i didn't see the guy plant the taser. i'm shocked he didn't reach into the ankle holster and toss a throw-away on the guy.

planting a taser is beyond ******ed. makes no sense. he could have planted a throw-away on the guy, as he was cuffing him and nobody would have noticed.

after all, how would planting a taser justify unloading 10 shots into a guy running away from you?

cops are really dumb. they need to get rid of the rules that disqualify smart people.

Oh, really?

In before "but clearly the victim deserves some of the blame!"

Oh damn...

Harold:

I think it's more like 50-50 - it could go either way.

The outcome is going to depend on two things: (1.) The composition of the jury, and (2.) Whether we have seen all of the videotape.

Everybody has seen the images of the cop pulling his gun and firing (five times) into the back of the fleeing suspect. Judged from that perspective, it looks like an open and shut case - the cop is guilty. What we haven't seen is what was occurring in the moments immediately preceding that sequence of events. All we see is the officer drawing his gun and firing. There definitely was "something" going on prior to the commencement of the shooting. Officers don't routinely pull someone over for a "traffic violation," draw their gun (unprovoked) and start shooting. So the disposition of this case will boil down to exactly what was going on prior to the commencement of the shooting? Will the officer's attorney be able to present a convincing argument (or a believable argument) that his client did have a reasonable fear for his own life?

This is a criminal case which will require a unanimous jury verdict. All it will take for the officer to get an acquittal is just one juror believing the officer's story. A really good attorney can create just enough "reasonable doubt" to cause one juror to balk. Famed criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey has maintained throughout his career that the results of a trial depend on whether or not one gets a "good" jury. (That was certainly the case for O.J. Simpson.)

Make no doubt about it, this is a racially charged case. If the officer manages to wind up with a jury of twelve of his peers who are as lily white as he is, his chances of acquittal are probably increased. OTOH, if he faces a jury of twelve African-Americans, he should probably start praying for his own life ... A jury split right down the middle - six whites and six African-Americans - could go either way. Also, additional information about both the officer and the victim - which is sure to come out - could have a decisive impact on the eventual outcome. Right now we just don't know all the facts. This case is not even a week old.

i'll lay 3/1 that says this guy is going down for some degree of murder.

if he was unarmed, there is nothing that can justify unloading into a guy running away.

Look up the video from the NY Times. It clearly shows the cop going back, grabbing the taser and dropping it next to the guy. They show it in slow motion. And he did this with another cop standing right there. It was so casual the other cop didn't even notice.

To walk, the state would have failed to prove that the cop lacked probable cause to believe a fleeing Scott posed a serious threat to others.

Alan, the cop fired 8 times. What happened prior doesn't matter. All the cop had to do was call for backup and chase the guy. The 2nd cop showed up pretty f'ing quick He was probably literally 100 feet away. It's not like the dude was in the woods and at risk for losing the guy if he ran. Even if he was, so what? He was pulled over for a busted taillight, not a robbery/murder suspect.

Correct, but the question (at trial) will be whether or not the victim actually engaged in a scuffle (or some type of altercation) with the officer and actually tried to get his weapon - either the officer's taser or his gun. If the officer is able to convince even one juror that was what actually happened, he'll probably get an acquittal. (The ruling would be, in effect, a justified homicide based on the officer's belief that his life was in danger.) It will come down to a resolution (and a judgment) as to exactly what occurred prior to the shots being fired.

you don't exactly understand how trials work. one person would result in a new trial. he has to convince everyone of that.

so even if his defense is "he went for my gun," which is a likely position. it doesn't ****ing matter.

if that was the case, he's justified in taking his gun out and perusing the suspect. if the suspect turns around and charges, now he can kill him.

When he shot, the guy was already running away. Too late for feared for your life defence. You could show me video of a fight for the gun, but if I was on the jury I would still convict.

I can't even.

eagerly looking for 3/1 bets here.

the best chance of me losing that bet is by the DA making a manslaughter offer.

in court, i'm never losing.

How is the cop's life in danger in this photo?

Omg if this guy walks , I swear even I am rioting. If this guy ****ing lives , I think I'm rioting too.

How does he know he isnt? Black guy spastically runs away from routine stop, that has to arouse the suspicion of "if you're not extremely guilty of something then why are you running?" Next thing black guy spins around pulls a 9mm out of his waistband and starts firing. I think a lot of these cops are kind of programmed like soldiers to just act on impulse based on certain event triggers. The cop has taken down numerous people before without shooting them, so it's not like this is his first time making a judgement call. Whatever happened this time something in his brain said "this is the moment".

My thoughts. This is clearly 2nd degree murder. However, cops always get away with this if there is even a .001% chance of a legit safety argument. The one thing the video doesn't show is the deceased getting tasered. The cop will argue that the black dude grabbed his taser and at the point he went in to full survivor mode. If the dumb **** hadn't made the ham handed attempt at planting evidence then he probably isn't even facing charges at this point. Also interesting is that police report is a total lie about providing first aid. They claimed cpr was performed which is obvi bull****.

Are you ****ing kidding me ?

That's why I changed my mind from LOL, he's getting away to WTF dumbass, don't plant the taser. I think planting the taser will bite the cop in the ass in a courtroom.

it's taking everything i have not to insult javi right now.

Back to this whole "planting evidence" thing. He didnt plant ****. The shell casings are still 50 ft back from where he fired his service weapon so there is no advantage here in moving the taser forward. Plus tasers contain AFID tags, which are like confetti marked with the tasers serial # that scatter everywhere when fired, precisely so that evidence of use is produced at the time of firing. The cop probably relocated the taser because he didnt feel it needed to be laying in the grass some 50 feet back with the cables danging off a corpse across the park.

javi, being a cop is inherently dangerous (as they never forget to remind us). not as dangerous as a dozen other jobs i could name, but... are you really arguing in favor of unloading 10 (or how many ever shots) into a guy over hypothetical what-ifs ??????????

"relocated it". that's almost what an ******* would say.

Guy flee's, then shoots when cornered

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrMWoikwMgU

Dont be so ****ing results oriented. Until the victim is in handcuffs and has been properly searched the officer has no idea that he isnt armed. Just because he ran away does not mean he cant turn from defender to aggressor.