My heart breaks for the family and friends of the victim Oscar Grant. What he was feeling on that platform -who knows..but in watching those videos I know I would have been terrified and in panic if a knee was on my chest or throat and I felt I couldn't breathe-I would have had a hard time being still. My heart also hurts for the family and friends of officer Johannes Meherle. I have no idea what he was doing or thinking...I hope to God he didn't intended to kill an unarmed subdued suspect; however, watching that video...he has a loaded gun in his hand-there is weight to that and then to stand, and aim-weighting the gun and pull the trigger not in a split second and not in a life-threatening situation...it is just hard to see how he couldn't see or feel or realize that it wasn't his taser...it just makes me sick.
I wonder about his co-workers...and really all Police Officers and how they are thinking & feeling.
I think that most police officers are great men and women, who love what they do and feel a privilege it taking on the duty to serve and protect who are well trained and try to serve to their best ability all the time knowing full well they are risking their life every time they suit up, pull someone over, or answer a call. I don't think that every incident that occurs and is portrayed as the cops fault is accurate. But in this incident, I do. Yes, it probably was a mistake; however mistakes have consequences and the officer will be serving time under the verdict of involuntary manslaughter. I don't agree with that verdict. I see it more as voluntary manslaughter as the officer did intend to cause serious bodily harm but not kill as he was going to use his taser gun. Involuntary manslaughter is defined as the defendant not having any malice aforethought and NO, NONE , ZERO, ZIP intention to cause or do HARM. When you stand, aim, and pull a trigger (either of a taser gun or a handgun) you are INTENDING to cause harm. Police use harm (i.e. taser gun) to subdue suspects who resist arrest, try to evade police, or assault police... the taser gun in my opinion was introduced and is used as to avoid using their guns or batons. They intend to cause harm to gain control quickly of the suspect and/or the situation. So, that is why I think the verdict should have been Voluntary Manslaughter not Involuntary Manslaughter.
Ok, one more vent on the subject...the other day I wrote this on my Facebook page as my status
"watching news & political updates...wow i get so worked up over injustices...like the murder of a young man in CA-Oscar...so disturbing"
Then a "friend" posts this about my status:
"Personally I think there are far greater injustices than that. The more criminals who resist arrest, and reach or act like they are reaching for weapons, the more of them who are going to end up dead. Criminal behavior problem, not cop problem, IMHO"
1-I didn't ask what anyone thought.
2-I didn't say the greatest injustice of all time...it is ONE of the MANY.
3-In this case...HE wasn't reaching for a weapon!
4-Criminal problem? WTF? Ok, so a cop makes a mistake--but it is a criminal problem?
5-What ever happened to INOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY? We don't know if Oscar Grant was GUILTY of anything because he never had a chance to go through the process that is given as a right of everyone in this country.
6-Is saying IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) like saying Bless Your Heart? Is that the card you play when you say something ignorant and offensive but don't want to get called on it?
6-If you want to to respond to something on MY page, not directed at anyone and give your opinion, you can be sure as hell that I will respond directly to You.
so here is my response:
I can respect your opinion on the subject and in general I agree that when people resist arrest there are consequences; however there is a difference in resisting arrest and reaching for a weapon. If a suspect is non-compliant with police and then postures or reaches for a weapon, police have a right and a responsibility to respond even with lethal... See More force if necessary and I totally agree with that. However, in this isolated incident, as it was caught on video, it is clear to me that lethal force was totally uncalled for and that is the Cop's problem, not the Suspect's. I am not on a "cops are bad" rant, that is not what this is. In fact I feel police officers often times are excessively scrutinized on gratuitous assumptions. Police officers are truly heroes who work hard and face the possibility of death every day, it is not a job to be taken lightly and they do not get enough credit for what they do. I do not believe this isolated incident reflects police officers everywhere, and unfortunately this mistake cost a life of an unarmed young man. The officer's response to his action was he thought it was his tazer gun...he had to be pretty green, as there is a distinguishable difference between a fully loaded handgun and a tazer gun, from the weight to the feel. In my opinion it is an injustice; as there was a mistake made, and in all rights it would constitute murder, at least it looks that way from the video. When a suspect is being taken into custody, and resisting arrest but not to the extent of running or pulling a weapon, it does not constitute lethal force to be taken. You have to be presented with a potentially lethal threat to respond with lethal force....at least it is that way in this country.
the video of the incident: the last clip is the most clear, IMHO (can you sense my sarcasm here?)
http://youtu.be/Q2LDw5l_yM
Here is a link for the Rachel Maddow show coverage of the story:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/07/08/4641826-hayes-no-justice-for-oscar-grant
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