Toronto Police Kill 18 Year Old Alone On Streetcar. Caught on Video. I Am Speechless.

From what we can see it looks like the amount of force used was well over the top but something did put the cops over the top. If it was just that the kid took a step forward when he'd been told not to, I think one or two shots to the legs would have sufficed. It's the stuff we don't see and hear that will determine the justification of this killing. I'm also wondering what happened to get the kid to pull a knife and clear the bus in the first place? Whatever that was may have put the cops in a totally different head space than their normal one.

Maybe the outcome was his plan all along?
Some people WANT to go out with a BANG!

reply to post by Hefficide

...and then after the second shot cluster you can hear the taser. Plus there were about 9 policemen on the scene as well (not just one scared officer with a gun). I guess in Canada you dont have to even lunch at the police with a knife - just fail to follow orders to drop it is enough to end the threat with deadly force.

reply to post by LionOfGOD


17 yr old kid? i highly doubt it.

At that age i was too busy trying to get noticed by girls and to get my grades up for college, not planning to go out with a bang.

Let me try to twist this for the police since every body is against them.

Police officer tries to save life of gun shot victim with tazer. A quick thinking officer who arrived on the scene of a shoot out without second thought quickly pulled his tazer in order to try and restart the heart of the victim. Without caring for his own safety he quickly moved in to where the wounded young man lay and did the only thing he could think of to save the young man. Call it his military training kicking in to improvise in order to save a life. He is a Hero the other officers said.

Second thought they were over zealous just back from overseas fighting in other countries and did exactly what they have become used to. Kill em All and Let God Sort Them Out. War Hero Cops. Maybe a adjustment time needs to be made before you give a returning warrior a gun and say go protect the peace.

reply to post by minkmouse

I think one or two shots to the legs would have sufficed.

What Law Enforcement Academy did you graduate from that taught legs shots on a person and what was your range score?

Not trying to justify anything here just a simple question, If the used a taser on him (like many suggested ) and he died what would be the difference?

Originally posted by FraternitasSaturni

Originally posted by Tazkven
reply to post by FraternitasSaturni

 

So you are saying this kid deserved to die?

Hate to be the one to break it to you but you are already sick, my friend ...

They told him "drop the knife - one more step and you're finished" - he didnt drop it and he prolly took a step.

Now... do you want to test it? What would you do in his shoes?

I would drop the knife and stay very very still...

If he did anything but that... maybe he did deserve.

You're avatar doesn't help your case btw..

reply to post by Carreau


Um, don't think there was much concern for officer safety after they sprayed him with enough lead to bring a buffalo down. Seems like the taser was an afterthought to legitimize what they had done. I think they all realized right away that their trigger happy LEO colleague had f...ed up.

Also if this was what you describe as SOP for Metro Toronto Police (and I suspect it is not) then it should be changed. This could have and should have been mediated verbally.

What a crying shame. As a Torontonian I hang my head today.

reply to post by thesaneone


ill take my chance with a Taser over 9 bullets flying thru my body at close range.

reply to post by luciddream


17 year old kids are not immune to mental break downs

They will justify this under the “21 foot rule”, I assume Canada has similar rules as the US police.
The “21 foot rule” is how many feet a suspect can cross in the amount of time it would take an officer to recognize a threat from a suspect wielding an edged weapon, draw his weapon, and fire before the suspect can cross the distance to the officer.

reply to post by luciddream


Then you were one of the lucky ones.
Many teenagers at that age don´t do so well with their own heads,
i had my own problems and at times they seemed completely overwhelming.
We have to remember that at that age, the brain isn´t anywhere near to be fully developed,

Just throwing the possibility out there

reply to post by Carreau


Gun owners will happily try and shoot the eyeballs out of their fave cardboard cut out on the range and brag about their grouping at 50 yds, but ask them to put a bullet in an average sized motionless leg from 15ft and it's all "Ooh, you can't do that! You've got to hit the centre of mass with everything you've got."

reply to post by Carreau


Was that a legitimate question or are just in a mood to poke me?

If shots to the legs are not up to spec, then just tell me so

reply to post by defcon5


The 21 ft rule is for when your gun is holstered, not when you already have it pointing at your target. If he'd stepped off the bus, that amount of cops should have been able to swamp him before he was able to cause any serious damage, but it appears none of them wanted to take that risk. Well, in that case, remove their badges from them and give the job to someone with a bit more bottle.

reply to post by Carreau


I couldn't be a cop. You see, I actually have compassion and respect all life. I don't feel the need to run around playing Billy Bad Ass to boost my ego.

A vampire and you know cops never keep the silver bullet in the chamber it's always second or third. Or suicide by cop.
Probably the first

reply to post by IvanAstikov

The 21 foot rule is for any time a suspect is wielding and edged weapon.
That is why the officers told him not to come any closer.

Not going to make a judgement as to whether the shooting was justified ,but...
9 shots? how many actually hit the victim?
I question the shooters marksmanship.