SSCC #100–Las Vegas PD

I was wondering what to use for #100.  There were a few incidents I could think of historically that I had already covered that fit rolling over to 3 digits.

Erik turned to find three officers facing him, guns drawn, and all three shouting different commands: “Get on the ground!” “Drop your weapon!” “Keep your hands up!” Erik held his hands up, spoke calmly, told them he DID have a concealed firearm and a legal CCW and was an ex-Army officer. His girlfriend was screaming about Erik being a West Point grad, former Army officer, etc. Erik leaned to his left, hands still up, to expose the pistol, and repeated, “I am disarming; I am disarming.” Witnesses say he started to lower his right hand, palm OUT, perhaps intending to remove holster and gun together — but never got the hand below his shoulder, when one of the cops (believed to be William Mosher, who had committed a fatal shooting in 2006) shot Erik in the chest with a .45-caliber semi-automatic weapon. Erik dropped to his knees, clearly in shock, his face a picture of disbelief. He was shot a second time and collapsed. The rest is ugly. The three officers unloaded again, firing a total of seven hollow-point rounds. At least four, possibly five, hit Erik in the back, after he was on the ground and dying.

It ends up that Erik’s firearm never left it’s holster.  The call from Costco evidently also primed the pump for the officers to “see some action”.  The entire incident was a gigantic Charlie Foxtrot from the very beginning.  No single officer was in command, everyone was.  No effort was done to be civil or just find out what was going on.

Their solution to the problem was determined by them before they even got there.  We’ve seen that type of behavior before and it never ends well.

During the investigation some of the testimony was quite disturbing.  From the testimony it sounds like the Pima County Sherriff took lessons for the Gurerena raid.  Officers started shooting and didn’t know exactly why.  They felt justified because their fellow officers were shooting so their must be danger.

Self-restraint is a very important personality trait.  Even more important when your actions and behavior can cause a chain of events that will result in the death of an innocent.

State Sponsored Criminal Count: 100

Because if you’re a cop the mere fact someone has a firearm constitutes them using force against you.

via Sandra

TMM

TMM is the owner, editor, and principal author at The Minuteman, a competitive shooter, and staff member for Boomershoot. Even in his free time he’s merging his love and knowledge of computers and technology with his love of firearms.

Many know his private name and information however due to the current political climate, many are distancing themselves due to the abandonment of Due Process.