15 year old shot and killed by police in Australia

15 year old shot and killed by police in Australia

www.news.com.au

THE family of a teen shot and killed by police in Melbourne's inner north last night has labelled the officers "trigger happy".

The 15-year-old died after being shot in the chest by three police officers in a skatepark near the Northcote Plaza Shopping Centre.

Speaking on behalf of the family, friend James Wendt said the family planned to take action against the police for what they believed was heavy handed tactics

(visit the link for the full news article)

Certainly sounds like they were very heavy handed. I mean,it says that he had 2 knives on him,not that he was advancing at them with the knives in his hands. But still,4 cops should be able to subdue a 15 year old with a couple of knives.

Lets hope that these cops don't get off on some sketchy technicality,just because they're police. Let's hope that justice truly does provail.

Also,wonder if it'll kick things off over there like it is in Greece.

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

FFS there is too many incidents like this where they shoot to kill. He is only a kid why didn't they shoot him in the leg or something and then arrested him.

Either its kill or be cut. Could have tazered him but thats considered a torture weapon. So the best method would be use live rounds.

reply to post by dreab_boy


Thats Hollywood, when you use a gun, your intent is to kill, not to disable.

In oregon, the Police truly are taught to shoot first, ask questions later. It's really quite sad. Yet if I were to defend someone in that type of situation, I'm the bad guy.

Pretty amazing.

This seems like a case where the use of a Taser would have been better than bullets.

I feel sorry for the family of the boy and also the officers.

It's a tragedy.

Is this a part of the policeman job description nowadays? Killing 15 year olds?

A bunch of mature, supposedly well trained and strong men killing a teenager cause they couldn't deal with his rage otherwise.

Well, i guess that says a lot about the policemen, if they can't handle one mad teenager...

It takes about 2 seconds for someone with a knife to close fifteen feet and slash you. Knife wounds are typically more deadly then gunshots... (CDC). Everyone I know that is trained to use a firearm professionally would have shot the kid. Real life is not Hollywood, you don't shoot someone in the leg. If a police officer used their weapon to shoot someone in the leg, they would get in deep poo. The SOP for cops is that if they fire a shot they have to intend to use deadly force. The fact that they sprayed the kid twice and that he was approaching with the knife indicates that the officers acted appropriately to me. If the guy had been 18 and a crack head, I doubt there would be any flap over this at all. I get that it's fashionable on ATS to hate the police, but when they are obviously acting within their SOP give it a rest.

Originally posted by Acidtastic


Certainly sounds like they were very heavy handed. I mean,it says that he had 2 knives on him,not that he was advancing at them with the knives in his hands. But still,4 cops should be able to subdue a 15 year old with a couple of knives.

Actually yes he was advancing on them, and they also fired warning shots and used capsicum spray on him

The below link explains it a bit more

news.ninemsn.com.au...

There was no need to kill this boy. It seems that the police obviously just fired without even thinking to aim. Any decent cop would have taken aim to make sure the boy was hit in a part of the body that would stop him, like a lower leg or foot.

This is not the first case of Victorian police shooting (actually it is murder)someone dead and they have a reputation for just that.

Tasers are likely to kill so they should not be used either.

THere are other ways to subdue violent teens.

take care
res

Originally posted by resistancia
There was no need to kill this boy. It seems that the police obviously just fired without even thinking to aim. Any decent cop would have taken aim to make sure the boy was hit in a part of the body that would stop him, like a lower leg or foot.

I disagree....i mean with shooting in the leg specifically...i guess its hard for us to judge without being in the situation, but i would assume that if someone is coming at you with a knife, you dont have to much time to react and a precision shot is difficult, police arent excatly the best marksmen (unles they are part of a SWAT sniper cadre)

Its just an unfortunate incident, and i hope everybody will take a thought for the police who i am sure did not ENJOY shooting the kid

Couldn't the police just some some low-tech means of sub-duing a teenager? There is always a net to throw at the lad or at least some martial arts technique that the police could have employed without resorting to their 'guns'.

[edit on 2008-12-11 by pikypiky]

reply to post by resistancia


Um, read some of the above posts. To reiterate, police are required when using a firearm to use deadly force. Again, this is not Hollywood. First of all it's hard to shoot someones leg or foot when they are moving at you. In the time it takes to line up the next shot they are already going to be cutting you to ribbons. There is also a great concern that an officer who aims at a leg will not hit his intended target, and end up killing the person. Contrary to popular belief, cops are not always the greatest shots. I think the only armed group military or police I have ever heard of aiming for the leg was some French spec ops unit. Everywhere else in the world it's SOP that when you shoot, you shoot to kill.

As for your taser comment, tasers are not likely to kill. Regrettably, it does happen, but saying it is likely is not accurate. I think a taser in this situation would have been very beneficial. If they got close enough to spray the kid twice, they could have tased him. I would say that is probably more of a funding issue, blame administrators. I have no doubt that if the kid was tased, a lot of people on here would complain about that too.

For the person that suggested throwing a net or using a 'martial art' move... Cops don't carry nets, and thinking that someone can just go kung fu someone with a knife is naive. I don't think very many people here understand just how deadly a knife is.

[edit on 11-12-2008 by Raustin]

Originally posted by pikypiky
Couldn't the police just some some low-tech means of sub-duing a teenager? There is always a net to throw at the lad or at least some martial arts technique that the police could have employed without resorting to their 'guns'.

[edit on 2008-12-11 by pikypiky]

I never really thought about that...in a sense it is a good idea if the suspect isnt armed...but if they are it may be a different story.

Maybe all police cadets should be taught hand to hand combat or martial arts

reply to post by Raustin


Saving lives of the police is priority.
That's why they have weapons in the first place.
Nothing else is in question here.

reply to post by Raustin


I understand that cops may not be the best of shot and may not always have enough time to take aim.

As for tasering...well there have been many deaths due to the use of tasers by over zealous cops. Anybody who is tasered is a potential statistic. For example if I was tasered I would be killed due to having a titanium closure device in my heart, I would be fried. In all fairness cops would not know this and can not be expected to be aware of the medical conditions of any person they need to subdue. For this reason alone tasering is NOT a good choice.

That boy should not have been shot, he was a minor and is someone's child.

Should we expect a spate of child killings by the cops now?

[snip]




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[edit on 13-12-2008 by 12m8keall2c]

Originally posted by resistancia
That boy should not have been shot, he was a minor and is someone's child.

Should we expect a spate of child killings by the cops now?

Aholes

And the cops are parents, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children....

Imagine if one of them had been stabbed doing their job....i bet you wouldnt give a damn would you

My sympathies go out too the Police, in this case they followed SOP and gave this person the oppurtunity to submit.

If this person had have followed instruction, he would not be dead, he may have been receiving the care he obviously needed.

I bet the parent/s blame the Government and Society in failling to raise their son properly and thats why what happened, has happened.

No, it's never their fault.

Fox.

Yeah, If they had a Taser it probably would of been used instead of a gun.
But they didnt have one, so its unfortunate they were left with a more deadly means.

The boy:

"He was saying: `Kill me, I am going to kill you'. He had been saying that through the confrontation,"

If someone had a knife, and was saying im going to kill you unless you kill me... you have a right to defend yourself.

If after warning shots and capsicum spray he's still moving toward you with a knife saying im going to kill you, im afraid there's no option left.

What happens when you pop him in the leg, he's left rolling on the ground still holding a knife?... you cant go near him to administer first aid, as he's still armed, dangerous and agitated.

Of course the families are going to say things like ' trigger happy ' and ' wreckless '

For 2 reasons

1. They just lost a son.
2. They are looking to sue.

Just like Perth,

a Young aboriginal boy steals a car and dies when the police chase him.
Is it the cops fault for trying to protect society and take a thief of the road?
Or the boys fault, for stealing a car and driving at stupid speeds through suburbs?