the shooting told CNN affiliate WABC-TV that the man was unarmed. "He dropped the brush," said the bystander, Dyshawn Gibson. "He put his hands up. Police just started firing."

(visit the link for the full news article)

In a time when police seem to be using Tazers for all the wrong reasons. This really seems like a time that it would have been a tad more appropriate than killing him.

I wasn't there, so who knows how it really went down.

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I have been watching this story all morning. The eyewitnesses tell one heck of a story, however it is important to note that CNN has been reporting that the victim's mother called 911 saying that he was threatening her with a gun. It was reported that the 911 operator could hear a man in the background yelling that he had a gun. So I would think that the 911 tape would be a huge key to proving the mindset that the officers went into the situation with.

That being said, if the kid dropped the brush and did indeed put his hands up, there was no reason to shoot him. Also right off the bat I have to wonder...why 20+ shots? That really does seem rather excessive does it not?

Originally posted by section8citizen
...why 20+ shots? That really does seem rather excessive does it not?

Well, I guess it depends on the hair brush. OK, jokes are probably in poor taste in a thread like this. I appologize.

Originally posted by section8citizen
That being said, if the kid dropped the brush and did indeed put his hands up, there was no reason to shoot him. Also right off the bat I have to wonder...why 20+ shots? That really does seem rather excessive does it not?

Agreed. Shouldn't one or two officers be the lead with the call on firing. If shots are required, may be one or two. It's like a mob just went crazy with gun fire. Are the officers no longer able to hit a target so 20 rounds need to be fired?

I wouldnt even call the police if I was living in the US... they seem more dangerous than the criminals.

(MOD EDIT: ATS is NOT the forum to advocate murder of anyone, and such posts will NOT be tolerated.)

[edit on 11/13/2007 by thelibra]

[edit on 11/13/2007 by thelibra]

Originally posted by Copernicus

I wouldnt even call the police if I was living in the US... they seem more dangerous than the criminals.

i live in the states and i wouldn't call the cops...no way, no how.
i tell my wife not to open the door if the cops come. i tell her to talk to them through the door or crack the front window but not to open up.

the only time i can think of off the top of my head of when i would call the cops is if someone broke into my house....i would call the cops after i killed the person, then deal with the wrath.

cops can not help the situation....
how i feel

This story sounds like it may be a suicide by cop. The police will have no problem being a Dr. Kavorkian for people who want to commit suicide or may be mentally ill. The police involved in this shooting will also be found justified in this shooting. Is it right? No, but as troubling as it is to see unarmed people being killed we also have to realize that the actions of this man were the cause of his death. Most people know how police mentalities and egos are in this day in age. It shouldn't be any surprise that if you have anything in your hand that they can and will most likely shoot you. Most police are trained killers from the military or police academy. Because they deal mostly with the criminal element of society they are conditioned to believe that all people in society are potential criminals. This is where and why they develop there "Holier than Thou" and above the law attitudes. Give them anything resembling a reason to kill you and they will. Just look how many times they shot him, I think that says it all.

Originally posted by Copernicus

I wouldnt even call the police if I was living in the US... they seem more dangerous than the criminals.

Last time I did, I was the one who was arrested. All I'm saying about it.

Although I agree with section8citizen that you have to consider the mindset the cops went in with, 20+ rounds is still a little ridiculous. Especially after he dropped the hairbrush.

Even if it was a gun that he dropped, 20 rounds is still ridiculous.

Actually, 20 rounds no matter what is ridiculous. Maybe the person looked like he was going to fire the "gun" when he was putting his hands up, and they started firing. But even if that were the case, 20 rounds is a hell of a lot unless he's firing back, which clearly he wasn't.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
Well, I guess it depends on the hair brush.

I guess it is bad to laugh, but I can't help it. That was funny.

[edit on 11/13/07 by NovusOrdoMundi]

Originally posted by roadgravel

Are the officers no longer able to hit a target so 20 rounds need to be fired?

That's exactly the case.
These officers should be reprimanded and ordered to spend more time at the range.
Of the 20 shots fired only ten hit the target. :shk:

Originally posted by anxietydisorder
These officers should be reprimanded and ordered to spend more time at the range.
Of the 20 shots fired only ten hit the target. :shk:

I read that he started to cross the street towards them and that's when they fired. That's about 14 feet away (given an average NYC street). Just sayin.

about the 10 shots hit out of 20. there was a show on the history channel that showed when all the juices start flowing aiming accurate is actually is very hard. so more time in the shooting range will not help the cops being human.

i have Zero problem with the cops blasting away. if they were in an area where no innocents could be hit, unload. i know if i was dealing with a crazy person(which means logic will not work with them) i wouldn't take the chance of firing once at him. you don't kill him he could fire back and kill and hurt you.

Originally posted by DCP

i have Zero problem with the cops blasting away. if they were in an area where no innocents could be hit, unload. i know if i was dealing with a crazy person(which means logic will not work with them) i wouldn't take the chance of firing once at him. you don't kill him he could fire back and kill and hurt you.

Given there were witnesses I would suggest that innocent people could have been hit. With one's hands empty and raised in the air, firing a gun is a little difficult.

Not sure why crazy people deserve death.

Originally posted by roadgravel


Not sure why crazy people deserve death.

because they cant be rehabilitated...

"In the 911 recording the son, Khiel Coppin, "can be heard saying I've got a gun, I've got a gun," Browne said."

if your dad or husband was one of the cops, would you want him to wait around and make real sure that the guy who is threatening violence with a gun, hiding something and coming towards you didnt really have a gun?

listen to the cops when they say stop and drop if you want to survive the mess you've made for yourself. no one told this guy to cause all this trouble. hes responsible for his own actions.

reply to post by planetfall
So when an officer states to raise one's hands above your head in the air and you do, you are still going to be shot?

What ever happened to backing up a bit or using cover to verify the situation?

Next we'll hear that a deaf person signing to a cop was shot to death because he didn't stop moving his hands. We've already seen a woman in a wheelchair tasered to death.

I'm not defending the bad guys, and I know the police have a difficult job, but some of these shootings just seem over the edge.

Does anyone know the ratio of shots fired to hits back when they used the .38 Smith & Wesson's from 1896 to 1993? Prior to 1896 individual officers were required to purchase their own firearm.

Also, they were only issued 18 bullets per officer back in those days. 12 on their belt and 6 in the gun.



[edit on 13-11-2007 by ChrisF231]

i have just one thing to say,

one cant be "armed" with a hairbrush,unless ive been somewhere different for a long time.

reply to post by wierdalienshiznit
That's were the phrase 'a brush with death' comes from.

Guess it boils down to the police or the witnesses story as to how it actually unfolded.