LA police kill 13-year-old suspected car thief

[SemiCharmedQuark]

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=14985200

:snip:

POLICE shot dead a 13-year-old suspected car thief following a three and a half-mile chase which ended when he reversed into their patrol car, sparking anger and shock in a Los Angeles neighbourhood.

Friends and neighbours of Devin Brown said they could not understand why police opened fire on him. "I know he was wrong for stealing a car, but what I really don’t understand is the police have had so much training," said Carmen Dorsey, who stopped by an impromptu memorial at the site where the teenager was killed.

Two officers, Steven Garcia, 31, who fired the shots, and Dana Grant, 26, have been assigned to desk duty following the shooting.

[MrSlayer]

1. Attempting to kill an officer by smashing into his car is grounds.

I'd like to get more detail before making final judgement but so far I'm with the cops.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. Nobody said he was trying to kill the cops.

They said he reversed into their car. And for crying out loud, the kid was 13.

[maveric]

4. A car is considered a lethal weapon in CA.

Did the cops know it was a kid driving?

[MrSlayer]

8. I'm sure they didn't catch his age as he was on the high speed chase.

That isn't an excuse, they couldn't have known his age. Reversing the car into theirs implies to me that he was attempting to smash them and cause serious injuries. I did say I need more detail before passing judgment.

[DrWeird]

11. Shooting a kid for a fender bender is second degree murder.

I'd like to get more details before making a final judgement, but so far I'm with the kid.

[Jack_DeLeon]

2. repost what I posted in the other thread...

I dont support the police in this, but if some kid tried to jack my car I would probably shoot him too.

[Syncronaut Seven]

5. Police have many options

Including using their cars as weapons to protect themselves. They chose not to.

As a random victim of police violence, My observation is that many cops just like to shoot and beat people. Makes them feel powerfull.

The biggest bullies in my high school are now all cops, ALL OF THEM.

It's no effen mystery to me.

[Jack_DeLeon]

10. I agree with you, have you ever noticed...

that in alot of these cases where police shoot someone in a car, its because they voluntarily put themselves infront of the car so that leathal force will be justified.

[sonicx]

6. get the popcorn...

this will be a long thread. :crazy:

[linazelle]

7. Give me a break, a car smashing into the police justifies a reaction

If you think they shouldn't have reacted you need to do the job and see what you might do in the same situation. And, BTW, how did they know it was a 13 year old if they hadn't caught him--not that it should matter really because he WAS breaking the law.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

9. Oh please,

I can tell you that shooting unarmed people in Iraq is wrong and I don't need to be a soldier to do it. Playing the "well it's a hard job" card is ridiculous. That's what Bush does.

[Wcross]

12. I don't know what happened.

Either do you. Let the investigation procede and find out what happened. I don't give a rats ass if the kid was 13 or 30, a 13 y/o can kill you just as dead as a 30 y/o.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

13. And a four year old can kill you "just as dead" too.

But at some point you have to sit down and say that the transgressor was just a kid. I don't know what happened, I guess he could have been some superhuman devil child. Unfortunately the reporter only mentioned it as a blurb. And I haven't seen anything about it on American news. Apparently the Brad/Jen split has left them wanting for available reporters.

And police investigating police misconduct...yes...that has worked sooo well in the past. :eyes: