Alton Sterling

[cj]

I'm not going to post the video because I'm physically ill having watched it, but you can find it easily if you want to find it. Sure looks like a cop murdered this man in Baton Rouge.

[EMD4ME]

The man was on the ground and it looked like his hands were behind his back.

How in the world do you justify shooting him to death in that situation?

Unless there is more to the video, that was sickening.

[PhantomOnTour]

I haven't seen the video and I don't intend to...not in my nature to watch that kind of thing.
This is getting a lot of press locally, and rightfully so by all accounts I've read.

[ElKabong]

Death penalty is in order here. Lot of spin to come from bad cop apologists, but this was disgusting. No good cop would defend that kind of cowardice. Not sure it's a racist act (I saw more racism in southern LA than I saw anywhere I've been) but it was cowardly and deserves the death penalty.

(Side note... The time I spent in southern Louisiana I experienced and saw more racism than I imagined existed, yet I saw more than intermingling between blacks and whites than I saw anywhere else... Odd combo, everyone is uniquely different...Very raw environment. Best of humanity , and the worst of humanity.

[cj]

Originally Posted by PhantomOnTour

I haven't seen the video and I don't intend to...not in my nature to watch that kind of thing.
This is getting a lot of press locally, and rightfully so by all accounts I've read.

I didn't realize what it was until it was too late. It takes a lot for me to post in off topics, but this was upsetting.

[Robert Fischer]

The police didn't appear to be properly trained for the situation.

When one of the officers called out that he had a gun (in his pocket), the homicidal officer seemed to improperly respond to that verbal cue as if the restrained man and the police were somehow in a standoff situation, drawing his firearm and shooting multiple kill shots at first movement.

no body cameras because they allegedly fell off the officers during the altercation, just cell phone footage from a person on the street.

Apparently the initial statements from the police covered up the crime.

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

The police didn't appear to be properly trained for the situation.

When one of the officers called out that he had a gun (in his pocket), the homicidal officer seemed to improperly respond to that verbal cue as if the restrained man and the police were somehow in a standoff situation, drawing his firearm and shooting multiple kill shots at first movement.

no body cameras because they allegedly fell off the officers during the altercation, just cell phone footage from a person on the street.

Apparently the initial statements from the police covered up the crime.

He should get training for the next 50 years, in jail. That'll teach him.

[johnhannibalsmith]

It sure seems like cell phones make a hell of fertilizer for bad apple trees.

[Inner Dirt]

Didn't watch, obviously from reports the cops used unwarranted force. On the other hand I will venture a guess the guy didn't have this negative run in with police because he was singing too loud in church. In all these police killings that draw the ire of "Black lives Matter" no one states the obvious that if you stop committing crimes the chances of a negative interaction with police go way down. In my 55 years on Earth, and I am not fond of cops, I have notice one thing. Cops pretty much treat you how you treat them, if you are calm and respectful that is what you get back, you get nasty they return the favor.

[jk3521]

Always be polite to a police officer. Rule #1.

[MutuelClerk]

I watched the video, the one I saw wasn't great. I saw a large black man in a red shirt being told by the police to get on the ground. It looked like he may have refused and was taken to the ground laying on his stomach. I think the cops were trying to handcuff him, it looked like his hands were behind his back. Then you hear GUN GUN ( which he couldn't reach) and he was shot dead.

While respecting cops, probably like most people I don't really like them either. Video may have killed the radio star. It's also bringing justice to situations like this one. Sometimes the cops seem to do the right thing but often they don't. The cameras don't lie. Cops do. Witnesses do on both sides. I'm not sure what started this situation. Haven't read anything about it. But I don't believe the cops lives were in danger.

Seeing the mans son break down was heart wrenching at the press conference.

[HalvOnHorseracing]

According to people at the family press conference, the body cams worn by police officers came off in the struggle to subdue the man but there is a surveillance video from a nearby store that has been taken by the police. The only video available to the public is a cell phone video that doesn't capture all the events leading up to the shooting. The standard always seems to come down to whether the officer felt he was in mortal danger, but based on the short cell phone video it is difficult to determine if his life was in immediate danger. In fact, the suspect looked as if he was still struggling but was prone and cuffed, certainly making it unlikely he could get to his gun and effectively use it. At the very least his arms seemed to be fully restrained since you don't see them flailing in the video.

The part I found interesting was one of the other officers yelling "GUN," ostensibly meaning the suspect had a gun in his pocket, but I expect the shooting officer will say he interpreted that as the suspect was in a position to use the gun and he needed to defend himself.

I would think that the video from the body cams should at least be available up to the point they were knocked off, and perhaps the video from the grocery store will be revealing about the events leading up to the shooting, and I hope they are released soon. At first glance, deadly force doesn't seem justified.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by MutuelClerk

I watched the video, the one I saw wasn't great. I saw a large black man in a red shirt being told by the police to get on the ground. It looked like he may have refused and was taken to the ground laying on his stomach. I think the cops were trying to handcuff him, it looked like his hands were behind his back. Then you hear GUN GUN ( which he couldn't reach) and he was shot dead.

While respecting cops, probably like most people I don't really like them either. Video may have killed the radio star. It's also bringing justice to situations like this one. Sometimes the cops seem to do the right thing but often they don't. The cameras don't lie. Cops do. Witnesses do on both sides. I'm not sure what started this situation. Haven't read anything about it. But I don't believe the cops lives were in danger.

Seeing the mans son break down was heart wrenching at the press conference.

I can't get the video to play, lots of people watching I bet. But from reports I've read there's no way to defend the officer.

Your comment above......"sometimes?" there are over 250k citizen/police contacts every day in this country. EVERY STINKING DAY! How many go wrong? Work the percentages out and it's pretty damn low.

I'm going to guess the earlier comment will come to fruition about the officer hearing the call out "gun"

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

I can't get the video to play, ...

Try this. The video is not great and the events are not all that clear, at least visually.

[YT="AS"]CaAik-EvI3o[/YT]

[PhantomOnTour]

Originally Posted by ElKabong

Death penalty is in order here. Lot of spin to come from bad cop apologists, but this was disgusting. No good cop would defend that kind of cowardice. Not sure it's a racist act (I saw more racism in southern LA than I saw anywhere I've been) but it was cowardly and deserves the death penalty.

(Side note... The time I spent in southern Louisiana I experienced and saw more racism than I imagined existed, yet I saw more than intermingling between blacks and whites than I saw anywhere else... Odd combo, everyone is uniquely different...Very raw environment. Best of humanity , and the worst of humanity.

You offer nothing