12-14-2014, 07:30 AM
In the interest of brevity, I'll just say that the "lies" about the situation could be nothing more than wrong statements. The cop says he thinks the suspect is 20... that's not a lie so much as wrong. Perhaps that belief is grounded in the fact that I don't think they need to lie about the situation.
Tamir was disobedient (if you believe his mother), an asshole (trying to scare strangers by pointing a gun at them), and an idiot (advancing on officers while drawing a weapon.) When I was a kid, I played with guns, some of them real looking, but my parents warned me that if I left the yard with them I could be arrested or worse. My mom specifically said some cop could shoot me not knowing it was fake. I obeyed my parents. If I didn't think Tamir was directly responsible for his death, I might vilify the officers the same way. I feel bad the kid is dead, but in the same situation, dude drawing a weapon from his waist while walking toward me... I'd have shot him myself.
Tamir was disobedient (if you believe his mother), an asshole (trying to scare strangers by pointing a gun at them), and an idiot (advancing on officers while drawing a weapon.) When I was a kid, I played with guns, some of them real looking, but my parents warned me that if I left the yard with them I could be arrested or worse. My mom specifically said some cop could shoot me not knowing it was fake. I obeyed my parents. If I didn't think Tamir was directly responsible for his death, I might vilify the officers the same way. I feel bad the kid is dead, but in the same situation, dude drawing a weapon from his waist while walking toward me... I'd have shot him myself.