Maybe if he wasn't a thieving scumbag...

[Neil]

...he wouldn't be dead? Or is that not something to consider?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/12/playstation.theft.ap/index.html

Anyone know if the kid had stolen the unit(s)?

[MikePizzoff]

I don't think that because someone steals something as petty as Playstation 3's they deserve to have their life taken. I don't think that should happen for stealing anything, in fact.

[_liam_]

hear hear. it's effectively equating electrical equipment above human life in terms of value, and that isn't right. i know there's plenty of wannabe hardline right wing types on this forum who'll say "well he deserved it" but if it was their kid rest assured they'd be catatonic with shock & planning some kind of retaliation.

[Neil]

I completely agree... But unfortunately with any theft there is a risk. When you beat someone (to steal their property), there is the risk you may accidentaly kill them, severely wound them, or mentally scar them. He (to be confirmed though) decided to do this to another individual.

Furthermore, unfortunately in the states, arrests do end in accidental shootings sometimes - It's bound to happen with guns floating around. This was another risk he "agreed to" while steeling the item.


This individual decided to take these risks (to be confirmed though), and paid a somewhat unfair price.

I don't mean to sound tough, but accidental shootings happen in the US during arrests. We did not have some innocent young kid being shot here, we had a thief who was willing to take the risk(s) (to be confirmed though) - be they written in VERY small print.

[capncnut]

I understand why the teen was shot but why did they have to take it out on the poor dog that was defending it's home. What is it with police officers in the US? They can't leave a barking dog alone can they? :D

[Terran]

Shouldnt this go under the Itchy Fingered Deputies thread?

[Marie]

I don't think that because someone steals something as petty as Playstation 3's they deserve to have their life taken. I don't think that should happen for stealing anything, in fact.


hear hear. it's effectively equating electrical equipment above human life in terms of value, and that isn't right. i know there's plenty of wannabe hardline right wing types on this forum who'll say "well he deserved it" but if it was their kid rest assured they'd be catatonic with shock & planning some kind of retaliation.

Maybe it's the fact that he beat the crap out of someone to steal the Playstations and the officer thought he was in danger? Ya think?

And my kids, should I have any, will learn to leave other people's stuff alone.

M_

[_liam_]

indeed, well it's all very well saying your kids will never do that kinda thing, but just supposing they did... is what i'm saying. would you be like "ah well, he was committing a crime, he deserved it" maybe i'm assuming too much here, but i don't think so!
i did nutty things as a teenager that my parents certainly didnt raise me to, these things sometimes happen, teenagers are mad. it's not like he was stealing money for food or for a drug habit, he just wanted a ps3 a bit too badly...

kid shouldnt have been stealing/beating, the cop probably shouldnt have gone so far as to have shot him, i dunno. i dont think anyone is strictly in the wrong in this situation, it's just an unfortunate series of events.

[Neil]

i dont think anyone is strictly in the wrong in this situation, it's just an unfortunate series of events.

Indeed...

The shooting of the dog sounds odd though! Two shots for the kid, and some more for the dog? Hmm...

[_liam_]

heh, i know what you mean Neil, but i guess we have to empathise with the police officer, he's in a job where his life is threatened more often than most, he's armed, and real life isn't like the movies, i just assume that when youre armed with a weapon you don't always use it correctly, sometimes you might panic or get taken by suprise, or just make a mistake like any other person, except in this guy's case his mistake is made with a loaded weapon and the consequences are slightly more grave.

it is still pretty odd about the dog though.

[Tricky]

Two weeks ago,the girl im seeing's dad went into his office which is built onto the side of the house,because his internet had gone off so he went to reconnect it.Anyway when he walked in he was smashed over the head with one of these!
http://images.autoanything.com/images/products/med/driving_accessories/life_hammer.jpg

two theiving ****s had broken in via the shutter door and were in the process of taking all his expensive computer equipment (which is why the net had gone off cos they were disconnecting everything)
Luckily he didnt go down and being a former professional boxer he grabbed the lad that hit him & started beating the living crap out of him,then his mate tried stabbing him with a screwdriver!he turned on him as well & they both fled pretty beaten up & with none of his property.Anyway its a shame the police over here cant shoot those little bastards who are prepared to use violence like that!the only good thing is her dad is a hard bloke & they got more than they bargained for when they broke in!

[MinionZombie]

Kudos to your lady's Dad, that's one tough cookie, the coppers here need more protection (as well as more of them on the street rather than lazily making their way to distress calls, that seems to be the case recently in the papers).

Anyway, I know exactly what Neil means, while death for P$3 theft isn't equal or fair, the idiot was (apparently) stealing. If he was indeed out stealing, then it's no wonder he ended up getting shot - it was in America. The impression I get is that you're more than likely going to end up with a gun pointed at you when on the wrong side of a rozzer, so something like this was bound to happen - if you don't go stealing, you don't have to worry about getting shot.

[Tricky]

Its a shame that the police told him not to use his fists in future,because of his boxing past they are classed as offensive weapons in the eyes of the law :mad:

[_liam_]

hmm i dunno, light stun weapons/chemical sprays perhaps. ive been accosted by police for various bullsh*t reasons over the years mainly due to my appearence, and i have a (more common than you'd think) heart condition that means a taser could kill me.

police aren't always the knights in shining armour we'd like them to be, and as such i think it's a mistake to arm them ALL with terminal force, as that kinda force is usually unnecessary in this country, and in the cases where it is, we have special response units.

fair play to tricky's missus' dad though.

[Arcades057]

I thought originally that the guy who the cops shot was NOT the thief, but the thief's roomate? Now he's the thief?

As for the dog, a frightened animal has a tendency to charge when it feels threatened; so the dog likely rushed the cops, and they shot it. Hell, they already killed some college kid, so why not nuke the mutt too? :rolleyes:

This is one of those things that happens when cops can mob up to your door, slam it open and then yell SEARCH WARRANT, all while having no item of clothing that says POLICE. They're lucky more cops don't get shot doing their faux-home invasions on people. :mad:

[LoSTBoY]

The dog most likely got in the way as they emptied their guns into the kid.

There is a clip I saw a few weeks ago of some cops riddling some criminal with lead and their own police dog was shot when it went in to tackle the villian. I can't find the link.

[strayrider]

While I do agree with Neil that Strickland "assumed the risk" of possibly being shot by becoming a violent criminal (apparently, but very likely as the officers had an arrest warrant for him and no one is contesting the fact that he did commit the armed robbery), however, I also believe that law enforcement has too often crossed the line of excessive force when dealing with these situations.

Okay, so the little twit bopped someone over the noggin and stole his game system. Did this justify a heavily armed cadre of paramilitary style LEOs bashing in his front door and spraying him down with lead?

Hell, no.

You'd think they could have just staked him out for a few hours and arrested him when he left the house to go to class.

I realize that the police here in the US often have their hands full dealing with lowlifes, but this particular case, to me at least, did not call for sending in a dynamic entry team.

:eek:

-stray-

[coma]

The Cops shouldn't have killed the dog
They shouldnt go barging into homes shooting up the place, innocents get killed like that. Those cops, if the story is true, are total retards and Ieven n a semi perfect world would be unemployable.
But a violent thief gets got and I could give a crap.
Today its a playstation, tommorow its your rent.
Today its some spolied kid getting robbed, tommorow its you 65 year old Mom getting punched in the mouth for a dollar fifty and a pack of gum.
Its better for the rest of us everytime some mope like that gets taken out.
I say good riddance.

[strayrider]

To heck with the dog. Dogs are dogs. Replaceable.

-stray-

ps -- I don't hate dogs. I like dogs. I OWN two of them. They're ... well, they're dogs.

[DjfunkmasterG]

That cop was to be charged with Murder, and he was, then when he went before the Grand Jury the Jury foreman check the wrong box and the cop got off on a technicality.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/13/playstation.theft.ap/index.html

[MinionZombie]

Geeeeez ... I bet that guy spent the whole week following just exhaling and saying "that was close" :eek: ... I suppose this is one of the reasons the British bobbies (who aren't on the beat anymore, they're too busy typing out reports and handling red tape thanks to Labour) don't have guns, unless they're a special team.

If everyone has guns then it makes it more likely some knobhead's gonna pop off when he/she shouldn't ... then again, no guns for any cops and you'll get police officers shot dead when responding to a robbery (like we recently had here in the UK).