Calif. Newlywed Killed by Police in Case of Mistaken Identity

Calif. Newlywed Killed by Police in Case of Mistaken Identity

www.foxnews.com

A newlywed killed by police after he stepped outside his home to confront suspected burglars was shot in a case of mistaken identity, police said.

Alexander's wife said she heard the gunshots and tried to go into the yard, but the officer told her to stay inside. From the window they saw Alexander handcuffed and bleeding in the front yard.

The four burglary suspects were detained and interviewed, but no arrests were made.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Personally, I could care less about a newlywed (hey, I can't even get a girlfriend), but this is one of many incidents where these cops just kill folks without reason to.

I mean, they either taser folks or kill them. Maybe it's time we fought back. I mean, if you use peaceful resistance, then they taser you and tear gas you... if you use more forceful resistance, they shoot you, but at least they suffer more.

These folks are definitely not working for us. These folks must be working for aliens or something.

I mean, think about it. The cop just bumped into someone and shot him two times in the chest because he bumped into him. They're using their guns like tasers now!

Then, he had the stomach to handcuff a dead man? I mean, he killed him, then he was sick enough to be able to handcuff him? How gross!

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

reply to post by MegaCurious


Your making a lot of good points. I do think tazers are being used to free handedly. When all the had was a fire arm they had to be more sure that the suspect posed a threat, no so with the tazer. In this case I did not see where a shooting was warranted. I hope apropate action will be taken.

I know I will get slammed for this, but in the case of shooting, it was an honest mistake, IMO.

As an ex officer, I know what it is like to be chasing possibly armed suspects through neighborhoods at night. You are jumpy and on edge, and freak out over ever shadow that moves. From what I read, it was an accident.

On the other hand . . . you do not handcuff someone who is seriously injured. Your first priority becomes the injured person. The actual suspects (or other suspects) may get away, but you take care of the seriously injured.

That is the way we were taught in the academy.

He made a mistake, and then made the situation worse.

reply to post by MegaCurious


Not calling the police for help increases your chance of survival

Accidental?

So the gun went off accidentally?

This guy was shot because he was perceived as a hostile. The lock for this argument is the fact he was cuffed.

Was there any true imminent danger?

As an officer, if you're shooting at anything that moves, or some noise (in the dark)... because you were tense or afraid... maybe it's time to find a different line of work, more suited to your temperament.

These officers training is totally ineffective. If you go into a situation like this and you aren't cool and focused... You've got NO business being on the street packing a nine.

How anyone can say it is an honest mistake is beyond me. How many murders do the police commit every single year like this is, in usa. The moto of the police should be, serial killer club.

reply to post by golemina


Easy to say when you're not there.

Cops aren't robots. The get tense, frightened, etc. just like a regular person does. No amount of training can take that away.

As for their training . . . I dunno about it. Our training was pretty damn good, but I still got tense or frightened . . . but at the same time, I stayed collected.

Let me ask you something . . . you're chasing four possibly armed suspects through a neighborhood (alleyways, fences, hedges, trees, houses, garages, etc) in the middle of the night. You have your weapon drawn. Someone comes out of the shadows right next to you. Perhaps you bump into them. What are you going to do?

I will tell you this, though. I almost shot a deputy one time.

It was a stormy night, and a church alarm went off. I was the closest unit, so I took the call. When I arrived, the side door of the church was wide open (mind you, this is about 1:30AM). So I go inside to take a look around, make sure everything is okay, etc. That was scary. Pitch black, except for my flashlight. Lightning, thunder, wind, and rain (plus the debris being blown around). Old creaky church. You get the picture. So I go through the church. I am turning a corner, and a deputy (who did not announce his arrival on the radio) comes around the corner and yells BOO!. I came within millimeters of shooting him square in the chest.

So, yes, I can see how and why it happened.

I say accidental, not in the way that the trigger was accidentally pulled. But it was accidental in that the man was not shot on purpose as a suspect, or just for kicks. Get it? Quit playing semantics.

reply to post by xxpigxx


OK, but that should work both ways. When these cops bust down someone's door at the wrong address or in a case where they're after someone who later is shown to have done no wrong and they (cops) end up on the recieving end of a half dozen hollow points, you never EVER will see the homeowner let off because it was an "accident" or a case of "mistaken identity." I'm a (for the most part) law abiding, clean cut, middle class, white male aged 18-35... I have spent most of my life unafraid of the police and supported them greatly. However, these ever increasing incidents are making me start to question exactly what I'd do if they broke down my door "accidentally" or confronted me on my own property in a "mistaken identity" case. As the odds of me getting shot or tasered increase with every one of these disgraces, so do the odds of me just saying "Oh well" and treating the cops as I would any civillian threat on my property.

I'm going to have to agree with the "PIG" (heh heh) on this one. I can trust a cop when he's being a human being. When the power gets to them though, and they become a danger to themselves and everyone else, and think they can interpret the constitution and become judge and jury, grab for their gun. Put em out of their misery. It's dog eat dog in this world now and will become even more so in the not-so-distant future. It's kill or be killed now. A cute little uniform is not going to matter if I feel my life is in danger. At that point, you are just another man who is threatening my freedom. And when gun confiscation comes around... Ring my doorbell and get a slug between the eyes.

reply to post by MegaCurious


Iam going to have to wait untill the investigation is over before I can make a clear decision, but the look of it tells me the cop made a really poor choice by shooting an unarmed man, in the chest no less, without warning.

Speaking from my own experiences:

We always banged on the door for a bit before forcefully entering a house. We let them know who we were, and why we were there. If they did not open the door, the door was forcefully opened (if it was a felony case. If not, tough luck, we would try again later, or try another route.) If the door was already open, we would announce ourselves very loudly every 3-4 seconds or so while we cleared the building. Therefore, there would not be a case of mistaken identity, etc.

If a cop just comes barging into your house for no reason whatsoever . . . go ahead and shoot.


The thing that most people fail to realize is that there are hundreds of thousands of police officers in the US alone. You only hear of the bad ones, because that is what sells. You never hear of the good ones. For every bad story you hear, there are dozens of good ones that did not make it to press.

Originally posted by schism85
reply to post by MegaCurious

 

Iam going to have to wait untill the investigation is over before I can make a clear decision, but the look of it tells me the cop made a really poor choice by shooting an unarmed man, in the chest no less, without warning.

Let me ask you something . . . you're chasing four possibly armed suspects through a neighborhood (alleyways, fences, hedges, trees, houses, garages, etc) in the middle of the night. You have your weapon drawn. Someone comes out of the shadows right next to you. Perhaps you bump into them. What are you going to do?

reply to post by kaspermartyrphantom


Yes, I get my screen name from my old profession. In my group of friends there is another person with my first name. He is a big guy, so they call him **** the bear. I was a cop, so they call me **** the pig to differentiate between us. The nicknames stuck, and I was not offended in the least. Actually quite proud of it.

I would scream, "get down you expletive, piece of expletive!!". But then again, Iam not a cop. Iam not saying he wasn't startled or nervous, Iam saying his first reaction shouldn't have been to shoot.

Are you saying he jumped, like at a haunted house, and accidently squeezed the trigger?


ETA: And if the answer is yes, why shoot him twice? If he accidently squeezed the trigger twice just because he was spooked, don't you think he was overreacting?

[edit on 29-10-2008 by schism85]

This stinks. It said the officer was chasing 4 suspected juvenile burglars. OK. Now he runs into someone and shoots them? That sounds like he was going to shoot one of the suspected juveniles and got the wrong guy? That's pretty bad police work if you ask me. Then, after shooting him twice in the chest he handcuffs him? What for? And was he really expecting the guy to live after that? I think this cops career should be over. The investigation will be interesting.

I'm not LEO - but my first job out of college was working at the local jail so I did get to know a few.

As xxpigxx said, I can understand "how" this happened as well. It doesn't make any less tragic however. Cuffing the guy after being shot I do not understand at all. Maybe he was rolling around and not following orders... I dunno..that could be because he had a couple of bullets in him.

I remember one story (xxpigxx's) story reminded me of it. City and county LEO both showed up to a break in. City had not told county they were responding. County sends in the dog (a rott in this case). County officers hear screaming and go in to find... the rott with his jaws firmly locked onto the crotch of a city LEO.

You do not have time to say anything. You have milliseconds to react. Kill or be killed.

Like I said . . . as an ex officer, I see where this officer is coming from in the shooting. Is it less tragic? No. But there is no need to vilify the officer for reacting as he did.


The handcuffing part was just plain wrong though. I do not understand that . . . even if he is rolling around, etc.

Attend to the mans needs, whether he is a suspect or not. You will get the others later.

[edit on 29/10/2008 by xxpigxx]

Hi There,

And when gun confiscation comes around... Ring my doorbell and get a slug between the eyes.

Man! You gotta love Americans! I just pray you don't shoot the postman in error! Then again, he always rings twice...does he not? There's just no hope in the world. How the hell do we combat (hmm, wrong word to use there) this kind of mindset! Mindsets are truly the problem, everything else is incidental. All the death, destruction, violence and mayhem, are mere symptoms of dis-eased and twisted mindsets. Cure them, and you cure the world!

Best wishes

Okay, granted that you have no time to yell out, milliseconds to react, why shoot him twice? Wouldn't one bullet to the chest be enough to incapacitate?

Iam just asking because I don't get that part. As an officer, would you consider that excessive?