Right, well there’s clearly a distinction. I’m relying on that one media report quoted upthread.
Expert witnesses make a god damned fortune.
What’s the percentage of hung juries when a cop is on trial? I imagine it’s a lot higher compared to other trials.
No idea. But I can’t think of too many high profile ones. Granted, most of those were acquittals. But jury room pressures are going to be just as intense in a cop defendant trial as a normal one.
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Authorities said Potter’s Taser was yellow and that she was wearing it in accordance with Brooklyn Center policy, with the Taser holstered on her left side in a “straight-draw position,” meaning she would have had to use her left hand to draw the Taser.
Her other left.
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I’m gonna need you to be more specific, are you talking about the platonic “libertarians” who exist in cartoons or people who actually self-identify as “libertarian”?
I’m talking about your typical white male upper mid class 2+2 crowd/tech + finance bros who hate taxes and dislike government waste. You can appeal to them on the grounds of the ridiculous misallocation of funds going to the police for little to no return more than the human element, since they will inevitably consider DW at least somewhat responsible for his poor decision making.
You think you can.
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It’s not possible a 26 year veteran made that particular mistake. She drew her gun knowing it was not appropriate.
The problem with doing anything with the mess that is the police is mentally. The public service force I envision would unlikely qualify anyone who is currently a police officer because how they fundamentally view the world and act towards it.
The reality of traffic stops in this country are now “Fo what I say or I will murder you.” Instead they should be did handing out traffic citations. If someone decides to flee, then you let them go and you turn let the appropriately trained people go after them.
Your first, second, third, fourth or fifth instinct when someone turns their back to you and tries to run away can be to murder them.
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Post patrol cars outside any high end country club at 10 pm on a Saturday night and you’ll have about a 50% DUI hit rate.
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That will never ever happen and you know why.
imo
I think she’s almost certainly guilty of the manslaughter, which she was charged with. But do we really think that she just decided to pull out her gun and execute him, knowing that she’s on camera? I’m sorry, that just seems unlikely to me. There are clearly systemic problems with officers use of force including when they are allowed to use tasers. There are also clearly problems with designing fucking tasers to look, feel, and act like guns. But I’m not quite ready to buy that she was just like, fuck it, I know I’m on camera, I know I”m almost certainly gonna be charged with a homicide, but this fucker needs to die. But maybe I’m wrong, who knows, I guess it’s possible.
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now this is a hell of a turn of a phrase
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Chauvin sat on him for 9 minutes, slowly killing on him, and then staying on him minutes after it was pretty clear he was dead. The two situations are pretty different. Chauvin’s is clearly murder. This lady is manslaughter.
How do you think she did it accidentally? Seems improbable she was super experienced and choose to draw a completely different weapon from the oposite side of her body.
She would need to show me she had a brain tumor for me to believe that.
Shooting a taser and a gun are not that similar.
In a fair world she would have to prove she drew and fired the taser accidentally.
If a 26 year veteran police officer doesn’t know they have drawn their gun and then proceed to fire it, literally no person is capable of knowing that. There is so much muscle memory involved. Drawing the wrong side, by accident, just can’t happen. Every millisecond of it would feel completely wrong, or more likely completely right.
Did she consciously decide to murder the guy? I don’t know. But she definitely consciously didn’t stop herself.
I am not advocating going after a greater charge. I am just clearly calling bs on her accidental argument.
Requiring me to believe that she drew her firearm from the side of her body she carries her firearm with the hand she draws her firearm with and then aiming her firearm and then pulling the trigger with her finger, is never going to happen.
Cops shoot people they should not shoot all the time.
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I don’t think Chauvin wanted to or thought he was killing Floyd. But his depraved recklessness makes it murder. That Chauvin thought he was justified at the time isn’t a compelling defense. A reasonable person wouldn’t think the same thing.
The taser lady’s actions weren’t depraved, she just made a negligent mistake. Which is manslaughter, for sure, but very different from what Chauvin did.
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I think it’s worse then that. I think Chauvin clearly didn’t care if Floyd lived or died. That’s what made it depraved.
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