Double Amputee Killed by Houston Police Officer

[iseko]

What I'm wondering is. If the guy has only one arm. How does he push his wheelchair forward...
[sub]hmm...[/sub]

On a more serious note. Okay a pen can be a deadly weapon. And you would be surprised how strong someone can be when they are filled with adrenaline (like say, when they are having a psychotic breakdown?). But still...

A guy in a wheelchair comes at you flailing an unidentified 'metal object' and your first instinct is: 'HEADSHOT'. That does sound a little over the top to me. If you are going to use your gun. At least shoot him in the one arm he does have. That should immobilize him I think.

And secondly, don't use a gun. A good kick in the chest and he'll just tip over. Mace him, taser him. But for good sake don't put a 9 mill in his head.

 

[Shuguard]

surprised they shot first rather than flip the wheelchair over and subdue. The guy is an amputee, it's not difficult to kick a wheelchair over even with someone in it.

Seriously? That would have been a PR disaster! They'd look totally prejudiced against disabled people. All those folk want is to be treated like normal human beings. No, I think the cops made the right call in sticking to their standard operating procedure of killing anything that moves in their general direction.

pretty sure it's a PR disaster anyways for shooting a guy in a wheelchair with a pen in his hand who was already going through personal and mental issues. Killing was not the answer when someone could have clearly subdued him and no shots could have been fired. Either way something bad might have happened, but a life would have been saved. Hell where were the tazer guns?

 

[AngloDoom]

Really? You're claiming that a pen can't be used as a fatal weapon?

[...]

No, they generally don't have access to anything sharp that can stab someone.. LIKE A PEN.

Are we really arguing that the guy deserved/should have expected to be shot assuming the police knew what he was carrying was a pen?

Assuming this isn't a horrible mistake on my part, that's quite unsettling.

 

[Captain Anon]

this! THIS! THIS is why i fucking hate american policemen they're too goddamn trigger happy and are so stupid and dumb they do stupid things all the goddamn time THIS HAS FUCKING RUINED MY DAY and now i'm upset i hope someone finally says "right that does it I've had enough with this you two officers are fired and i'm throwing you in prison"

 

[WanderingFool]

Dude got cornered by a guy with a pen.

Who is also in a wheelchair?

How the hell do you get yourself into that kind of situation, and decide that lethal force is the best course of action?

Just imagine it! Oh the hilarity. The police officer slowly backing off, shouting "I'm gon have ta ask ya ta back down sir" in a redneck accent, the amputee slowly wheeling himself forward...

That's why I made this thread. I laughed so goddamned hard, I would've posted it about 5 minutes sooner had it not been for the mouthfull of coffee that shot out of my mouth. (And a little out of my nose, too)

Just one of those ridiculous moments that you feel you HAVE to share. So, I did.

Don't worry I'll be joining you.

Also how could two police officers not manage to disarm a double amputee? Something is afoot!

Well at least I won't be lonely!

So... what do you think the in-flight movie will be?

On Topic... somewhat more than before: I never jump on the "Its all the facist police fault" wagon, but seriously... how?

Spoiler: Also related

 

[CCountZero]

Dude hes in a wheelchair! How do you get cornered by someone in a wheelchair?! And why not use mace if your so threatened? (EVERY COP CARRIES IT NOW) How in the name of The One Holy God (YHWH) (JK <==atheist here) does a pen look like a gun? Mind you they where cornered! and that implies close proximity!

JUST STOP!

Assuming the article's depiction of the events is accurate, the officer was not aware of the nature of the object, simply that it was metallic in nature. Off the top of my head, factors that could contribute to that include poor lighting and rapid motion of the hand holding it, either of which could make it difficult to determine, especially given the aforementioned metallic appearance of the pen. It certainly doesn't help matters that there are knives of a similar size (heck, I own knives that size) and the general shape is similar. The article also claims that the officer had been forced into tight quarters without an exit route and that the man was actively trying to stab him at the time.

I'm not sure I can fault a cop for not taking the chance of it being a stab-weapon, but I still have to call into question the exact nature of how he got himself backed into a corner by a wheelchair-riding man he believed to be carrying a knife.

I mean, he comes into the room, finds the guy there being all aggressive and the like. At some point during this time, he then ends up backed into a corner, which I can only assume was a result of him moving away from a man he believed to be armed with a knife of some sort.

Now, if he backed himself into a corner prior to the guy waving whatever he was holding, he needs some serious re-schooling. That is a damn stupid position to put himself in, and he should know better.

If he saw the object, and then backed away from the man, why did his partner, or even he himself, not have time to draw something less lethal?

Seems like an incompetent cop got himself into a situation, after which his partner may or may not have acted appropriately, depending on the scenario.

The key word is "incompetent". Get him off the roster.

 

[Asita]

Come on, really? First, you really think a pen is tough enough to pierce skin and pierce an artery, especially when it's put in by a guy with only one bloody arm!? And you really think that a man in a blind rage, who most likely knows very little about human anatomy and even more likely wouldn't have thought about it at that heated moment would know that fact?

Ahem. As I mentioned earlier in the thread with these exact links as support: Pens are not harmless. And that's ignoring the potential to confuse a small metallic object of that size and shape with a knife.

 

[Hawkeye21]

All I could think of was this:

This is a sad and unfortunate state of affairs.

 

[juyunseen]

Don't worry I'll be joining you.

Also how could two police officers not manage to disarm a double amputee? Something is afoot![/quote]
"Something is afoot"
Double amputee

I see what you did there.

 

[Evil Smurf]

- The amputee, somehow, managed to corner a Houston police officer with his wheelchair and threatened them with a metal object

I'm so sorry, but I laughed. This got me.

I'm so going to hell. I really am sorry, I shouldn't be amused by stuff like this. But man, that is so ridiculous. You couldn't make this up.

Anyway, that is unfortunate. I can't really tell whether the police officer was overreacting or whether he really did feel threatened by the article, but it sucks in either case.

Don't worry I'll be joining you.

Also how could two police officers not manage to disarm a double amputee? Something is afoot!

dude was a cyborg. He had fake legs.
http://www.technovelgy.com/graphics/content09/rose-mcgowan-machine-gun-leg.jpg

 

[GTwander]

I would love to see the SNL parody of this.

 

[game-lover]

I feel somewhat better that I didn't laugh at the article and more at some of the comments. Not very many though.

That being said, I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems ridiculous. But I remember this episode of cold case where this woman was strangled to death by her brother who was in a wheelchair...

He wasn't an amputee but his legs were dead so he only had use of his arms.

So who knows? Probably anyone can be deadly in the right circumstances.

 

[Finbark]

Wow, the officer could have at least tipped the guy over, I mean honestly. Why did they think shooting the guy in the wheel chair was a good idea?

 

[AlbinoAaron]

Just saying.