WELL, SHOOT... JUST SHOOT

[BlueTiki]

Why must Blacks continue to enter White neighborhoods?

I thought Zimmerman cured them of that annoying, uppity ingress?

[SIXFOOTERsez]

The Police Chief basically came out and says they were not authorized to use deadly force in that scenario.

I was glad to see them all over this so quickly. I think it surprised a lot of people.

Yea I was glad to see that too, not a sniff of a cover up

[HairOfTheDog]

Why must Blacks continue to enter White neighborhoods?

I thought Zimmerman cured them of that annoying, uppity ingress?

Hey, it was by accident!

Ferrell had to walk ¹⁄₂ a mile from where he wrecked to get to the nearest house, which happened to be in Bradfield Farms.

It's an upscale community with racquet and swim club and all, and the population there is 35% black (according to residents and city stats).

[HairOfTheDog]

Ferrell laid to rest - new details emerge

Jonathan Ferrell's funeral was held yesterday and attended by hundreds in his hometown of Tallahassee, FL. A memorial was also held for him yesterday in Charlotte, NC.

More details about him and the night that he was shot to death are emerging (though autopsy and toxicology are still pending).




Ferrell with his high school sweetheart and fiancee, Cache Heidel

New life in Charlotte
Ferrell moved from Tallahassee to Charlotte because Cache had gotten a job with Ernst & Young in Charlotte. He was enrolled in a private college and working towards a chemistry major when he was killed - his dream was to become a mechanical engineer at BMW. He was working two jobs to pay the $15k tuition.

The night of the accident/killing
Ferrell worked at Best Buy and Dillards Dept Store. He was reportedly in Bradfield Farms because that's where a co-worker at Dillards lived and Ferrell had given him a ride home from work. But, Ferrell was unfamiliar with the small dark roads in the suburban area and veered off into some trees. (Don't know yet if he and the co-worker had gone out drinking or anything before the accident.)

The homeowner who called 911



Sarah McCartney (pictured above with her family) is the 32 year-old homeowner who panicked when she opened the door to Ferrell, slammed it, turned on the house alarm, and called 911. She had no way of knowing that he'd just been in a bad wreck, kicked out a window to escape the mangled car, and traveled on foot ¹⁄₂ mile to the nearest home (McCartney's).

McCartney is taking a lot of heat on social media as being partly responsible for Ferrell's death and being labeled a racist. But, she and her friends contend that she was simply very scared that a stranger (who didn't/couldn't tell her he needed help before she slammed the door and turned on the alarm) was pounding at her door at that hour and screaming in her front yard. She says she did the right thing by calling 911 and what happened next was on the police (I agree with her).

The Shooting
The police car dash cam has not been released to the public yet, but it's been confirmed that it shows a barefoot Ferrell lifting his hands to show that he was unarmed. It's also been reported that he rolled up his pant-legs before approaching police to show he had no weapons on his person.

When lights were shown on him, Ferrell reportedly runs or panics. At that point, one of the 3 cops misfired his taser in an attempt to safely subdue Ferrell.

Then, only Officer Randall Kerrick, unholstered his police issued pistol. Of the 12 shots Kerrick unloaded - ten hit Ferrell. He remains out on bail and charged with manslaughter.

Refs:
http://newsone.com/2731262/jonathan-ferrell-funeral/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-help.html

[username]

I have no sympathy for the homeowner. She fucking panicked and blew the whole thing way out of proportion. I might have grabbed the phone just in case but I would have listened to the guy. If he was able to say "stop" and "wait" to the cops, he was probably outside her door trying to say "help, I've been in an accident...". Something. The homeowner went off the god damn deep end and dramatized the whole damn event. Dumb bitch.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have no sympathy for the homeowner. She fucking panicked and blew the whole thing way out of proportion.

I don't really feel sympathy for her either.

Just don't think her lack of cool is to blame for Ferrell's death. That's all on Kerrick, based on everything released. IMO.

Police officers are trained to deal with over-dramatic, scared, lying...callers dispatched to them all of the time. Charlotte's an urban PD with lots of shit going down - the officers knew it was a call about one guy who hadn't forced his way into the house, hadn't left the premises, had shown them that he was unarmed, etc... They should have assessed the situation, Kerrick (at least) did not.

She's a nervous nelly and maybe other things, IDK. He's someone who went against his training, overreacted, and killed a man.

I'm interested to see how the case plays out in court. If Kerrick doesn't plead and it goes to trial, wonder if McCartney will end up being a defense witness or a prosecution witness (or ultimately both, regardless of who calls her first).

[Duchess]

Another person has been shot & killed by a homeowner after knocking on their door for help in the middle of the night. Let this be a lesson to you all, you can't count on help from your fellow man without risking your life.

A woman who appeared to need help in the middle of the night and was subsequently shot to death may have been the victim in a case of self-defense gone wrong, according to WJBK-TV.

Renisha McBride, 19, was killed after Saturday in Dearborn Heights, Mich, located just west of Detroit. Her family says she approached a stranger's house for help around 2:30 a.m. after she had a car accident, according to the Detroit News. She was fatally shot on the porch.

McBride’s aunt Bernita Spinks told the paper she believes it was a case of racial profiling.

“He shot her in the head ... for what? For knocking on his door,” Spinks told the paper.“If he felt scared or threatened, he should have called 911. ... She went looking for help and now she’s dead.”

Story

[Donovan]

Nothing good happens at 2am.

[Maggot]

Nothing good happens at 2am.

Says you!

[HairOfTheDog]

Renisha McBride, 19, was killed after Saturday in Dearborn Heights, Mich, located just west of Detroit. Her family says she approached a stranger's house for help around 2:30 a.m. after she had a car accident, according to the Detroit News. She was fatally shot on the porch.

Story

Anxious to hear more details on this sad story. Particularly curious as to what Renisha was doing in the hours between the crash and her killing at the hands of the homeowner.

The unidentified homeowner claims the gun went off by accident when Renisha, a recent high school grad and Ford Motor employee, was knocking at the door. I wonder how that will affect any future defense claims that the shooting is covered under Michigan's castle doctrine?

Snip:
“If he felt scared or threatened, he should have called 911. ... She went looking for help and now she’s dead.”

I understand the aunt's sentiment ^. But, in the case of Jonathan Ferrell, the homeowner was scared and DID call 911. Still, Ferrell, an unarmed accident victim who was not in the commission of a crime, is dead too - shot to death by a responding police officer.

This shit makes me sad.


RIP Renisha McBride

[Cynical Ninja]

The law and the majority of public opinion in the US is clearly on the side of the shooter not the shot so I can see why so many people decide to shoot first and ask questions later.

“Well I'm better off firing than not firing because if he is a mad axe murderer I'll have the drop on him and if he isn't I'll just invoke the Zimmerman clause and say I feared for my life and get off scot free.”

Believe me this is going to happen again and again, the Zimmerman case has created millions of potential trigger happy morons.

[HairOfTheDog]

POLICE SHOOTINGS & THE CASE FOR POLICE LAPEL CAMS
Jonathan Ferrell and Andy Lopez cases



Just finished reading the latest on the killing of 13 year-old Andy Lopez (pictured above); he was shot to death late last month by an on-duty deputy and gun trainer who mistook the boy's toy rifle for a real AK47.

Sad story - like the police-killing of unarmed accident victim Jonathan Ferrell, covered in the OP.

In Ferrell's case, the patrol car had a dash cam which has aided in the investigation and helped the PD ascertain swiftly that manslaughter charges should be filed against the officer/shooter who killed Ferrell.

In Lopez's case, the investigation is being based on multiple 3^rd party witness accounts (thank god there were witnesses around), the account of the deputy/shooter (Gelhaus), and the account of the rookie who was being trained by Gelhaus that day,

ANDY LOPEZ CASE - What we know now:
- Police approached Lopez from behind because they mistakenly viewed his toy rifle as a real one.
-The toy was one shared by the neighborhood boys; there was no orange tip identifying it as a replica (ether because the replica-type didn't require it or it had been removed). Lopez also had a toy handgun with him - orange tip was in tact on it.
-Lopez began to turn around without dropping the toy.
-Gelhaus claims he doesn't remember if he identified himself as "police" when he told the boy to drop the weapon and before he shot at him 8 times - in fear for his life. (This bothers me - it should be standard procedure to identify themselves as PD; Gelhaus was not facing an immediate threat when he approached the boy from behind and he was training a rookie, FFS.)
-7 of the bullets hit Lopez; witnesses say Gelhaus continued to shoot after the boy was already on the ground.

Like with Jonathan Ferrell, there is a lot of pressure on the PD for a transparent investigation and large public protests have been held.

Unlike with Ferrell, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department in California has not charged or arrested the officer who shot Lopez to death - still investigating and Lopez's family has filed a lawsuit against the county and the deputy.

It would be great if there had been something captured on dash cam in the Lopez case- like in Ferrell's case. Even better if, in both cases, the officers involved had been wearing lapel cams on their persons. (The topic of lapel cams came up in a thread/story posted by BlindGreed last week as well - hearing more and more about them).

Anyway, this is a good article that makes a compelling case for police lapel cams and highlights the positive results/stats in departments where they've already been implemented.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/201...918#page=1[/b]

Not only could lapel cams take some of the ambiguity out of shootings of unarmed civilians, but they may well help prevent them.

[Cynical Ninja]

He we go again the fucking “zimmerman amendment” being called into play again.

“I feared for my life” fair enough you get off scott free! Next case?

Where will it end? “I saw a small girl playing with a magic wand and I didn't know if it was a real magic wand capable of firing magical death rays. I told her to drop it but she didn't and I feared for my life, when she turned around I thought she might fire one of her death rays at me so I unloaded an entire clip into her little pink face”

[HairOfTheDog]

Renisha McBride Shooting/Killing: Homeowner Arrested


^ Memorial message: Renisha McBride pictured

Prosecutors announced Friday morning that they have charged Theodore P. Wafer with second degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Renisha McBride early on Nov. 2 in Dearborn Heights, Mich. Wafer also faces a felony firearms charge. Wafer is scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Friday at 20^th District Court in Dearborn Heights before Mark J. Plawecki.


^ Theodore P. Wafer, 54, charged with manslaughter

McBride, 19, was killed by a shotgun blast to the face on Wafer's front porch. Wafer reportedly told police he thought McBride was trying to break into his house, but according to a press release from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, there were no signs of forced entry at the home.

A toxicology report released Thursday indicated McBride had a .218 blood alcohol level at the time of her death, more than twice the legal limit for driving. At Friday's press conference, Worthy said she did not believe Wafer had been tested for drugs or alcohol after the shooting, according to CBS Detroit.

According to the prosecutor's press release, McBride was driving a white Ford sedan when she hit a parked car in Dearborn Heights at about 12:57 a.m.

"McBride was observed to have blood on her body and appeared to be disoriented when she left the scene on foot," the statement reads.

At 4:42 a.m. police received a 911 call reporting a fatal shooting at a home about half a mile from the scene of the accident. Once on the scene, police "observed the lifeless body of Ms. McBride in the front porch area of the defendant's house."

The statement continues: "McBride was found with a large gunshot wound to her face. It is alleged that Ms. McBride was unarmed when she was shot by the defendant as she knocked on the front screen door of the house. There were no signs of forced entry at the location."

Gerald Thurswell, the attorney representing McBride's family, told Crimesider on Thursday that he thought the fact McBride was intoxicated when she was shot "probably makes her less of a physical threat to anybody."

"The bottom line in this whole case is that he was in his house, the door is locked, he has a phone," said Thurswell of the homeowner. "All he had to do was call 911. Maybe she would have been arrested because she was drunk - but she'd be alive."

Refs:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-5...ing-death/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...Bride.html

[Duchess]

I read this earlier, I'll enclose the link to where I got it -

Some really poor reporting here. First of all Renisha McBride was extremely drunk (.218 BAC) and had also been smoking pot. Her car was not "disabled" but she crashed it into a parked car. She was assisted by some neighbors but she refused their help and fled the scene of the accident, returning a half hour later and leaving again and acting drunk and erratic according to witnesses. Three hours later she show up at this man's home trying to get into his house at nearly 4 am. This has nothing to do with the woman being black - it only had to do with a woman whose personal actions caused the entire problem. It is very sad she died, but she brought this on herself. She was underage drinking, drunk driving, hit and run, fleeing the scene of an accident/crime, and she was much closer to her own home than she was to this man's home so why did she not just go home? But the real key is that is has nothing at all to do with race. Let the DA and the Grand Jury do their jobs without the racial pressure please.

Story

[Cynical Ninja]

I've had drunk people hammering on my door before in the wee hours of the morning obviously dazed and confused. It never occurred to me to blow their fucking head off with a gun before though.

I'm guessing the defendant “feared for his life” and didn't know the victim was an “unarmed teenager”?

Sounds very familiar for some reason!

[Cynical Ninja]

At least Zimmerman faced a direct physical confrontation this guy was standing behind a securely locked door!

[HairOfTheDog]

At least Zimmerman faced a direct physical confrontation this guy was standing behind a securely locked door!

Wafer is being held on $250k bond.

The fact that he shot through a locked door is gonna make it very hard for his defense to succeed in getting him off the hook here.

The fact that he first claimed that the gun went off by accident and then quickly changed his tune to the "I fired because I was in fear for my life" defense ain't gonna help him either, IMO.

McBride was wasted off her ass - no doubt about it. Her alcohol tox level was sky high, she hit a parked car and left the scene, she was only a mile from her home when she was killed, it's not clear what she was doing for more than 2 hours between the accident and the killing... All things that would have made it hard for a defense attorney to get her off the hook for DUI, IF she had lived. But, none of those things made her a life threat to Wafer or justifies her killing. Still not illegal in this country to knock or bang on someone's front door.

I don't know if LE took a tox screen of Wafer that night - doubting it - they didn't tox screen Zimmerman the night he killed Trayvon Martin. But, I gotta wonder what caused Wafer to think shooting a gun through his front door was a better idea than calling 911 and standing at alert inside the house til they arrived.

Maybe he was altered. Or, maybe he's just bought into the "shoot first, ask questions later" bullshit, even when you don't know if there's a threat, don't know who you're shooting, don't know why you're shooting, and you have the option to call for help. I'd call people with that mentality unstable and unqualified to own a gun, or in this case, guilty of manslaughter and deserving of years behind bars - JMO.

[Cynical Ninja]

I knew he would try the “I feared for my life” defence otherwise know as the “zimmerman amendment” every shooter will try that now. More and more people are going to shoot first and ask questions later I think I'm afraid after seeing what happened to Zimmerman.

The law seems to be firmly on the side of the shooter instead of the victim which is a bit fucked up. Shooting to kill from behind a securely locked door is totally unacceptable.

[Duchess]

Shooting to kill from behind a securely locked door is totally unacceptable.

That may play a role in why the shooter was arrested & charged with murder. No one is getting away with anything.