It’s really hard to second guess a jury when you don’t have access to the same evidence and arguments. This is not 1953 in Mississippi. Reporting is extremely biased and inflammatory these days, especially from the NYT. I have a lot more confidence in a jury than the MSM. They are only interested in more clicks and eyeballs.
It may not be taught in driver’s ed, but how to deal with LEOs should be discussed in a CCW class.
“No, I have never been chosen for a jury. I wouldn’t want to second guess people and their motive but some things are really, really clear.”
If you had ever served on a jury you would realize that it is NEVER really, really clear. 12 people have to agree (8 when I was on federal). As @sylvan8798 said, the jury instructions are also not really really clear.
@greenwitch you could never have served on this jury because in your eyes you had already made a judgement. You must agree to be totally unbiased and that you will deliberate in good faith based only on the facts presented to you and following all jury instructions as written.
I just watched the dash cam released today. I won’t say it’s murder but it was definitely manslaughter. The fact that the jury wouldn’t even convict him of reckless discharge of a firearm tells me the defense attorney did a good job with jury selection. The cop was biased and some of the jurors were biased.
Cop asked for his license and registration, philando handed him a paper then calmly said I have to tell you I have a firearm. No one calmly states I have a firearm in preparation to use it when a cop has his hand on his gun.
I’m so upset!
“It shouldn’t be our job to put cops at ease.”
Out of self preservation, I would never assume it wasn’t my job to put a police officer at ease. If I have even an inkling that the officer sees me as a threat or is uneasy about our encounter, I am going to do everything I can to show him I am not a threat or to make him feel at ease. Because if I don’t help him figure out that I am not a threat, he has to guess about whether or not I am. And if he guesses wrong, I could be dead. Even if I posed no actual threat. I am not sure what good does it do me to stand on a principle about which I might be right (that I shouldn’t have to help put the officer at ease) if I could end up dead.
For those of you who keep track of this sort of thing, there is a murder trial of a police officer going on in Cincinnati right now. Jury is currently deliberating and has been out since yesterday at about 1 pm.
Also a trial in Milwaukee right now.
Tensing in Cincinnati will have a hung jury at best. I’m shocked they even retried the case.
@gclsports Philando was calm and easy going and look where it got him.
If a cop is instantly scared because he sees someone black skin, you get cases such as this one.
Completely sick that we have the burden of making sure some cop doesn’t kill us when we are just driving around, with no broken tail lights, and are legal gun owners. But if course only some of us have that burden.
The silence of the NRA here is just deafening. I think @roethlisburger’s advice is good concerning how to deal with the police as a legal gun owner. But I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Philando, or someone like him, had taken a class like that and gotten killed anyway.
I just watched the entire dash cam of the police stop. Bad communication on all parts. However, based on the dash cam, had I been on the jury, I would’ve convicted the officer.
“Bad communication on all parts”
Isn’t the impetus on the trained professional? The LEO? They are trained for this stuff.
I agree. And the fact that Philando handed him a piece of paper and that went well should have calmed down the cop. But he was tense and ready to fire from the beginning. That was the problem.
Just watched dashcam. The ineptitude of this officer is astounding and it makes the job of competent officers that more difficult…
And I have plenty of law enforcement in my family who were horrified by this verdict.
I was amazed and the girlfriend’s ability to remain calm and level headed after what went down. Maybe she should be entrusted to protect and serve!
The fact the cop shot 7 times at close range - literally one foot! - and 5 went into the ceiling plus his swearing shows he was a loose cannon. If it was a true self protection move by an in control LEO, 7 shots at a 12 inch range would not have been needed.
The video footage is shocking and disturbing. So, so wrong.
What is LEO
Law Enforcement Officer, I’m guessing.
Bad communication isn’t a capital offense.
(And I don’t believe there was bad communication on Castile’s part.)
I really don’t know how anyone can watch that dash cam video and not vote to convict. But I wasn’t in the court room
Yup, Law Enforcement Officer.
Are LEOs trained these days to completely unload their weapon in close range in a vehicle with a family inside?!
Milwaukee police officer found not guilty (verdict was just released; more news to follow): http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2017/06/21/jury-sherman-park-officers-trial-starts-second-day-deliberations-question/415599001/
I thought this situation couldn’t get any sadder or more infuriating – until I saw the video of Diamond Reynolds and her daughter in the back of the police car.
How can you listen to that 4-year-old child ("I don’t want you to get shooted,” ““I wish this town was safer… I don’t want it to be like this anymore”) and not feel your heart break?
@scout59 just heartbreaking.