re: New Police Shooting Video

finding out about that call makes me wonder if the call wasn't about them and the guy had been pretending to have a gun, showing off and acting tough for his buddies and just completely failed to recognize the severity of the situation even when the cops had guns drawn on him.

cops aren't to blame for the guy acting the way he did. he isn't to blame for not knowing the cops had been called for someone with a gun. the guy didn't deserve to die for acting sketchy, but watching what he did and knowing about the call, the decision to shoot makes sense unless you're expecting cops only fire after being fired upon.

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makes me wonder if the call wasn't about them and the guy had been pretending to have a gun, showing off and acting tough for his buddies and just completely failed to recognize the severity of the situation even when the cops had guns drawn on him

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So do you always "wonder" about random elaborate details that don't have a smidgen of evidence?

Guess you didn't watch the video.

Had the 911 call not mentioned these guys with a gun, the cops probably would've handled it differently. For instance, maybe use a taser. But not when guns are involved

But when someone is reportedly flashing a gun around and is doing the following:

1. Cops pull up, dude tries to slip away while his friends stay put
2. Dude acts like he doesn't hear the cops screaming at him to stop, even after he saw them begin to walk his direction
3. Dude turns towards cop, says something along the lines at "what, fool", and reaches for his waistband.



Suspicious behavior, coupled with aggressive noncompliance with reports of a handgun


But, hey, I guess the cops should wait until criminals start spraying bullets everywhere before doing anything about it

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Based on the DA's explanation in the video, Taylor chose to walk away as the cops were trying to contain the group. He paints a picture that Taylor chose to ignore instructions, walk away from the cops, and was fidgety with his hands around his waist.

The other videos shows him turn around, and he lifts up his shirt with a verbal exclamation.

Honestly, I'm torn about this. 1st, I don't think the headphones had anything to do with his ability to understand instructions. In the frame by frame it is clear that he is with the group, sees the cops, and walks off intentionally. Supposedly the cops were responding to a call about a group of guys flashing a gun so I can understand why they would be on edge.

The cop draws on Taylor as he approaches him from behind. To me this obviously lead to the shooting. He reacted when Taylor turned around and lifted his shirt. If he hadn't already had his gun drawn then I doubt the guy gets shot.

That being said, he would have been vulnerable with no gun drawn had Taylor actually turned around and reached for a weapon. This is the part where most people will heavily debate the law enforcement's procedure.

This is my last post on this for the night.


Again, I feel for those on both sides involved. The cop made a mistake, but it was justifiable based on the events that lead up to the shot. The 911 call described this exact group of three and the presence of a gun, and dude exhibited the behaviors that raised a red flag, so the cop thinks he's going into a situation with an armed individual, and acted as such.

It's a lose-lose, but the cop was doing his job. The people saying that dude was murdered in cold blood are blind to or ignoring the events that led up to this.

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And as long as we continue to mythologize them they'll continue to go unpunished for all but the most heinous of crimes

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The only myth I believe is cops are here to "serve and protect."

Obviously, there are some good honest ones, I'm not going to generalize them like that. But many just write tickets all day to pay their salary, and others are insecure and are on a power trip. And if you don't kiss their arse during the entire conversation, they're vindictive and will make your life miserable, or in this case take it from you.

I used to say if they legalized marijuana, I wouldn't have near the issues with the police. But it's been legalized, I lived in Colorado, and it turns out I was wrong. Our country has become a police state.

We lock up Americans at a higher rate than any other country in the world. Are Americans inherently evil, or is or criminal justice system so fricked up, that we're creating violent criminals because of or system?

The prison industrial complex is real, and it's scary as frick.