Ohio deputy shot a news photographer

Timppa · Sep 7, 2017

We have a dangerous hobby/job!

Bodycam video shows moment deputy shot photographer | Daily Mail Online

zombiesniper · Sep 7, 2017

Nope.
That's just a chicken **** cop.
Police should never have the right to shoot first in a situation like that. A warning should be obligatory. Otherwise it's murder or attempted murder.
There was no excuse.

Braineack · Sep 7, 2017

zombiesniper said:
That's just a chicken **** cop.

redundant.

zombiesniper said:
Police should never have the right to shoot first in a situation like that.

police are trained to shoot first. It is instilled in their brains that they must solve all situations with a gun and everyone is a threat -- regardless of how ridiculous the situation may be.

smoke665 · Sep 7, 2017

I read the article. Appears the victim thankfully is okay. As some one who's been with officers on the scene, in the dark of night, I can attest to how easy it is to mistake what you see. I feel for the men and women in blue given the environment of the last few years. As in any officer involved shooting there needs to be an investigation of the facts before passing judgement on actions.

Derrel · Sep 7, 2017

Wow..a totally,totally,totally chicken***t cop! Shot the man from some distance. Wow. Pathetic.

Destin · Sep 7, 2017

I won't judge until an investigation is conducted. I work alongside police officers and am friends with many of them. I understand how hard their job can be better than most.

It does appear that it may have been a very bad call by this cop, but the video doesn't really show what the officer saw either. There are a lot of variables to consider.

tirediron · Sep 7, 2017

I hope that policeman spends the rest of his life in jail and the photographer comes to his senses and sues him for every cent he has!

tirediron · Sep 7, 2017

Destin said:
I ...It does appear that it may have been a very bad call by this cop, but the video doesn't really show what the officer saw either. There are a lot of variables to consider.

It doesn't matter what he thought he saw... if there were no rounds incoming, there's no reason for rounds outgoing.

smoke665 · Sep 7, 2017

As I and @Destin commented let the investigation proceed first. He may well be at fault, but judging him from afar based on a story and a snippet of video without benefit of being there, is premature. Sometimes the difference between an officer going home after his shift or not, is measured in a fraction of a second. Being on scene, in the dark with strobes flashing is surreal, movements take on weird actions, your night vision is zilch because of the lights. For some reason, most police departments seem to feel the need to run the lights at the highest power levels. Add to that background noises that come in to play, that you have no idea where they're coming from, and the chances for errors are multiplied.

Destin · Sep 7, 2017

tirediron said:
Destin said:

I ...It does appear that it may have been a very bad call by this cop, but the video doesn't really show what the officer saw either. There are a lot of variables to consider.

Click to expand...

It doesn't matter what he thought he saw... if there were no rounds incoming, there's no reason for rounds outgoing.

Not at all true. Police academies in the US and around the world teach officers to meet lethal threats with lethal force. Subject pulling out a gun can absolutely call for lethal force depending on the circumstance. If you wait for them to shoot first, you'll be dead the majority of the time.

Now, a situation like this might be different. The officer was far away. Maybe he could have yelled out a warning at least or something. I don't know. I wasn't there and neither were any of us.

Until an investigation is conducted and all angles are considered, nobody can judge actions here. That body camera footage doesn't show what the officer saw that caused his reaction, it only shows his reaction. In the dark with strobe lights going it's easy for things to play tricks on your mind.

I've been on 911 scenes and had guns waved at me. I've been in situations where I was screaming for the police on my radio because I had a pissed off family member trying to kick my ass. I've had to sedate people that are high on drugs and in a state of excited delerium. I know how fast things change on scenes like this.

I'm not defending the officer, but I'm not judging him yet either. Until you've been on fast changing emergency scenes, you can't truly understand how vulnerable one can feel or how fast things can go downhill.

SquarePeg · Sep 7, 2017

No warning? Not taking the time to get a decent look? I don't think their training is to shoot first and ask questions later. What if that had been a teenager with the camera and tripod? Or a senior citizen with a metal cane? Or a mom taking a dark colored stroller out of her car?

Gary A. · Sep 7, 2017

"The Clark County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio today released body camera footage showing the moment a deputy shot a local news photographer without any warning after mistaking his camera and tripod for a gun."

"Without Any Warning"

I've worked with law enforcement and under the conditions described by the video and in the story ... there is absolutely no reason to shoot without a warning. Apparently the cop panicked thinking he was under attack. Deputy Shaw may be a great guy, but possibly a bad cop. One would think that the first action the deputy should take, would be to make himself safe ... hit the deck, get out of the vehicle via the door opposite the danger ... put the engine block between you and the danger ... assess the situation ... call in backup ... verbally confront the danger.

Designer · Sep 7, 2017

Man turned Super Soaker water gun into real shotgun: cops

real guns that look like nerf guns - Google Search

Tell me again about why you have a "right" to point something at a police officer.

SCraig · Sep 7, 2017

It's very easy to "Armchair Quarterback" a situation like that and to say the police officer should have done this or he should have done that. But when YOU are the one in the dark, alone, and it appears someone is getting a rifle out of their vehicle all of a sudden the situation becomes very real, very fast. I wouldn't have their job for anything in the world, and one of the main reasons is that people are willing to immediately judge them and interject what they should have done.

Have you ever watched a police officer closely at a traffic stop? Many times they will pause and touch the left rear fender of the vehicle (or at least they used to, I don't know if they still do or not). The reason is in that touch they leave their finger prints on the vehicle so that if they get killed (let me repeat that: so that if they get KILLED) there is a better chance of finding the vehicle. Does anyone here have to take precautions like that in their job?

My dad was on the Tennessee Highway Patrol for many years. He started as a patrol officer and retired as a colonel. By doing that, be being able to retire, he accomplished the number one goal of every police officer: He came home alive every night.