Unarmed Man Charged With Assault Because NYC Police Shot At Him And Hit Random People

[Feuer Frei!]

Interesting. From a few perspectives.


So sticking your hand in your pocket can be construed as a felony, in New York.

Sounds a bit like Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood-style.

Trigger-happy? Crowded area? Possibility of innocent bystanders being hit?

All reality, it seems:

An emotionally disturbed but unarmed man walks into heavy traffic near Times Square. Police officers arrive on the scene and try to apprehend him. The unarmed man reaches into his pocket, prompting police to open fire in a crowded area. Man is unwounded but two bystanders are shot

SOURCE (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131205/07061525466/unarmed-man-charged-with-assault-because-nyc-police-shot-him-hit-random-pedestrians.shtml)

[Sailor Steve]

Were these cops trigger-happy, undertrained or just insane?

A lucky thing more people weren't hurt or killed. I did like the humor in the author's line "...but not before two pedestrians had been shot in an effort to ensure their safety."

[Stealhead]

Yeah the same agency that allows "stop and frisk".

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

This linked (http://www.popehat.com/2013/12/05/nypd-baby-you-know-we-love-you-why-do-you-make-us-angry-like-that/) in Feuer's article is also interesting:
As long as you ignore the fact that the shooting victims were innocent bystanders, hitting two people with three shots represents unusual excellence in marksmanship for the NYPD, matching another recent incident in which skilled NYPD officers were able to hit their target and nine bystanders with only 16 bullets. Overall the NYPD usually requires about 331 rounds to hit 54 targets, of which 14 will be innocent bystanders, 24 will be dogs, and 16 will be people the NYPD was actually aiming at. Statistically, if you aren't a dog, it is slightly more dangerous to be the person the NYPD was shooting at than a bystander (16 people out of 331 shots for intended targets for a 4.8% hit rate vs. 14 people out of 331 shots for bystanders, a 4.2% hit rate.) NYPD has a better success rate for other weapons, and certain factors, like shooting unarmed people in the back, tend to increase hit rates.Read the whole thing. There are also links to news coverage of NYPD's finest days. :nope:

[Jimbuna]

Sounds like someone oopsied :oops:

[Wolferz]

HALT! Don't make me shoot bystanders!:hmmm:

More proof that New York City is an insane asylum.
Time to build the wall, block the bridges and call in Snake Plissken.:stare:
I guess Mayor Bloomturd will outlaw Metro cards next.

[Sailor Steve]

HALT! Don't make me shoot bystanders!:hmmm:
:rotfl2: :rock:

Just for the sake of sanity we would like to point out that approximately eight million (8,000,000) innocent bystanders were not shot by the NYPD yesterday.

[ETR3(SS)]

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pew-pew-pew-merica.jpg

[Moonlight]

This linked (http://www.popehat.com/2013/12/05/nypd-baby-you-know-we-love-you-why-do-you-make-us-angry-like-that/) in Feuer's article is also interesting:
Read the whole thing. There are also links to news coverage of NYPD's finest days. :nope:
Blimey, one woman kneecapped and the other one got it in the ass, a poor show of law enforcement by the NYPD.:nope:

[GoldenRivet]

NYC is a strange place, last time i was there i was riding in a rickshaw bike, the biker moved over to avoid a parked car and as he was in the process of moving over to the right he almost made contact with a slow moving cop car in heavy traffic.

the cop has his window rolled down and looked right at the driver of the rickshaw "Hey, watch it a-hole" (edited for subsim readers)

I was quite surprised the cop said that

Stay classy New York

[Wolferz]

Would they have charged the guy with murder if one of the cops had actually killed a bystander?:nope:
If anyone should be charged, it should be the cops. But, they're above the law in NYC I reckon.:arrgh!:

New York' new motto:

"We make up laws to fit your crime to insure a 100% conviction rate."

[Stealhead]

NYC is a strange place, last time i was there i was riding in a rickshaw bike, the biker moved over to avoid a parked car and as he was in the process of moving over to the right he almost made contact with a slow moving cop car in heavy traffic.

the cop has his window rolled down and looked right at the driver of the rickshaw "Hey, watch it a-hole" (edited for subsim readers)

I was quite surprised the cop said that

Stay classy New York

I had something similar happen about a year ago in my county of residence.I was driving my F-250 work truck through a small town and I went to turn left into a store.The town is on a blind curve so the speed limit is 30 MPH.So I wait for this other car to drive past south bound no one is behind him so I turn after he passes.Low and behold as I am turning a Sheriffs car came flying around the bend he was going well past 30MPH to come up so fast just driving not running lights or anything.

As I am walking out of my truck this jerk pulls up in the next spot and Says "you need to watch yourself buddy" well it ticked me off a bit because the near miss was his fault not mine because he was going so damn fast to go from not even being visible to right upon on a blind curve that has about 200 yards of open space after you round it.So I said "if you had not been going double the speed limit through a town on a blind curve we would not be having this conversation buddy". He just sat there of course because he knew I was right and was not afraid to say it to his face so he mumbled something to himself and drove away.

Every LE agency has a few goof balls in it I suppose the larger it gets the more you'll find.Funny thing is a friend of mine who also works on the same department told me that they actually fired a few people because they where driving recklessly.One group actually had been drag racing each other and clipped and one car flipped the only way they knew what happened was because a Deputy Explorer kid was with them and dimed them out this of course did not make the local papers the real cause of the crash.

[Aktungbby]

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pew-pew-pew-merica.jpg
Where are Larry and Moe!!!?

[Stealhead]

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pew-pew-pew-merica.jpg


And I told him place the doughnut on the floor on top of a napkin and step way away from the doughnut.

Sorry i could not resist.

[mapuc]

Could be that I'm wrong, but reading this thread and the links you post got me to think of this

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=209620

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Don't see the correlation :hmmm:

[mapuc]

Don't see the correlation :hmmm:

Just shot and let other do the thinking.

By reading your post and the link I got this "just shot and let other..."

Markus

[Aktungbby]

Sorry i could not resist.

'Resistance is futile'; you have been absorbed:03:

[Jimbuna]

Ah, okay.

[Aktungbby]

http://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/pew-pew-pew-merica.jpg
Pew pew pew pew? what happened to 'BUDDA BUDDA-K'TAM K'TAM!!!'? this joker's readin' the wrong comics...but then they can't read in da' Bronx...or Queens anyhow:/\\!! a little bias?; I'm an old Brooklyn boy!

[Platapus]

I can understand charging this guy with assault with respect to the police officers. But I can't see how they can hold him responsible for what the police did. :nope:

But as others have posted, The police seem to be given unlimited authority in the interests of "public safety".. even when that authority results in the public being unsafe.

That is what is scary. If there is one part of the government that needs strict limitations on authority and have significant accountability, it is the police.