Should this man be punished?

[Hurray Forums]

I'm going to ignore the gun since there doesn't really seem to be any solid evidence on that(The mom saying he was afraid of guns means absolutely nothing). The police officer needs to be fired because anyone who can't figure out that tazering someone on a bicycle while chasing them might result in them falling off the bicycle and being in the way of his cop car shouldn't be in charge of a can opener, let alone a gun. Should he be thrown in jail? Tough to say as stupidity isn't a crime, one would actually have to prove foul intent.The victim ran from the cop for over a minute when the cop was quite clearly trying to get him to stop and from the description of his driving VERY serious about it, that screams criminal, which makes it hard to fault the cop for being suspicious, even if his methods were absolutely insane. So either the victim WAS guilty of something, or he's so bloody stupid it's a miracle he survived this long. You don't run from a cop, end of story. So, either side can be explained as stupidity or malice. I'm tempted to lean towards malice for the victim and stupidity for the cop. Even the functionally retarded should be able to figure out that you don't run from a cop, and even if the cop was racist there would have to be SOMETHING that triggered such a pursuit(assuming the police officer didn't know the victim in some way and have something against him), you can't just chase random colored people on a whim all day, especially as recklessly as the police officer did. The reason I pick stupidity for the police officer is that the whole thing just seems too spontaneous to be an act of anger. I mean really "grrrrr, I hate people with a different skin color than me, I'll show them by causing a huge scene with reckless driving so there's tons of witnesses and then tazer him precisely so he goes under my vehicle while everyone is watching". Assuming he has any brains at all there's so many BETTER ways he could abuse his power if he chose to.

 

[Queen Michael]

[...]When the Steen didn't stop, Ard pulled out a taser, and fired, causing Steen to fall over, where Ard hit and instantly killed him.

Now I ask you, esteemed Escapist, should officer Ard be more severly punished?

For killing a kid like that? Yeah, sure. Prison? Sure.

We immediately assume the gun was a plant. Why? reverse racism.

NO. I assume it was a plant because of the evidence for that, which was clearly stated in the OP.

 

[Locko96]

He better be charged. This is just outright racism.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Please read this: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/death-of-teen-on-bike-shows-risks-of-expanded-use-of-tasers/1112106

Now a summary for the "TL;DR'ers" out there.

A police officer, named Jerald Ard, saw a 17 year old, black male, named Victor Steen riding a bike around 2AM, and decided he was breaking a law somehow. Ard did a U-turn, "veered" onto the wrong side of the road, and up onto the sidewalk, and attempted to pull Steen over. When the Steen didn't stop, Ard pulled out a taser, and fired, causing Steen to fall over, where Ard hit and instantly killed him.

At first the officer said he thought the kid had stolen something from a nearby construction site (which he hadn't), but changed his story to "The kid didn't have a light on his bike". Paramedics found a 9mm pistol on Steen's body, that, mysteriously, had no fingerprints on it, and, according to Steen's family members "Victor was afraid of guns", suggesting the gun was a plant.

This particular incident happened in October of last year, and in April, Ard was put on a two-week, unpaid suspension.

Now I ask you, esteemed Escapist, should officer Ard be more severly punished?

Do you believe everything you read? It sounds like you got this article from a rather biased news source.

 

[-Samurai-]

Poor cops can't catch a break.

Kid is stopped by police and tries to run. His running results in his accidental death, and it's the officers fault? Had he stopped his bike and not run like a person that just did something wrong, I'm willing to be he'd still be alive.

If that kid was carrying a gun and the officer never stopped him, I'd bet that if he used that gun to kill a person, people would be saying "Damn cops. Never there when you need them.".

Instead, everyone acts like the officer saw him hit the ground, then decided it'd be a good career move to run the kid over, knowing that the dash cam was recording the whole thing. Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly how it went.

As far as "it's racism"; It's only racism because you people are making it racism. The only ones making any remarks about the kids skin color are you people. People acting like this keeps racism alive. Creating racial hate where there isn't any.

Lesson of the day: When a police officer tells you to stop, you stop.

 

[Thundero13]

Of course he should be charged

 

[Phoenixlight]

if he did plant the weapon and/or he used the taser without any decent warning or attempt to use another method to get the guy to pull over then yes, yes he should be punished

I agree with this, also if you're not going to have a poll don't put it in the title. I'm getting really sick of these fake poll threads.

 

[benoitowns]

I would be much more sympathetic towards him, but from how the article explains, it seems very questionable that Victor actually had a gun, and it was planted. But the guy was an idiot, whether or not that was allowed under the department's policy.

 

[Caligulove]

As with all of these cases, theres more to the story than whats put forward in the News story.

Based on what is already presented, though, yes- this officer should at the very least be investigated into, not just for this incident but his entire career. The whole thing seems fishy or at least questions how this officer makes decisions.
Most likely fired, though based on what could be revealed- his story could be accurate or much more could be revealed and he could face criminal charges.

These stories never end well, though. Both for the family of the victim, the accused, and the Police Department the accused came from.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Yes. Yes he should. But I get the feeling I'm not hearing the entire story here.

Of course you're not. You never are. Which is what makes stuff like this impossible to judge. No one would just randomly go out of their way like that to taser someone for no reason so I've got a feeling that no one is telling the complete truth here.

 

[oktalist]

The Taser is a potentially lethal weapon. The circumstances in which it is allowed to be fired should be the same as for a gun.

 

[Ekit]

If this article is to be believed then yes. He killed someone for no reason and then planted evidene and lied in a murder investigation.

 

[Spygon]

Even if all the real dodgy parts of the story him changing his story and finding a gun with no finger prints on the person are true how hard is it to stop a guy on a push bike when your in a car you just drive in front of him.There was no reason to use the taser and this why i think police using weapons against people who are acting non-hostile should be illegal.

So yes he should be punished

 

[LightOfDarkness]

ATTENTION EVERYONE:

THIS MAN DESERVES TO BURN AT THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL ALONGSIDE HITLER FOR ALL ETERNITY

THAT IS ALL

 

[Klepa]

He was chased for a long period of time. Either the victim was dumb as shit, or had something to hide. Could be the gun, could've been something else. Tazing the guy after a minute's chase is acceptable in my book, running him over.. not so much.

 

[Thedayrecker]

This particular incident happened in October of last year, and in April, Ard was put on a two-week, unpaid suspension.

Now I ask you, esteemed Escapist, should officer Ard be more severly punished?

The man killed someone without provocation and, as punishment, received two weeks unpaid suspension and you're asking if he should be more severely punished? Is that question rhetorical?

Well here's a post that occured right after your's

No, it was a accident that the kid fell onto the cruiser and by the look of the video he had no chance to stop, and he should have stopped when pulled over

Bottom line, its no ones fault.

So, as you can see, not everyone agrees that he should be punished.

 

[Signa]

Yes, yes he should. I am getting so sick of cops these days. For some reason the cops where I live have been "cracking down" on speeding. This means that anyone going 2 miles over the speed limit get a hundred dollar ticket no questions asked. I drove by just two hours ago and I swear I saw two different cars pulled over during a ten minute drive. I've lost all respect for cops ,around where I live at least, because they're turning into a bunch of pricks that just like to abuse the badge. I probably shouldn't be jumping to conclusions about this specific police officer before getting all the facts though. For all we know that kid did steal the bike and was carrying the gun but it seems unlikely.

Don't be too hasty to judge them on that. Fact is, it's probably your politicians needing more money because they can't responsibly spend their income, so they are using the police as a Sheriff of Nottingham tax collector. It's perfect because it's easy to blame the officers who are just doing what they are told to do and not the politicians.

OT: Just reading the synopsis, it sounds like this guy needs some manslaughter charges at least. No reason an officer of the law needs to be above the law. If the suspect wasn't committing a crime when he was told to stop and ended up dieing for it, I don't want officers like that "protecting" me. Sure, he should have stopped, and I find it odd that some one who was riding their bike at 2am and refused to stop for an officer also was "afraid" of guns, but that's hardly a death sentence.

 

[Thedayrecker]

--snip--

I said kid, cause I'm 17 (and so are most of my friends), and we're constantly reminded, that we are kids (that is, underage). So I figure, if I'm a kid, so is the victim.

 

[Kortney]

No, the Officer shouldn't be punished. If they can't prove the gun was planted - then nothing should come of it. He didn't mean to run over the kid.

I think the kid was up to no good anyway, and it wouldn't surprise me if the gun was his. What innocent person desperately tries to outrun a cruiser on a bicycle for several minutes? Either someone who has just committed or has evidence of a crime on him, or a fucking mong.

However, if they can prove the gun was planted then yes he should be punished. It all depends on the gun to me.

Oh, and you have to love how close minded everyone is here. They read a paragraph and act like they know everything. Rock on.

Edit: and by the way that article and video are incredibly biased.

 

[Thedayrecker]

--snip--

I got this from the local paper. I think their fairly accurate (although I occasionally notice some bias). Of course, ask a conservative and it's something along the lines of a "socialist, 'Merica-ruining rag"