Texas Sheriff’s Office Identifies Defendant In Deputy’s ‘Execution-Style Killing’

[Purveyor]

Source: Washington Post

By Elahe Izadi August 29 at 5:40 PM

A man arrested Saturday in the shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy at a Houston gas station Friday has been charged with capital murder, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman told reporters at a news conference Saturday evening.

Shannon J. Miles, 30, was picked up for questioning early Saturday, Hickman said, according to a Reuters report. The sheriff said the suspect apparently targeted sheriff’s Deputy Darren Goforth only because of his uniform.

Goforth had stopped to fill up his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station Friday night when a man approached from behind and “literally shot him to death,” Hickman said.

Hickman said Miles has a previous police record, including charges of resisting arrest and trespassing. He was being held Saturday in Harris County.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/29/texas-sheriffs-deputy-ambushed-in-execution-style-killing-at-gas-station/

[XemaSab]

1. "Trespassing" means one of two things

and he doesn't look like a political protester.

[the_sly_pig]

39. People can be trespassed for any number of reasons..

Theft, shoplifting, harassment, threats, multiple instances of causing disturbances or whatever. If someone has cause to want to prevent another person from being on their property, owners or business people can have the problem persons trespassed.

[jtuck004]

2. Targeted for what he looked like on the outside. Huh. n/t

[TexasProgresive]

3. What makes it an "execution sytle" killing?

Was the deputy facing a firing squad, blind folded and shot after a last cigarette? Were the killings of Michael Brown et al executions?

[Ex Lurker]

4. The murderer approached from behind, shot him multiple times, then stood over him and

finished him off.

[TexasProgresive]

5. So is that any different that police on black shootings?

I believe that is called summary execution.

A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without benefit of a full and fair trial.

[TexasProgresive]

10. Did you just jump in with out reading my earlier posts?

My 1st question is why is the S.O. deputy's killing being billed "execution" style. Then I brought up the killings of African Americans by police as summary executions, i.e. Michael Brown.

[GGJohn]

11. My bad.

I was reading your post as you saying the police officer was summarily executed.
I apologize and will delete the post.

[thebighobgoblin]

18. Right because Michael Brown was an innocent kid going to Sunday school and minding his own business

You'd think that Brown had already robbed a convenience store, shoved an old shopkeeper out of the way, and fought with an officer in his car.

Oh wait, he actually did do those things.

Like I told someone else, fortunately, your views will NEVER EVER receive the support of the mainstream in this society.

[Kennah]

25. And those crimes warrant a death sentence without the benefit of trial? n/t

[thebighobgoblin]

26. Common sense would suggest that getting into a violent confrontation with an officer

Is going to escalate things quite seriously. It's not a case of Mike Brown being judged and executed. Mike Brown made decisions in real time that had consequences in real time. That's not to say that Darren Wilson was 'right', but his reaction wasn't criminal. He didn't set out to execute Mike Brown, who was a man of free will right up until he made the decision to fight with an officer in his car. At that point, it became Wilson's decision to make in terms of how to react.

There are some instances where I find myself in complete agreement with the protesters of police abuses. Actually, I support any and all reforms to end genuine abuse. But I'm not going to sympathize with people who invite police aggression themselves. I think that the movement loses credibility when it does that. It also loses credibility and moral high ground when it tacitly endorses the killing of officers without any provocation, as some are obviously doing on this thread.

[Kennah]

33. Whatever was Mike Brown thinking to walk around while black? n/t

[christx30]

40. I'd like to know what he was thinking about

pushing that old guy down.

[Kennah]

50. He was likely engaged in criminal behavior on the day of his death ...

... but I fail to see how some justify his killer's actions. Ironic that this thread should sidetrack the way it has. The message appears to be that Cops Matter, Black People Don't.

[christx30]

51. Wilson didn't target and execute an innocent person.

Michael Brown thought Wilson was there to arrest him for the strong armed robbery of the shop. Michael attacked the cop and tried to take his gun. Wilson opened fire to save his own life. If Brown had walked on the sidewalk (instead of the middle of the street) like a normal person, if he would have been less confrontational with Wilson, he would have gone home and lived to steal another day.

And if Wilson hadn't of opened fire, well...
http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/us/alabama-birmingham-police-detective-pistol-whipped/

[christx30]

55. See post #51

[thebighobgoblin]

41. A disingenuous characterization of Mike Brown's behavior to put it mildly

The store surveillance video taken moments before his confrontation with officer Wilson makes it pretty clear that Mike Brown was behaving like a thug. And while I would often agree that the word 'thug' has become a racially-loaded word these days, it applies in the case of Mike Brown. That doesn't mean he 'deserved' to die, and yes, it's sad what ultimately happened to him.

But the point you guys seem to miss is that this isn't a debate about whether someone deserves to be executed over a bottle of shoplifted pop. Mike Brown wasn't, as you all seem to want to believe, executed. He wasn't stalked. Officer Brown didn't even have time to get out of his car before Brown assaulted him. It became a matter of perceived threat versus actual threat, and as the shooting of this officer proved, that's an assessment that gets an officer sent to the undertaker if they get that assessment wrong. Mike Brown's behavior played a big part in his death. Officer Brown perceived Mike Brown as a threat to his life. We can criticize and condemn his police training and question whether he followed that training, but Mike Brown could have behaved differently and none of this would have ever happened. Mike Brown's the one who forced officer Wilson to make a decision.

[7962]

44. Certainly not. But he wasnt "executed"

Dead is dead, the manner is the only difference

[philosslayer]

48. Enjoy your stay

n/t

[thebighobgoblin]

54. I will...whatever that means.

[MissDeeds]

6. That is indeed an execution

Prayers and healing thoughts to his family, friends and fellow officers.

[Gman]

7. My guess is he's schizophrenic

Or some other delusional disorder. It was too random to be otherwise. Nothing else like radical political beliefs, that we know of. Except the police would have been more than happy to trumpet anything other than a disorder.

[christx30]

9. Maybe he's just a criminal prick that can't get along with anyone:

His criminal history:

02/03/2009 – Harris County – Metro – Resist Arrest/Search – Nolo Contender – 6 days jail
05/12/2007 – Harris County – HCSO – Criminal Trespass – property of Debra Dahlman – Guilty – 10 days jail
05/03/2007 – Harris County – Jersey Village PD – Evading Arrest – Guilty – 10 days jail (credit for some time in)
12/31/2006 – Harris County – HPD – Disorderly Conduct (discharging firearm) – Guilty – 15 days jail
10/02/2005 – Harris County – HCSO – Evading Detention (dismissed and refiled as) Resist Arrest/Search – Guilty – 8 days jail
07/04/2005 – Harris County – HCSO – Criminal Mischief destruction of property $50 – $500 (was originally a Felony but was reduced to a Misdemeanor) (the complainant was Peggy O’Neal who is the registered owner of the house where Miles lives. O’Neal is also listed on Miles Facebook page.) – Guilty – 3 days jail
02/15/2005 – Harris County – U of H PD – Fail to Identify giving False Info – Guilty – 4 days

[atreides1]

12. Big jump

He leapt all the way from Resisting arrest to murder...that's quite a leap!

There is more to this then what's on the surface...he killed a deputy...but the reason why still isn't clear!

[tapermaker]

13. yep, that dude should have been put down long ago.

I am surprised they didn't put him down like a dog with this rap sheet. This will give them all the reasons they need to make sure the next dark dude meets his maker after just one misd. offense. ( snark OKAY!!)

[christx30]

16. While the sarcasm is awesome, I wasn't saying that

he should have been put down. But this guy has displayed a lot of behavior in his past that isn't great. He definitely shouldn't have had a gun. My guess is that he got it illegally. Maybe he hated cops because of his many arrests. I guess we'll find out if he's captured.

[Downwinder]

19. Bunch of resisting arrest

with no indication of what arrest he was resisting.

[jtuck004]

14. There are an awful lot of people who demonstrate for their civil rights with those same charges.

I wonder if this is one that just saw too many summary executions of people with black skin.

[christx30]

17. Really?

Any evidence this guy is a protestor, looking out for the rights of others? Have there been any protests in Harris county?
He can also get criminal trespass for breaking into a home or business.

[christx30]

22. So if you're tired of the injustice and the racism,

do we need to worry about you walking up behind a cop somewhere and shooting him multiple times, finishing off with a coup de grace?

I don't like cops either, and I hate racists too. But I hate violent people more.

But you go on making excuses for a cold blooded murderer. That's awesome.

[Syzygy321]

24. Is this a joke?

[Ace Rothstein]

30. Ridiculous that it was only a 4-3 vote to hide that post.

[Syzygy321]

32. Ugh. That was some scary bigoted murder-loving shit!

I mean, uh, that was fine liberal outrage in the service of justice and a better society.

[840high]

35. Gives me a bad taste for the jury system.

[DashOneBravo]

38. +1

[thebighobgoblin]

42. Yeah, I think we have some extremists in our midst

The democratic party is the strongest when it resembles the party of FDR, not the party of Bill Ayers.

[Lizzie Poppet]

49. Exactly. Three jurors should be fucking ashamed of themselves.

[7962]

45. Unfortunately, no. "Couple HUNDRED MILLION racists".

So basically, every white person. This is what we're becoming here. And banned 4-3. The other 3 apparently members of the same club

[Gman]

27. I saw that. Almost all of the offenses

Are things paranoid and delusional people do. Especially the resisting and trespassing. Not that everyone that resists or trespasses is schizo. But schizos have a habit of doing those things more frequently.

If there were some thefts or drug dealing in the rap sheet that would be a different story. Those are money motivated which is a rational choice.

[Syzygy321]

23. On what do you base that speculation?

Maybe he was crazy.

Maybe he was the cop's jilted lover.

Maybe he and the cop planned the whole thing in advance, because the cop was dying painfully of prostate cancer, and the shooter was his best friend, and when they discussed euthanasia the cop said "I wanna die in a hail of bullets while pumping gas - please do that for me, would ya?"

With zero evidence for any of the above, one theory is as much BS as the next.

If he is schizophrenic, he will have a medical record and past incidents to prove it. I'll wait.

[Gman]

29. See reply #27

[Syzygy321]

31. That's not evidence; it's vague correlation

I yell at people sometimes.

Schizophrenics sometimes do that too..

Now, if I go out and shoot someone in the back, can I count on you to say, "She was probably hallucinating. I've heard her yell at people."

[Gman]

34. Of course that's not evidence

You asked why I thought that. It just fits a pattern and its not any kind of evidence. We'll know more in days to come

[branford]

36. Regardless of his purported mental state, I do not envy Mr. Miles defense counsel. nt

[Gman]

37. I don't either.

especially in Texas.

His only focus may likely be to get him life vs the DP.

[cannabis_flower]

43. He could have been angry..

A few days ago a television reporter and a cameraman was killed by an angry man. He was angry that he had been fired and probably had a narcissistic personality disorder.

Perhaps this guy was angry about the recent killing of Sandra Bland in Waller. Also this law enforcement organization, the Harris County Sheriff's Department was recently involved in doing a cavity search on a young black woman in broad daylight in the parking lot of a gas station because they thought they smelled marijuana. She had been pulled over for running a stop sign. People have a right to be angry - they don't have the right to kill the police.

[jtuck004]

20. Well, as long as you are "remembering", lets remember these 28 (oops,now 29) killed by thug cops.

This may not have been the first time the shooter and the cop saw each other. The department will investigate, but the results will likely just support whatever they dream up.

...
– 28 cases of state sanctioned or justified murder of Black people in the first 3
months of 2012 alone have been found (due to under reporting and discriminatory
methods of documentation, it is likely that there are more that our research has yet
to uncover)

– Of the 28 killed people, 18 were definitely unarmed. 2 probably had firearms, 8
were alleged to have non-lethal weapons.

– Of the 28 killed people,

. 11 were innocent of any illegal behavior or behavior that involved a
threat to anyone (although the shooters claimed they looked “suspicious”);

. 7 were emotionally disturbed and/or displaying strange behavior.
...

http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2012/04/06/29-black-people-have-been-killed-by-policesecurity-since-jan-2012-16-since-trayvon/

[thebighobgoblin]

28. Yeah there's a credible news outlet, lol

[7962]

46. Unbiased source for sure.

Fists can be a weapon. But this list leaves that tiny fact out of the zimmerman story. Not a defense of zimmerman, but there was an altercation that isnt mentioned. Which makes the other stories suspect as well. Was there fighting going on? And one they just assume is black!
And when you consider being killed in a crash while running from the cops "murder", you'll jump to that conclusion on any situation.
Lame site

[marble falls]

47. From the article:

"But in speaking about the incident, authorities also referenced the broader national conversation regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they police. Hickman said there was a “dangerous national rhetoric” regarding police.

“At any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where calculated, cold-blooded assassination of police officers happen — this rhetoric has gotten out of control,” Hickman said. “We’ve heard ‘black lives matter,’ ‘all lives matter.’ Well, cops’ lives matter too. So why don’t we just drop the qualifier, and just say ‘lives matter,’ and take that to the bank.”

I sorry, but that stuff was uncalled for in this tragic murder.

[Igel]

52. Read up-thread.

There are a lot of half-hearted or near-justifications proffered for the hater's actions.

He's angry.

He's mentally ill.

Etc.

Now look at when police shoot a black guy. Even if armed, to mention half-hearted or near-justifications is to be smeared with "racist" or some such general term of abuse. Just to say, "Let's wait for the facts" is to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of the fascist police state.

Instead you get a kind of two-way split. The reason for the killings is skin color. And the justification for being viewed as innocent and the cop's guilt is skin color. It's like the engineering quip, If the only tool you have is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail.

The fact is, for many black lives don't matter. They matter no more than any others. But they matter.

Similarly, for many police lives don't matter. One could argue that since they're acting on the behalf of "we the people" they're our representatives. If they act in that capacity and kill, it's not an attack on a single life but on public order and "we". They matter because black lives matter. Reject the thinking or not, it's as immaterial as believing that pi = 3.00.

It's okay for one group to point out the inherent hatred and bias. It's okay for the other group to do the same.

[TeddyR]

53. Glad they caught him

And never let him on the streets again.