Latest police killing in the US

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Again we see the US police killing an unarmed man and no charges brought against the officers involved. Again it's raised issues of race as the officers involved in the 'choke hold' are white and the man who dies is a young black man.

 

Protests against this and the wider issue but this time it is different for me...doesn't seem racially motivated in any way (indeed evidence that it definitely was not) and the procedure is apparently quite common. But it went badly wrong this time and maybe it's the procedure that needs to be looked at.

 

However there are clearly issues of mistrust of the police amongst black people in the US that need to be addressed...and I have no doubt that there are racist police officers

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30341101

[For Us All]

Again we see the US police killing an unarmed man and no charges brought against the officers involved. Again it's raised issues of race as the officers involved in the 'choke hold' are white and the man who dies is a young black man.

 

Protests against this and the wider issue but this time it is different for me...doesn't seem racially motivated in any way (indeed evidence that it definitely was not) and the procedure is apparently quite common. But it went badly wrong this time and maybe it's the procedure that needs to be looked at.

 

However there are clearly issues of mistrust of the police amongst black people in the US that need to be addressed...and I have no doubt that there are racist police officers

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30341101

 

Police reforms are urgently required before it spirals out of control.

[Bycarsbill]

Not condoning police action, nor justifying the stranglehold restraint, but the man (who wasn't so young, as he apparently had grandchildren) was 24 plus stone in weight and according to reports I've read, his weight, together with a heart condition and diabetes were all contributory factors in his death. Grand juries are made up of lay people from the community in which they live and are not usually all-white. As I understand it, unfortunately (as is the law in all the states that make up The USA) evidence to and deliberations by the grand jury remains anonymous. Consequently, only the twelve jurors making up this particular grand jury will know why they took the decision not to prosecute the police officers involved. My guess would be that the verdict was more likely to be as a result of the deceased man's medical condition and not some racist all-white conspiracy. Whatever the actual reasons for his death, his family of course will be heartbroken and my heart goes out to them. However, my head also says that if the man had not a) been selling illegally, cigarettes on the street and b) not resisted arrest, he may still be here today!

[JOHNNYAITCH]

'tis true he wasn't so young..43. And the senior officer at the scene was a black female sergeant..just read that she ordered the 'takedown' but she is not apparently on the video

 

Maybe just a tragic case of a man in ill-health being restrained by officers for the right reasons using established procedures who weren't to know about his health issues. Restraining someone like that is alwasy going to look awful and has risks for the one being restrained. Hope they at least review their procesures and see if anything can be learned.

[Yukon]

'tis true he wasn't so young..43. And the senior officer at the scene was a black female sergeant..just read that she ordered the 'takedown' but she is not apparently on the video

 

Maybe just a tragic case of a man in ill-health being restrained by officers for the right reasons using established procedures who weren't to know about his health issues. Restraining someone like that is alwasy going to look awful and has risks for the one being restrained. Hope they at least review their procesures and see if anything can be learned.

 

It was also a man saying he couldn't breath etc.

 

For me, the trouble with the powers that be in America is that they apparently don't want to appear to be wrong in any instance. How could one of their specially trained officers be at fault for gunning down a child or throttling a man to death- what an outrageous sentiment!

Our transatlantic brethren do have a history of pure arrogance that undermines them at time. Jesus, just look at the sports they enjoy, even though football, rugby and cricket are preferred everywhere else! I like NFL but a game of baseball is better than Valium! As for the NBA, there's just too much point scoring for me. I think it's equivalent to giving every child in the class an award at prize-day, no matter how unworthy

[JOHNNYAITCH]

It was also a man saying he couldn't breath etc.

 

True but I've seen that loads of times where the guy bieng restrained says that purely as an attempt to get them to release him..it's a judgement call they have to make and they got it badly wrong this time

 

Our transatlantic brethren do have a history of pure arrogance that undermines them at time. Jesus, just look at the sports they enjoy, even though football, rugby and cricket are preferred everywhere else! I like NFL but a game of baseball is better than Valium! As for the NBA, there's just too much point scoring for me. I think it's equivalent to giving every child in the class an award at prize-day, no matter how unworthy

 

I do find basketball tremendously boring but I do like American football and baseball. Lots of countries have their peculiarities when it comes to sport..handball is massive in some European nations but hardly played at all in most others for example.

 

Maybe the rise of sports in the US is also to do with their desire to be their own nation..to create/find their own identity.

[bookworm]

death is natures way of telling you to slow down:ohmy:

[bookworm]

death is natures way of telling you to slow down:ohmy:

 

sorry, tin hat on.

[Houston Valiant]

NYPD stipulates that a chokehold is not to be used under any circumstances. This man had his hands up, indicating that he was not going to pose a problem, but then the officers dragged him to the ground and put him in a chokehold. If he had medical problems , then fair enough, but the procedure was wrong by the police. After all he was just selling cigarettes. I saw the video, and the police were way too physical, in my opinion.

US police tend to overreact, because they always assume that the person they are confronting may have a gun , or a knife. I spoke to a Houston police officer a few years ago , and he told me that it would take an awful lot to happen for him to draw his gun, but that , like any job, a lot of police officers in Houston will draw their guns at the drop of a hat, and will shoot first and ask questions later. A scary thought indeed. He also said that when an officer is walking up to your car for a traffic stop, his /her adrenalin is going because they don't know what they are walking up on. I've never had a problem in my 30 years here, and I try to stay out of trouble. The police are fine if you do that, but if you **** them off e.g a car chase, then expect to get slammed into the ground , and dragged into a car, because you rate putting peoples' live in danger . One thing I will say about the protests , and this is just my opinion, is that it's a shame that it has become a race issue, instead of a people issue. Living on this side of the pond, it becomes tiring to see.

[Paul6754]

The culture of law enforcement in the USA is to obey the command of a Police Officer, they request, you comply, it's that simple. Everyone knows this so why some people choose to ignore a request, argue, be confrontational or worse is beyond me. It's the same for all people irrespective of color or creed. Every on duty Police Officer in the USA has to display a Police Badge with his/her Badge Number engraved on it, if a person is unhappy with a Police Officer then obtain the Badge Number and report the incident.

 

However, the Police need to find a way to tone down the heavy handed approach and become more public friendly but at the same time maintain law and order, this "choke hold incident" is just plain wrong.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

NYPD stipulates that a chokehold is not to be used under any circumstances. This man had his hands up, indicating that he was not going to pose a problem, but then the officers dragged him to the ground and put him in a chokehold.

 

They argue it was not a chokehold

[Hagrid]

Regardless of whether the man was not complying with a policeman's demands an illegal chokehold and lying down on top of a man screaming "I can't breath" 5 times is wrong. Those responsible should, at least, be on trial for manslaughter.

 

The man was selling illegal cigarettes, he wasn't a murderer on the run. Completely unnecessary death.

[TeenValiant]

Apparently it was 11 times. How many people have had 'fatal accidents' in america in the last 50 years, 1000's.

 

And i don't see why opinions of sports have to come into this thread

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Regardless of whether the man was not complying with a policeman's demands an illegal chokehold and lying down on top of a man screaming "I can't breath" 5 times is wrong. Those responsible should, at least, be on trial for manslaughter.

 

The man was selling illegal cigarettes, he wasn't a murderer on the run. Completely unnecessary death.

 

But who is responsible..the officers who actually did it, the senior officer who ordered it or those who put the procedures together (assuming that the officers followed the procedures laid down for such a situation)?

 

It was of course unnecessary..but one can argue if he'd complied it would definitely not have happened..not that that exonerates the police completely..that should be investigated

[Tone]

So far this year, 43 law US enforcement officers have been shot dead in the line of duty. Where is the outcry on their behalf?