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[zeemumu]

Seems like people are missing an important statement in the article:

"The officer was arresting a passenger in the pickup for public intoxication when the driver sped away."

Public intoxication is a misdemeanor in Tennessee. Not really sure if that extends to the passenger seat of a car unless you were leaning out of the window going "WOOOOOOOOOOH"

From what I can tell, it applies if you're endangering yourself, others, or being annoying.

I think the officer got too hyped up on the thrill of the chase and went overboard. Reminds me of that GIF

 

[akidnamededdy]

This is a bit crazy but at the same time it's kind of hard for me to feel sorry for the drunk driver attempting to escape arrest by drunk driving.

Seems like people are missing an important statement in the article:

"The officer was arresting a passenger in the pickup for public intoxication when the driver sped away."

Im going to go out on a limb here and say it's probably not unreasonable to assume the guy attempting to flee from the police while an officer is in the bed of his truck shouting at him may have also been drunk. Not unreasonable for us to assume that, I mean.

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Go back and read what I wrote. You're just looking for people to argue with, when I very clearly said the cop isn't justified simply because he assumed he was drunk.

I just also added that I'd guess he was drunk.

I don't care to argue but I don't know what an educated guess has to do with anything besides terrible police work. It wasn't proven but I get the feeling that the 'educated guess' gives him some leeway, to you. If you read what I wrote you would see me make a few statements on why it was terrible to shoot him. I'm tired of guess work being used to justify cop shootings.

Guess work, the way you put it, sounds like victim blaming. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong people. The dude is dead and it sounds like the cop should have paused.

 

[Arkeband]

Ever been in the back of a pick up truck with a speeding drunk driver you can't reason with? This is one case of deadly force I think I can understand.

Yeah, but the officer climbed in there himself. He actively escalated the situation.

The driver probably didn't even realize or process he had Jean Claude Van Damme in his flatbed.

 

[Almighty]

Sounds like the cop was a dumb ass and made a terrible choice that resulted in someone dying. This sounds like a situation that should have ended with everyone still alive.

 

[TAJ]

Basically, the officer confirmed the passenger was drunk. The driver was next on the list to get checked and bailed before the officer could finish up.

Why should anyone care about that? Do they pull over cabs in that state to arrest passengers trying to get home safely?

 

[ProfessorLobo]

Taking pot shots at a moving vehicle, tazing a vehicle? Yeah ok

Is this less logical than jumping inside a moving vehicle?

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Fucker.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Ever been in the back of a pick up truck with a speeding drunk driver you can't reason with? This is one case of deadly force I think I can understand.

No, why would I. Now ask why the cop was in the back of a truck, after the truck dove away?

 

[ISWThunder]

I don't care to argue but I don't know what an educated guess has to do with anything besides terrible police work. It wasn't proven but I get the feeling that the 'educated guess' gives him some leeway, to you. If you read what I wrote you would see me make a few statements on why it was terrible to shoot him. I'm tired of guess work being used to justify cop shootings.

Guess work, the way you put it, sounds like victim blaming. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong people. The dude is dead and it sounds like the cop should have paused.

So you didnt go back to the sentence you quoted where I said nearly the same exact thing as you? "... as far as provable evidence of crimes at the time, the cop just shot a guy for resisting arrest. How is that acceptable?"

 

[Amagon]

He should of shot the steering wheel off the driver's s hands.

 

[akidnamededdy]

Why should anyone care about that? Do they pull over cabs in that state to arrest passengers trying to get home safely?

Maybe if the cab driver gets nervous and tries to speed off while the police are talking to his passengers?

Anyway unless I'm wrong, the police were called because these guys were causing a disturbance. You don't have someone sitting in the restaurant counting your drinks and waiting for you to hit number 3 or 4 to call the cops on you for legally drinking.

 

[Wereroku]

I didn't realize the guy hadn't even had a sobriety test. Could have just been a high-strung individual who panicked.

Guy jumps into car "fak u pig!" *speeds off*
Officer radios for backup, describing car and giving license plate.
Officer continues arresting drunk passenger.
Probably no one dies.

OR

Officer jumps into bed of truck like a maniac, putting himself at risk.
Officer orders the man to stop.
Driver at this point probably doesn't even have time to stop appropriately
Officer executes driver.

OR

Guy jumps into car "fak u pig!" *speeds off*
Officer radios for backup, describing car and giving license plate.
Officer continues arresting drunk passenger.
Drunk Driver plows into another vehicle killing all occupant.

Just to be fair you missed one possible scenario.

Seems like nobody wants to answer that.

Probably jumped into it after it started pulling away thinking the driver wouldn't be stupid enough to keep going. Doubt this was a well thought out plan though. I don't think I would make the same decision if I were in that situation.

 

[Romars202129]

Yeah, but the officer climbed in there himself. He actively escalated the situation.

The driver probably didn't even realize or process he had Jean Claude Van Damme in his flatbed.

If there was a mistake made, that was it though, getting in the truck. It's understandable tho. But fact is, once he was in the bed the driver was endangering the cop's life whether he knew it or not.

 

[Ogodei]

Can't let him get away from the checkpoint! Somebody might die!

 

[jorma]

He should of shot the steering wheel off the driver's s hands.

Or, you know, not shot at anyone or anything. I know that's a lot to ask from a us cop but still.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Have you ever jumped into the back of a pickup truck and blown the head off a fleeing suspect before?

No.

 

[Romars202129]

No, why would I. Now ask why the cop was in the back of a truck, after the truck dove away?

I don't think the cop had a lot of time to think about it, do you? A knee jerk reaction, probably figured nobody would be stupid enough to flee with a cop in their car. Probably even thought it would be a safer solution to a high speed car chase.

 

[mackattk]

Saw this on the local news... Stupid thing for the driver to do, but I am also not sure what the police officer was thinking either.

 

[Wereroku]

What is this reply? Why are you acting immature?

I obviously meant to try and taze the individual, and taking a chance at shooting out the tires if the situation allows is better than shooting the driver.

Do you think this shooting was justified?

Well they did spend some time telling the driver to stop. At that point he couldn't really jump out of the truck bed without getting pretty injured. How do you taze someone through a car window? They had no time to even react unless you meant taze them before you start arresting their friends. That would probably have been an issue as well.

Or, you know, not shot at anyone or anything. I know that's a lot to ask from a us cop but still.

He didn't shoot until he was stuck in the back of a moving truck. I don't support police violence but this is not really a situation were I am going to say the cop was trigger happy. Really he just made a stupid split second decision.

 

[The Faceless Master]

you would think he would check the driver first.

 

[Wereroku]

The fact remains, the cop shouldn't have been in there at all. He chose to escalate the situation instead of thinking about his choices. He was reckless in his decision to jump into the truck and he was reckless in his decision to shoot the driver.

No the driver chose to escalate the situation by driving off. The officer just reacted in a reckless way. This was not completely unprovoked like the cop that shot the guy who was reaching into his car for his wallet.

Still not enough reason to kill the driver. He put himself in that situation and chose the worst way to end it. That's my point, don't nitpick on the tazing.

I can't believe people on here are defending this unacceptable behavior by police.

I can't believe you are on here saying the driver was completely unaccountable for his behavior. Hey I will agree and say the officer made a bad decision but at least in this case it wasn't solely the fault of the officer.

The driver made a stupid reckless decision as well, I'm not defending his actions. but that doesn't mean this killing is justified at all. The cop is just as responsible for the escalation of the situation.

I didn't say you were defending him I was saying you are taking all the responsibility for his behavior off of him. He started the situation that led to this unlike all the other incidents we hear about.

 

[akidnamededdy]

What is this reply? Why are you acting immature?

I obviously meant to try and taze the individual, and taking a chance at shooting out the tires if the situation allows is better than shooting the driver.

Do you think this shooting was justified?

If he had done this and missed and hit an actual innocent person then there'd be hell to pay. I'd assume it's harder to shoot the tires out on a rapidly moving car than Hollywood would lead you to believe. Or maybe he gets lucky and hits the tire, and the car loses control and takes out some innocent bystanders. Also bad.

Yes I realize that shooting the guy while he was driving was just as likely to have the same outcome. At least this way the dangerous driver is taken out of the equation before he can cause even more harm.

Instead of assuming the police officer had seen one too many Jackie Chan movies and was really itching to murder someone in a really risky way, I'm going to assume that whatever he saw/heard/smelled/whatever during his interaction with the guy before he tried to flee was enough to make him arrive at the conclusion that this was a person he needed to get off the road at all costs.

He did it in a really dangerous way and now a man is dead, yes. But again, I can't really muster any sympathy for drunk drivers.

 

[Skeyser]

The fact remains, the cop shouldn't have been in there at all. He chose to escalate the situation instead of thinking about his choices. He was reckless in his decision to jump into the truck and he was reckless in his decision to shoot the driver.

Or he saved innocent by standers from getting killed/maimed by a speeding pick-up truck.

 

[Romars202129]

The fact remains, the cop shouldn't have been in there at all. He chose to escalate the situation instead of thinking about his choices. He was reckless in his decision to jump into the truck and he was reckless in his decision to shoot the driver.

Throwing yourself in harm's way to stop criminals is a cop's job. You may not like the way he handled this situation, but the worst case scenario didn't happen here. Hindsight is 20/20, but even handled by the book this situation could have easily caused greater loss of life.

 

[Wereroku]

When did I say that?

By saying it was the police officer that escalated the situation you are suggesting that the driver had no hand it in. The driver escalated it the officer just reacted. It was a bad decision and the officer is to blame for that but I don't think it is the same as the other incidents we have been seeing.

Well, at least several dumb decisions:
- jump into truck
- remain in truck
- use lethal force.

I wonder if the police have policies and procedures for dealing with noncompliant drunk drivers... :|

A moving vehicle doesn't make this an easy situation to change depending on the speed. The officer did attempt to stop it without lethal force to start with. However I am sure they went against policy with dealing with them.

 

[MikeyB]

I don't think the cop had a lot of time to think about it, do you? A knee jerk reaction, probably figured nobody would be stupid enough to flee with a cop in their car. Probably even thought it would be a safer solution to a high speed car chase.

Well, at least several dumb decisions:
- jump into truck
- remain in truck
- use lethal force.

I wonder if the police have policies and procedures for dealing with noncompliant drunk drivers... :|

 

[Two Words]

Cop think's he's Dirty Harry

 

[darscot]

There has to be a better way, chasing a drunk is not going to help the situation. Jumping in the truck and shooting him is just stupidity. I would think the best thing to do is radio ahead and try and catch him at home or at a safe place. The public would freak out if anything happened so its a tough one.

 

[akidnamededdy]

That's fair, I don't think you should feel sympathy for drunk drivers. To be clear I said "if the situation allows" obviously if it's too dangerous don't risk shooting out the tires.

I still don't think the cop's actions are justified. Also, if the driver was not drunk that's a whole other issue.

Oh yeah, I'll eat my hat if the toxicology results come back and the dude was clean for sure.

That said though, reading the article...the one was arrested for public intoxication, and the other for possession afterwards. I'm pretty confident here about the driver.

 

[Romars202129]

Well, at least several dumb decisions:
- jump into truck
- remain in truck
- use lethal force.

I wonder if the police have policies and procedures for dealing with noncompliant drunk drivers... :|

Tell you what, you jump out of a speeding truck come back and tell me how 'smart' it is dude lol. Nevermind the fact he would be abandoning the threat at that point.

 

[TacticalHotdog]

What is this reply? Why are you acting immature?

I obviously meant to try and taze the individual, and taking a chance at shooting out the tires if the situation allows is better than shooting the driver.

Do you think this shooting was justified?

Shooting at a moving car's tires is very risky because if you miss, the bullet could ricochet and hit an innocent person and even if it does hit, it could cause the car to lose control and hit someone. You can't taze someone inside of an enclosed car. If the person were on foot, it would have been a different story, but a taser would have been completely ineffectual in this situation.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Or he saved innocent by standers from getting killed/maimed by a speeding pick-up truck.

Is there anywhere that says the guy drove recklessly? For all we know the cop was able to get on the truck, which suggests he didn't speed off and was able to remain on the truck while it was driving. Which again works against the argument he was driving recklessly.
And lastly the cop remained unhurt while standing on a moving vehicle that lost any control by a driver, again hardly supporting claims of speeding and reckless driving.

 

[TAJ]

Shooting at a moving car's tires is very risky because if you miss, the bullet could ricochet and hit an innocent person and even if it does hit, it could cause the car to lose control and hit someone. You can't taze someone inside of an enclosed car. If the person were on foot, it would have been a different story, but a taser would have been completely ineffectual in this situation.

Shooting the tires is dangerous to others in traffic but shooting the driver isn't?

 

[akira28]

i should point out that you're not allowed to shoot drunk drivers to stop them from driving.

 

[darscot]

After thinking about this, I think the cop should be fired. I wouldn't go far enough to call it murder or send him to prison but he sure is shit is not the type of person you give a badge and a gun. It is just reckless and stupid, way to childish to be a cop.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

Is there anywhere that says the guy drove recklessly? For all we know the cop was able to get on the truck, which suggests he didn't speed off and was able to remain on the truck while it was driving. Which again works against the argument he was driving recklessly.
And lastly the cop remained unhurt while standing on a moving vehicle that lost any control by a driver, again hardly supporting claims of speeding and reckless driving.

Who knows man. One would assume that he wouldn't have taken that risk of shooting the driver unless it was necessary. It could have ended very badly for the officer if the truck crashed.

 

[Dr. Benton Quest]

i should point out that you're not allowed to shoot drunk drivers to stop them from driving.

It's sad people are forgetting this.

Some of you make it seem like the driver threw the cop in the truck bed and sped off.

Shit, where I work, cops aren't even allowed to pursue vehicles that flee.

 

[Fularu]

I love all the "he could have killed someone" to justify an execution "in case of"

 

[Captin Quacker]

I love all the "he could have killed someone" to justify an execution "in case of"

Hey at least someone's thinking about those poor hypothetical people

 

[Black-Wind]

This ... this is just strange.

What is he, fucking Spider Man meets Dredd????

 

[Mistake]

I'm not in law enforcement, but shouldn't he order them both out of the vehicle and then call for backup if there are problems? None of this makes sense.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Another cop thinking he's fucking Rambo.

 

[Hale-XF11]

Who needs law and order when you can judge and execute people for their crimes right there on the spot.

 

[TAJ]

Who knows man. One would assume that he wouldn't have taken that risk of shooting the driver unless it was necessary. It could have ended very badly for the officer if the truck crashed.

So, if a cop does something then the fact that they did it means that it was justified... because if it wasn't then they wouldn't have done it? Wow.

 

[akira28]

So, if a cop does something then the fact that they did it means that it was justified... because if it wasn't then they wouldn't have done it? Wow.

Look. He's out there to save lives dammit. If I didn't trust him to do his job, I wouldn't send him out there to work for tax payer dollars, protecting and serving. Maybe you need some perspective and to remember who it is that keeps you safe at night!

 

[Wereroku]

I'm not in law enforcement, but shouldn't he order them both out of the vehicle and then call for backup if there are problems? None of this makes sense.

He probably did it sounds like the dude jumped in and pulled off. I mean when he busted them they were filling up the gas tank.

 

[TacticalHotdog]

Shooting the tires is dangerous to others in traffic but shooting the driver isn't?

If the cop was in the bed of the truck and shot into the cab, that's a pretty easy shot to take compared to trying to hit a moving vehicle. The bullet also is also either going to end up lodged in the person or the truck, as grim as that may sound. If they tried to shoot the tires from the side and hit the pavement, the bullet has a greater chance of ricocheting and won't stop until it hits something.

I don't agree with the officer's decision to shoot in the first place, I'm just saying that going for the tires is also reckless and dangerous. They could have tried to pursue the fleeing truck, though that has it's own problems and risks associated with entering a high speed chase with a potentially drunk driver.

 

[Currygan]

that moment you realize real life in America is exactly as it's depicted in movies

 

[TAJ]

If the cop was in the bed of the truck and shot into the cab, that's a pretty easy shot to take compared to trying to hit a moving vehicle. The bullet also is also either going to end up lodged in the person or the truck, as grim as that may sound. If they tried to shoot the tires from the side and hit the pavement, the bullet has a greater chance of ricocheting and won't stop until it hits something.

I don't agree with the officer's decision to shoot in the first place, I'm just saying that going for the tires is also reckless and dangerous. They could have tried to pursue the fleeing truck, though that has it's own problems and risks associated with entering a high speed chase with a potentially drunk driver.

I meant that both are possibly going to result in an out of control truck, with the chance in the shooting scenario being 100%.