1) Having watched the video three times now, I am convinced that the Officer being charged with murder is appropriate, BUT, the DA's would be wise to also include "lesser charges" to be sure of receiving a conviction and sentencing of the Officer. No way to "spin" this shooting to make it palatable.
2) To be quite clear, the victim in this instance was not some wonderful Choir Boy coming home from Church. It has been stated that he may have been breaking into cars and stealing radios, which was the initial 911 call that came in. However, I have not seen any evidence to confirm this. We do know that he was high on PCP and carrying a knife with a 3 inch blade. Even so, the video clearly shows that he was not threatening any of the Officers on the scene with the knife; rather, he was walking away from them when the Officer charged jumped out of his car and approached the victim and began firing. He has no choice but to claim he was in "fear of his life," but that is a "cop out" (no pun intended) in my opinion. There was no justification for him shooting this young man.
3) I am angry at how the Media (in it's usual way) is painting the picture of the victim and the Officer. Just watch as the only picture they show of the victim is one where he is in his Cap and Gown, looking so clean cut and innocent. The Officer is shown in a sweat shirt scowling. The young man may well have been a good kid when that Graduation Picture was taken, but innocent individuals DO NOT run around the streets of their City high on PCP and wielding a knife. That boat won't float either.
4) The demonstrations have been peaceful for the most part. Some minor problems and some arrests made. However, I have seen several of the demonstrators interviewed and they were a sorry excuse for being spokespersons for their people. Still, the majority of the protestors were acting peacefully and rightly exercising their Constitutional rights.
(my thoughts)
2) To be quite clear, the victim in this instance was not some wonderful Choir Boy coming home from Church. It has been stated that he may have been breaking into cars and stealing radios, which was the initial 911 call that came in. However, I have not seen any evidence to confirm this. We do know that he was high on PCP and carrying a knife with a 3 inch blade. Even so, the video clearly shows that he was not threatening any of the Officers on the scene with the knife; rather, he was walking away from them when the Officer charged jumped out of his car and approached the victim and began firing. He has no choice but to claim he was in "fear of his life," but that is a "cop out" (no pun intended) in my opinion. There was no justification for him shooting this young man.
3) I am angry at how the Media (in it's usual way) is painting the picture of the victim and the Officer. Just watch as the only picture they show of the victim is one where he is in his Cap and Gown, looking so clean cut and innocent. The Officer is shown in a sweat shirt scowling. The young man may well have been a good kid when that Graduation Picture was taken, but innocent individuals DO NOT run around the streets of their City high on PCP and wielding a knife. That boat won't float either.
4) The demonstrations have been peaceful for the most part. Some minor problems and some arrests made. However, I have seen several of the demonstrators interviewed and they were a sorry excuse for being spokespersons for their people. Still, the majority of the protestors were acting peacefully and rightly exercising their Constitutional rights.
(my thoughts)
