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Police Kill Woman, Charge Man They Were Trying To Shoot With Murder

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So the guy reaches for a gun like the fucking idiot he is, gets shot and an innocent person takes a stray bullet. It's an unfortunate situation but I can't blame the cops, they have no way to tell if the gun is loaded or not.
 
As a "cop hater", I don't see the problem with how this was handled. Not totally sure if the felony murder charge should apply, but I'm not sure what else you want the cops to do. A drunk that was reported to be waving a gun by multiple people resists arrest, and after being tazed reaches for his gun. I would like to see someone suggest an alternative that makes sense.
 

Malyse

Member
As a "cop hater", I don't see the problem with how this was handled. Not totally sure if the felony murder charge should apply, but I'm not sure what else you want the cops to do. A drunk that was reported to be waving a gun by multiple people resists arrest, and after being tazed reaches for his gun. I would like to see someone suggest an alternative that makes sense.

It's not the handling of the issue that's the problem. It's the charging of first degree murder that's a problem. Shockingly, the cops almost handled this well. But coming out the gate with a 1st murder is as fucking stupid as it is excessive. Fortunately, that's be lowered, but still. That was my issue with this.

Also, this is why my first few replies were as they were in this thread. People were comically missing my point.
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
I mean... this is almost sensible unless I am missing something. The charge being first degree is the most ridiculous thing, second is probably the 9 shots by the officer but even that, I can't judge too harshly.

Correct me if I am wrong, but police arrived on scene because a man with a gun was acting erratically, they tried to subdue him by non-lethal means, and eventually he reached for his waistband where his gun (which was not loaded) was, and the officer opened fire.

The officer struck the dude, but also caused a death and an injury aside from that. Someone should get in trouble for those things, but if what happened is accurate, I can understand it being the suspect.

That being said, there could be details I am missing. While this isn't a great cop story or anything, It's not a wildly offensive one from where I am looking.
Fuck you for making me agree with you :/
 
It's not the handling of the issue that's the problem. It's the charging of first degree murder that's a problem. Shockingly, the cops almost handled this well. But coming out the gate with a 1st murder is as fucking stupid as it is excessive. Fortunately, that's be lowered, but still. That was my issue with this.

Also, this is why my first few replies were as they were in this thread. People were comically missing my point.

Well, cops aren't the ones who decide what he gets charged with, the prosecutors do that.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
i dont see how it can be first degree.

i agree the murder may be on the kody guy, as long as the reason the police were actually shooting is a valid reason.

if not, then the police murdered her
 
It is not by definition murder. The number of rounds is almost irrelevent - you're putting bullets into the guy until he no longer poses a threat. If the guy went down after one it was excessive, if he was standing until the 9th shot, that's the correct number of times to load into him.

I can't talk about with with even a modicum as knowledge given I'm from a country where gun ownership is highly limited and heavily sanctioned. However wouldn't a policy where you fire a round, assess the scenario, and then fire another round if needed not be better in scenarios where firing off bullets is liable to injure/kill innocent bystanders? This is me assuming that one shot make contact it would stall the assailant for long enough.

Also I want to bring up the fact the vet didn't fire a single shot again. Was this due to the responsibility of shooting first being given to one office in a situation? Or is it due to officers being able to fire once their perceive a threat?
 
It's not the handling of the issue that's the problem. It's the charging of first degree murder that's a problem. Shockingly, the cops almost handled this well. But coming out the gate with a 1st murder is as fucking stupid as it is excessive. Fortunately, that's be lowered, but still. That was my issue with this.

Which suggests to me that the officers are trying to divert attention from something that happened during the event. I would not be surprised to learn that there was additional wrongdoing on the part of the officers that has not been reported on.

Also, felony murder (which is a bullshit law to begin with) does not apply here. Unless there's been an update, Mr. Roach is only guilty of criminal menacing, which is a misdemeanor, not a felony. Once again, the police department's eagerness to prosecute Roach makes me suspect foul play.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
He was a mile and a half away. The prosecution's case was that without the car the robbery and murder never occur, and the jury was convinced of this. And to correct you, his friends mentioned committing a robbery, in which they may have to beat the person up. If he were told they were going to beat someone up, and that person ended up dead, that would make him more culpable, not less.

A mile and a half is nothing. And beating someone up has a very low chance of killing them. Stop playing dumb.
 

KHarvey16

Member
Are you being willfully obtuse or are you just not reading all my posts? Here, let me quote this for you:

Hahaha, do you actually think this is working?

A mile and a half is nothing. And beating someone up has a very low chance of killing them. Stop playing dumb.

You didn't actually address anything I just said. The case was built on the assertion that without the car the robbery and murder don't happen. A jury was convinced by this.
 

KHarvey16

Member
Which suggests to me that the officers are trying to divert attention from something that happened during the event. I would not be surprised to learn that there was additional wrongdoing on the part of the officers that has not been reported on.

Also, felony murder (which is a bullshit law to begin with) does not apply here. Unless there's been an update, Mr. Roach is only guilty of criminal menacing, which is a misdemeanor, not a felony. Once again, the police department's eagerness to prosecute Roach makes me suspect foul play.

Possessing a concealed firearm is a felony. So is armed trespassing in an occupied structure.
 
I have no opinion on this news but just wanted to say Florida has very strict rules.

There are 3 ways to be found guilty of 1st degree murder. 1 felony murder. 2. premeditated murder. 3 distribution of drugs resulting in murder. To commit a felony murder in the first degree it must be one of enumerated crimes (resisting an officer with violence in this case). Florida does have separate levels of felony murder, If the person who is killed is the victim of the underlying crime, an innocent bystander, or anyone other than one of the perpetrators, the crime is first degree murder. If the person who dies is a co-perpetrator, then it is felony second degree murder. (lawyer)
 

Aureon

Please do not let me serve on a jury. I am actually a crazy person.
A good part of trying to fix police behavior is acknowledging when they're doing their jobs properly. This is one such case.
RIP to the bystander =\
 

The Cowboy

Member
You don't have a problem with police shooting innocent people?
How does not having a problem with the main person/suspect being charged with the death of the innocent bystander turn into not having a problem with the innocent bystander being shot?, I've not seen a single person stating they have no issue with the police shooting the innocent bystander (that would be crazy) - i do however see people stating they have no issue with the person who caused the situation being charged for the death of the innocent bystander.
 

Kettch

Member
A good part of trying to fix police behavior is acknowledging when they're doing their jobs properly. This is one such case.
RIP to the bystander =\

The job of the police, as specified in their own words was:

to prevent an armed individual from causing harm to any members of the public or to any of the surrounding officers

The officer's actions going about this resulted in an innocent member of the public being shot dead and a fellow officer being injured.

I'd say that's a pretty big failure.
 
Ima say this one more time. The punishment (or in this case, the charges) should fit the crime. First fucking degree is a gat damn joke.

but these are the charges now:

In total, he is charged with second degree felony murder, carrying a concealed firearm, armed trespassing in an occupied structure and resisting arrest without violence.

so why are you still outraged?

#NotBlindHatredOfAllCops
 

Alienous

Member
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make?

Nothing profound. Just that police would excuse the inefficiency of a Tazer on the targeted person wearing baggy clothing, openly. That wouldn't occur to me, but now it's something I'm aware of.

It doesn't seem smart to admit that your method of non-lethally disarming a violent person from a distance could be rendered ineffective by loose clothing. That's my point if anything, I guess.

Pretty much both sides of the murder charge have been discussed and argued quite comprehensively. My 'point' was tangential to that.
 
The job of the police, as specified in their own words was:



The officer's actions going about this resulted in an innocent member of the public being shot dead and a fellow officer being injured.

I'd say that's a pretty big failure.

I don't get what you'd want him to do, other than not miss his target.
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
It's hard to judge without some video evidence. How far away was the subject? Seems like even if the police officer was justified, dude should be far away from active duty. Police officers should need to meet minimum accuracy to be active duty same as continuing education for Doctors, Dentists, and Pharmacists.
I'm pretty sure they do. But shooting a firearm in a high stress situation is hard. I've heard stories of people unloading full magazines at close range and missing every shot. Still, doesn't exactly take a firing squad to stop a dude.
 

parmanu

Member
Nothing can justify 9 shots on a single person unless cops' intent was to kill him. Why aren't cops in US trained to pause after firing each bullet just to see whether they really need to use more force.
 

malfcn

Member
Nothing can justify 9 shots on a single person unless cops' intent was to kill him. Why aren't cops in US trained to pause after firing each bullet just to see whether they really need to use more force.

What if they miss..how long do they pause?

*Bang*
"One Mississippi-Two Miss.."

The suspect could retaliate etc..
Once guns are involved, serious bodily injuries or death usually follow.
 

May16

Member
Police said Roach had an unloaded handgun when he was fired upon. He was taken to a hospital and survived his injuries.

Amid the exchange of gunfire, one of the bullets fired by Orlando police officer Eduardo Sanguino hit and killed 22-year-old Fernanda Godinez, WESH reports.

His gun wasn't loaded, yet there was an "exchange" of gunfire?

Hmmmmmm...

What if they miss..how long do they pause?

*Bang*
"One Mississippi-Two Miss.."

The suspect could retaliate etc..
Once guns are involved, serious bodily injuries or death usually follow.

So your suggested alternative is, what, this?
harry-horrible-shot.gif
 

ShinNL

Member
Cowboy culture.

Why would a citizen call the police about a gun wielding maniac, when all it does is increase your chances of getting shot?

People need to get their mind straight on for what purpose the police exists. That's the whole reason why you don't just shoot a dangerous individual right away if they're holding some hostage as a meat shield. You can't just randomly start shooting 9 times, okay?
 

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
Situations like this are the reason the "felony murder" charge exists.
No, situations like this are why the felony murder charge has become a bullshit tacked on charge meant only to pad sentences rather than to fulfill any sense of justice.

An old lady while being robbed has a heart attack and dies as a result of the stress of the situation.

A pileup occurs as a result of an attempted carjacking (though the stolen car avoids the pileup), and people die in the pileup.


These are felony murders. Instances where the individual committing a felony either directly or indirectly, through their own actions, caused the death of another.

A situation where one accomplice in a crime is shot dead in self defense and the other runs away before he ends up dead, too? A situation where the police shoot into a crowd and kill bystanders?

These aren't felony murders. They're sentence-stacking and blame-shifting.

If you think people should have the right to shoot robbers dead, and that the police should have the power to use deadly force to defuse a situation as part of their job, then you need to also be willing to give the responsibility of such actions to the individuals firing the bullet.

Whoever fires the bullet wants to be considered as having acted responsibly? Then take responsibility, damn it Don't act like the guy getting pumped full of lead is the one pulling the trigger.
 

parmanu

Member
What if they miss..how long do they pause?

*Bang*
"One Mississippi-Two Miss.."

The suspect could retaliate etc..
Once guns are involved, serious bodily injuries or death usually follow.

They could have certainly paused for couple of seconds after 1st shot to analyse the situation. It was only a single person and he didn't even have anything in his hands.
 
I guess it's a lot different in the US since like everyone could have a gun (and could yank it out at any second, opening fire). I'm living in Germany where ~nobody owns a gun and carries it around in public, so police officers don't just open fire when they see somebody moving his hand.
That is standard protocol here. If you are stopped by the police you make sure your hands are visible at all times. You never make any quick movements, and if you need to reach for anything (car insurance out of the glove box for example) you tell them beforehand exactly what you are going to do, then do it slowly.

If you are being reported as waving a gun around, and when confronted by police grab at your waist, you will get blown away every time. Everyone knows this.

P.S. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. I'm just saying this is how it is here, and how it's been my whole life.
 
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