Daunte Wright Accidental Shooting

[thebobmaster]

Daunte Wright shooting: Officer 'mistook gun for Taser'

The fatal shooting of Daunte Wright was accidental, police say, as crowds defy a curfew.

www.bbc.com

Didn't see a topic on this, so I decided to start one. Long story short, a cop apparently intended to tase Mr. Wright as he was trying to get into his car while being handcuffed. The problem? She apparently pulled her GUN instead and shot him.

She's currently on administrative leave while an investigation is launched, but I don't see any logical way the officer should keep her job. Either she can't tell the difference between a taser and a handgun while she's holding it, or she is using a convenient excuse to try to get away with shooting a man for resisting arrest.

To be clear, tasing him would have been justified, by the sound of it and the bodycam, as he was actively trying to resist arrest. This is just...either malice or incompetence.

 

[09philj]

If you're going to give every single police officer a gun maybe you shouldn't make it so that it's feasible for them to quickdraw them and shoot you without thinking? Yes, that may make it more likely that a police officer will be injured or killed by a suspect, but it would make it less likely that you'd be accidentally or reflexively unlawfully killed by a police officer.

In the UK very few people have guns because we tend not to accept lethal force as a form of self defence and blood sport is a pastime for the wealthy. This gives us the luxury of not feeling the need to give every police officer a gun. This means that even though we still have police brutality, you're not hugely likely to be summarily or accidentally killed by a police officer. An armed police force might be a natural response to an armed populace, but it has invested an enormous amount of power in the police of the United States that they have repeatedly demonstrated that they are essentially unfit to wield.

 

[Eacaraxe]

An armed police force might be a natural response to an armed populace, but it has invested an enormous amount of power in the police of the United States that they have repeatedly demonstrated that they are essentially unfit to wield.

The problem isn't the iron on their hip, it's that cops are allowed to use it with near-absolute impunity, are told it should be their first recourse in most scenarios, and fed a constant stream of propaganda that doing so is in any way, shape, or form "good". After applying for a job with fuck-off requirements that has, in best-case scenarios, a three- to five-month training program that features absolute bottom-of-the-barrel firearms and discipline training.

 

[tippy2k2]

We're once again under a curfew cause cops keep shooting unarmed black people and for some reason, that's making people upset at the cops...

 

[Thaluikhain]

Not sure "accidental" is the right word. Assuming they didn't mean to kill them.

But, anyhoo, assuming they are telling the truth, not the first time we've seen that story.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Medical examiner has ruled the cause of death as homicide.

 

[Revnak]

Medical examiner has ruled the cause of death as homicide.

Ok, technically they have to say that if it’s an accident due to different definitions. I’ll happily avoid the distinction without a difference and say the cop should at least be fired regardless and absolutely should be investigated, tried, and not allowed to ever be a cop again, but it’s still important to put things in context.

Edit: disregard earlier statement this woman is almost certainly a murderer.

 

[Gergar12]

The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in the US city of Brooklyn Center in Minnesota was an accident, the police chief has said.

Great idea, piss off a community that is majority people of color.

 

[Revnak]

The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in the US city of Brooklyn Center in Minnesota was an accident, the police chief has said.

Great idea, piss off a community that is majority people of color.

See, in 90% of cases they would say a shooting like this is “still under investigation” a day afterwards but if it’s a cop they can confirm it’s an accident. Cool.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Medical examiner has ruled the cause of death as homicide.

Homicide doesn't mean murder. Homicide is the killing of one person by another person. An accident can still be homicide, and in this case, yeah duh it was homicide, no one is disputing that.

The "I thought it was my taser" excuse is so lame I have no idea why people keep falling for it. It's complete bullshit.

There's an easy solution to this though, chest rigs. All officers should have a chest rig and the taser should be on the chest rig rather than on the belt. That way it would be impossible to claim they accidentally went for their gun when they were trying to draw the taser.

They'll still just make up another lame excuse and get away with it though. "I didn't mean to shoot them, I just sneezed and my gun went off 13 times."

 

[Revnak]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT SHES THE POLICE UNION’S PRESIDENT!?!

BCA identifies officer in Daunte Wright shooting

 

[laggyteabag]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT SHES THE POLICE UNION’S PRESIDENT!?!

BCA identifies officer in Daunte Wright shooting

And she has been a police officer for 25 years.

I would have expected this shooting to have been a result of inexperience and poor training - but this could not be further from the reality of the situation.

Absolutely baffling.

 

[Revnak]

And she has been a police officer for 25 years.

I would have expected this shooting to have been a result of inexperience and poor training - but this could not be further from the reality of the situation.

Absolutely baffling.

This is all just so insane. She held the gun out for like ten seconds without realizing it was a gun. 25 years and what is honestly the most important position on the force. Assuming the most positive interpretation, this is still such a massive failure of their entire force.

Edit: If I don’t notice within a timespan much shorter than ten seconds that there’s a pedestrian in the road and as a result I kill them, I will never drive again (greatly restricting my career options) and will be extensively investigated to see if I even had a podcast playing, which they might charge me with vehicular manslaughter over (or just because pot stays in your system for a long period of time). Odds are damn high this lady will stay president of the police union. Just... fuck cops man.

 

[Kwak]

Is there any comparable organisation for hiring the dumbest absolute worst people to do a job?

 

[Revnak]

Is there any comparable organisation for hiring the dumbest absolute worst people to do a job?

The CIA

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

Is there any comparable organisation for hiring the dumbest absolute worst people to do a job?

most government?

 

[Trunkage]

Just a quick question. Are tasers holstered on the same hip as a gun in America?

 

[Dreiko]

Just a quick question. Are tasers holstered on the same hip as a gun in America?

There was a press release that says you're supposed to pull your gun with your good hand and your taser with your weak hand, so if you're right handed the gun will be to your right hip and your taser on the left. She prolly was flustered and pulled the wrong thing.

 

[Kwak]

The CIA

But their fuckups are classified, so how can you know that?

 

[Thaluikhain]

There's an easy solution to this though, chest rigs. All officers should have a chest rig and the taser should be on the chest rig rather than on the belt. That way it would be impossible to claim they accidentally went for their gun when they were trying to draw the taser.

Apparently they designed tasers to be shaped like police handguns to be easy for police to use. You could change the design, make it obvious by feel it's a differently weapon.

Alternatively, don't do anything about the gear and just imprison people doing this.