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Alton Sterling and what we know so far. Let's be objective.

People are quick to jump on bandwagons concerning these matters before even hearing the details, so it's worth trying to share some of the important information that is available before jumping to conclusions. This is what we know so far:

- A tip to the police alleged a man outside a convenience store was brandishing a firearm and threatening people.

- At the scene, the police confronted Sterling (who was the suspect). He did not comply with the officers, resisted, was tased, and eventually tackled. We see this last part in the video.

- While on the floor, one of the offers shouts "he's got a gun." (A gun was later retrieved from the scene).

- Although Sterling was pinned, his hands were not visible to the camera(s), and it can't be seen whether both of his arms were fully restrained.

- A couple of seconds after the officer calls out the gun, several shots are fired. Again, the camera's view of Sterling isn't particularly clear at this moment.

We must concede it is possible he wriggled a hand free and got hold of his gun, which would have been out of view. In which case shooting him may have been justified. It isn't 100% clear at this point. We should reserve judgement until we have more information, and refrain from once again making assumptions based on popular conceptions about black men being shot by police.
(edited 7 years ago)

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Why was the gun pointed anywhere near his head?
Reply 2
Avatar for swirly
swirly
14
Original post by Legendary Quest
Why was the gun pointed anywhere near his head?


Because he's black.
They shot him several times and I believe it was pointed towards his head.

The problem is nobody trusts the US police so even if they come and say he had a gun, lots of people won't beleive them, given their bad rep.
Reply 4
Avatar for Rk2k14
Rk2k14
17
New video shows he didn't have the gun.

Face the facts. This has happened way too many times.
Original post by Rk2k14
New video shows he didn't have the gun.

Face the facts. This has happened way too many times.


There are currently two videos of the incident, both of which don't have a view of his hands.
Original post by Mathemagicien
Maybe the police should just keep out of black majority neighbourhoods, then everyone is happy


Or train officers to shoot to incapacitate?

Wonder what would happen if only black police officers are assigned to black neighbourhoods though.
These shooting will continue because any idiot in the US can become a cop

The cops are poorly trained and poorly educated at a primary level.

The consequence is that you have a bunch of lunatics running around with guns, that are even more hyper-vigilant due to American gun culture.

Add into that Cops have an unconscious racial bias are, it is no wonder that so many of these incidents involve Black people.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Mathemagicien
Shooting to incapacitate is very difficult, unless the person stays absolutely still


That difficult the police resorted to shooting him several times in the head?
Shocking. They shot him while he was in his car with his daughter in the back https://twitter.com/phattiebey/status/750919781495271424

How many more lives have to be lost before people stop justifying police brutality
Original post by Legendary Quest
Why was the gun pointed anywhere near his head?


Probably a mixture of gung-ho police and because it would be a sufficient enough threat to the person on the ground with any luck.
Original post by Legendary Quest
Why was the gun pointed anywhere near his head?


Original post by teenhorrorstory
That difficult the police resorted to shooting him several times in the head?


The officer who drew his weapon and pointed it at Sterling only did so after they saw he had a gun. Watch the video.

Secondly, the preliminary autopsy found no gunshot wounds to the head; only the torso.
Reply 12
Avatar for Trill
Trill
14
I hope those two cops get suspended and jail time.


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This doesn't sound very "objective", it sounds heavily biased in favour of those police officers. Why point the gun to his head? Why shoot him multiple times? Why confiscate the shopkeeper's footage if they had nothing to hide? There were two of them and they had him pinned down, it was an execution.

If I lived in America I would fear for my brothers, who are well behaved and have never been in any trouble.
The whole situation was horrendous; another stupid police officer abusing their power. I really hope that police officier gets time in prison.
Original post by Dandaman1
The officer who drew his weapon and pointed it at Sterling only did so after they saw he had a gun. Watch the video.


I've watched the video. I saw a man being held down by the police officer with a gun pointed very close to his head.

Secondly, the preliminary autopsy found no gunshot wounds to the head; only the torso.


I know there were no wounds to the head but the point I made was the gun was pointed very closely to his head and he was shot multiple times. I'm asking you why and how that can be justified.
I saw a picture and his hands were empty.
Yeah, I'm a conservative and all for the right to bear arms and defending police officers when they are scrutinised but this one doesn't make sense.

Sources say he was selling CD's while illegally carrying a firearm, videos however don't show him holding any weapon, although a near by store owner confirmed that he did in-fact have a gun on him.

Regardless until more information is provided (not of the dead man as him being a sex offender is irrelevant right now) then this is just another example of police brutality and the so called cops should be held completely accountable.
Original post by Legendary Quest
I've watched the video. I saw a man being held down by the police officer with a gun pointed very close to his head.



I know there were no wounds to the head but the point I made was the gun was pointed very closely to his head and he was shot multiple times. I'm asking you why and how that can be justified.


Because when your partner shouts "he's got a gun!" in a struggle, you pull yours. It's generally what happens.

He was held down, but again, we cannot see where his hands are. He's struggling, now there's a gun involved... it doesn't really take any mental gymnastics to piece this together.

However, I'm not saying the officers definitely aren't guilty of wrongdoing. But what I am saying is that, from what we can see in the video, we also cannot say that they are guilty of wrongdoing, either. For all we know, Sterling was grasping for his gun, got a hold of it in his pocket, and was indeed a threat. But like I said, the view is too obscured to know. But him being black seems to be the only proof people need.
It does not matter if he was holding a gun or not. It does not matter if he did not comply with officers. None of that justifies the shooting by the police. Alleged criminals should not be shot by the police. If he was holding a gun, he should have been de-armed safely.

Many other police forces around the world manage to keep a control of (alleged) criminals, in England and Wales, there have been 60 fatal police shootings in the past 26 years (source). In Texas, there were 112 fatal police shootings last year alone. (source) Texas' population is around half of England and Wales.

The whole of the US had 1146 fatal police shootings last year, 229 of those were unarmed.

The whole of the US has had 561 fatal police shootings this year, 82 of those were unarmed.

Police shouldn't have guns.

In the need of them, police forces in the UK have AFO's, or authorised firearms officers, who have been extremely well trained with the use of firearms, even the police officers permitted to use tasers have to be trained. Most officers who are permitted to use firearms very rarely open fire, a quote from an AFO states that, "I carried a firearm for five years in London, and I never had to fire it. Actually firing a weapon is very rare."

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