Poll: manslaughter...

[thedelightfulme]

I'm pretty sure most of you have heard about the officer who "Killed" a man when he hit him with his baton. And is now being quizzed/charged with manslaughter.

Whats your views?

more info at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8004222.stm

 

[ExodusinFlames]

BS

Note: Not the most eloquent of posts, but w/e

 

[Archaon6044]

no, technicly it could be counted as Judicial murder. he killed this man whilst performing his lawful duty, as the law dictates. you know in ye olde days the coppers would arrest the headsman, or hangman or executioner, and take him to a magistrate, where he would be charged with murder, and his deffence was always judicial murder, and he was let off, because he killed in a lawful manner

 

[beddo]

The video is pretty clear, he hit the man without being provoked. He hit and pushed the man to the ground without any warning.

If his death was a result of the assault then he should be charged with manslaughter. If it was not then he should be charged with; assault with a deadly weapon, actual bodily harm, assault, harassment and disturbing the peace.

It seems pretty cut and dry to me, I have little doubt that he will walk away with anything more than a caution or at most a suspended sentence.

 

[Schnippshly]

I think dirty pig cops all belong in jail! Irony!

 

[Knight Templar]

The officer used excessive force and because of this a man has died. The officer should not be charged, but should be punished, he killed a person.

BS

Note: Not the most eloquent of posts, but w/e

What you just said has no meaning to me, could you type it again in english.

 

[Altorin]

It's too late for me to read that, but I'll share my views on cop killing and you can fit it to whatever incident you want.

If the person was clearly in need of a thrashing, and said thrashing wasn't in excess of the amount needed to subdue the perp, then bravo to the cops. Sometimes, people die when they get in scuffles with the police. No need to villify a cop for doing his job.

However, to kill someone with a baton, you basically have to hit them in the neck or head with it. That's not safe, and the cop should have known better.. Cops generally aim for center of mass, or legs or arms - a good hit with a baton will put that limb out of commission. but if the kid was fucking around with a cop, he should have known better.

Tragic, yes, criminal, maybe not.

EDIT: Reading other responses, this was probably one of those unprovoked attacks we've seen lately.

If that's the case, the cop should burn.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

How much do you want to bet that the victim in question was being an unruly twat, getting in the riot officer's face, shouting and pretty much going "nyeh nyeh, you can't hit me".

My best guess is that he was ignoring the fact that you're required to maintain a certain distance from the police line, and he thought he was being hot shit by running up to them and taunting them, giving the officer in question legal justification to thwack 'im.

Spoiler

I seriously doubt that a British officer would assault a peaceful protester.

EDIT: Just watched the video, thought it was an advertisement at first. Judging by the footage, I'd say the victim was being a passive-aggressive bastard. While I still don't think the officer should be charged with murder, the attack itself did appear to be unwarranted, and is without a doubt an excessive use of force against a guy who was probably just saying shit under his breath.

 

[Danzaivar]

I've looked into this extensively.

Before this video was shot, that guy had been giving shit to the police for a few hours. Earlier in the clip (They don't show it on the BBC) the police are repeatedly shoving the guy and shouting at him to keep moving, he ignores it so they shove him to the ground (Standard crowd control tactic). He shouldn't be charged with anything simply because he was following police protocol for that situation.

Whether you think the protocol is wrong or not is fair enough, putting a policeman in prison for doing the job he's paid to do is stupid, frankly.

They cut the video down tho because it says 'Police brutality!' a lot better than one with some more information on the whole thing.

 

[Manyeyes]

All the video footage lacked sound. Without it you can't tell
whether the officers were warning this man off.
And even if it has sound the news might still edit it, to make as much ratings as
possible.

Never take anything at face value

 

[Abedeus]

Manslaughter? I think you mean MURDER. Manslaughter implies multiple murder victims.

 

[ExodusinFlames]

No I think second degree murder should apply, by Canadian law standards should be whats leveled at the peace officer

 

[thedelightfulme]

Manslaughter? I think you mean MURDER. Manslaughter implies multiple murder victims.

Manslaughter is a death caused by accident as a direct result of your action. For example running someone over. If you were found to be driving recklessly, they wouldnt charge with murder, but with manslaughter.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

Manslaughter? I think you mean MURDER. Manslaughter implies multiple murder victims.

No, it doesn't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manslaughter

 

[Altorin]

Manslaughter? I think you mean MURDER. Manslaughter implies multiple murder victims.

Not in a legal sense

Manslaughter is a term to describe a homicide where the culprit is less culpable then a murder.

For murder, the culprit would have to be shown to have an intent to kill the person. For Manslaughter, they only need to be shown to intend to cause bodily harm, or loss of mental capacity, or are found to be criminally negligent.

 

[Flour]

It's too late for me to read that, but I'll share my views on cop killing and you can fit it to whatever incident you want.

If the person was clearly in need of a thrashing, and said thrashing wasn't in excess of the amount needed to subdue the perp, then bravo to the cops. Sometimes, people die when they get in scuffles with the police. No need to villify a cop for doing his job.

However, to kill someone with a baton, you basically have to hit them in the neck or head with it. That's not safe, and the cop should have known better.. Cops generally aim for center of mass, or legs or arms - a good hit with a baton will put that limb out of commission. but if the kid was fucking around with a cop, he should have known better.

Tragic, yes, criminal, maybe not.

The article said the man had some liver and heart disease.
He's an idiot though. Walking between the police during protests, probably ignoring them while they told him to go away.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

I've looked into this extensively.

Before this video was shot, that guy had been giving shit to the police for a few hours.

What's your source on this? (It's not a challenge, I'm just genuinely interested.)

 

[Altorin]

No I think second degree murder should apply, by Canadian law standards should be whats leveled at the peace officer

Second Degree Murder still requires that the culprit intended to kill the person

"1. First degree murder is a murder which is (1) planned and deliberate, (2) contracted, (3) committed against an identified peace officer, (4) while committing or attempting to commit one of the following offences (hijacking an aircraft, sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and forcible confinement or hostage taking), (5) while committing criminal harassment, (6) committed during terrorist activity, (7) while using explosives in association with a criminal organization, or (8) while committing intimidation. [48]
2. Second degree murder is all murder which is not first degree murder. It could be "spur of the moment"."

 

[ExodusinFlames]

Ahh wikipedia. Second heading there, spur of the moment

 

[Snor]

manslaughter or battery (not assault, thats only the threat), although this can be a though one because it can also be negligence by a proffesional (not sure about that one, depends if he has been laying there bleeding etc.)

wooho law 101 class