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Walter Scott

Political Discussion
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  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32213482

    Why was he shot? Why did the officer feel the need to shoot him - eight times - in the back as he ran away?

    We've had these discussions about police and institutional racism before and people will pretty much believe what they believe. But there certainly seems to be something wrong with the american police force.

  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32213482

    Why was he shot? Why did the officer feel the need to shoot him - eight times - in the back as he ran away?

    We've had these discussions about police and institutional racism before and people will pretty much believe what they believe. But there certainly seems to be something wrong with the american police force.

    @gftchris said:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32213482

    Why was he shot? Why did the officer feel the need to shoot him - eight times - in the back as he ran away?

    We've had these discussions about police and institutional racism before and people will pretty much believe what they believe. But there certainly seems to be something wrong with the american police force.

    Well the officer was indicted. What's the problem here?

    WSS

  • @gftchris said:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32213482

    Why was he shot? Why did the officer feel the need to shoot him - eight times - in the back as he ran away?

    We've had these discussions about police and institutional racism before and people will pretty much believe what they believe. But there certainly seems to be something wrong with the american police force.

    Well the officer was indicted. What's the problem here?

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    Well the officer was indicted. What's the problem here?

    WSS

    The problem is that the guy is now dead. The fact that you don't see that as a problem might be an indicator of the problem.

  • And are there any details about the traffic stop or the arrest or the fact the suspect was running from police? Or other races of the two people involved all that matter?

    WSS

  • @westside-steve said:

    Well the officer was indicted. What's the problem here?

    WSS

    The problem is that the guy is now dead. The fact that you don't see that as a problem might be an indicator of the problem.

    @gftchris said:

    The problem is that the guy is now dead. The fact that you don't see that as a problem might be an indicator of the problem.

    But I do see the problem.

    I've never supported gunning someone down while he was running away.

    That's a stupid accusation and you know it.

    WSS

  • The attempted planting of the taser is a nice touch.

    Does SC have the death penalty?

  • He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

  • He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

    @diehardbrownsfan said:

    He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

    Yeah there are over a million law enforcement officers and we get one clear cut murder carried out by a police officer. I am sure there are a few more that get through the cracks but even then those numbers are miniscule compared to the number of officers and the number of interactions they have with the public.

    I fully expect there to be riots and stupidity which is fucking lovely because I am visiting Charleston, SC in July. North Charleston is basically a ghetto that adjoins to it.

  • The problem is not specific to this incident, or the demographic of the people involved. US police have killed about 100 people up to March of this year alone in the line of duty - that's more than one a day. Compare and contrast with other countries in the developed world. For example the stat that came out the other day about US police killing more people this year than UK police since about 1900.

    I'm not saying it's racism, discrimination or anything like that, although it maybe plays a part, but there seems to be a shoot first, think sometimes approach to law enforcement in the USA.

  • He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

    @diehardbrownsfan said:

    He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

    Not all police, I'm sure. But far, far more than there should be. On average, someone is killed every day in the US by the police.

  • @diehardbrownsfan said:

    He was charged with murder. You're insinuating that all American Police have a shoot first mentality because you see a few headline news stories. Ferguson, MO was clearly not a shooting in the back. I have seen the video and think this Police Officer is in serious trouble.

    But lets rejoice, CNN can now have a 'breaking news' every ten minutes, showing Obama, Holder, Sharpton and Jackson speaking about this. And some more race riots and lootings.

    Not all police, I'm sure. But far, far more than there should be. On average, someone is killed every day in the US by the police.

    @gftchris said:

    Not all police, I'm sure. But far, far more than there should be. On average, someone is killed every day in the US by the police.

    We have far more people and far more firearms carried by criminals. So while it may be one a day, how many are unjustified? Likely few and far between but I haven't seen the stats. I just know that every time there is even a questionable shooting by officers, the news makes it a giant story.

  • Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

  • Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

    @gftchris said:

    Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

    Does that take into account the number of illegally carried firearms by criminals? A criminal brandishing a gun tends to escalate things.

  • Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

    @gftchris said:

    Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

    And just about twice the number of violent crimes in the UK. I saw an online statistic which stated it was like 5 times higher but checked PolitiFact which said that wasn't true.

    So?

    WSS

  • Here are some crime statistics by race in the USA compiled by the FBI. Its 3 years old, but I'm sure its fairly accurate.

    http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/tables/43tabledatadecoverviewpdf

  • @gftchris said:

    Far more people would only be relevant if the numbers were comparable. For example, the US has around 5 times as many people than the UK - there's a bit more than 5 times more police killings in the US.

    And just about twice the number of violent crimes in the UK. I saw an online statistic which stated it was like 5 times higher but checked PolitiFact which said that wasn't true.

    So?

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    And just about twice the number of violent crimes in the UK. I saw an online statistic which stated it was like 5 times higher but checked PolitiFact which said that wasn't true.

    So?

    WSS

    @logicisforsquares said:

    Does that take into account the number of illegally carried firearms by criminals? A criminal brandishing a gun tends to escalate things.

    So...enforce your damn gun laws and the first resort when dealing with "suspicious characters" won't be to shoot them! Yes, this is going to turn in to a gun debate - not what I was aiming for.

    The first line of argument when talking about not allowing guns (outside of the constitution, which is a ridiculous argument), is that you need it for protection because the criminals will have guns. Step 1 - stop the criminals having guns. End of steps.

    The second is usually for protection from the government. If you think there's even a small chance that the US government would install a dictatorship and seize control of the country militarily then a) you're an idiot and 😎 if they did, how long before Russia and china gleefully joined forces to remove the US military, aided and abetted by the rest of the world?

    Then comes the "but there are bears in the woods" argument. Sure, absolutely, you may very well need a rifle or shotgun for your protection there. No problem with that. But do we think that most gun crimes are committed with these weapons? A guy wanders in to down town new york carrying a rifle over his back and nobody notices? No. So keep your guns on your farms if you must, if there's no other, more humane (and equally reliable) self defence option.

    Did I miss anything?

  • We could execute all violent criminals across the board and non violent criminals who use a gun in the commission of that crime.

    WSS

  • We could execute all violent criminals across the board and non violent criminals who use a gun in the commission of that crime.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    We could execute all violent criminals across the board and non violent criminals who use a gun in the commission of that crime.

    WSS

    Execute everybody. No crime anymore!

  • The one thing I hate with these, is its to hard to find reliable data on police "arrest-related deaths". The FBI allows but doesn't force law agencies to report deaths, which quite a few do not report, the numbers I have found range from an average of 400 a year to an average of 1000(just deaths not if they where justified or not).

    On the other hand police deaths are recorded all the time, 127 in 2014 most by non criminal activities(medical, accidents, etc)

    Line of Duty Deaths: 127
    9/11 related illness: 1
    Assault: 2
    Automobile accident: 26
    Drowned: 2
    Duty related illness: 3
    Fire: 1
    Gunfire: 47
    Gunfire (Accidental): 2
    Heart attack: 19
    Motorcycle accident: 4
    Struck by vehicle: 5
    Vehicle pursuit: 5
    Vehicular assault: 10