Slain man's family questions police force...

[SloMo26]

This is from the OC Register regarding a pursuit that occurred last Sun in Santa Ana:

Slain man's family questions police force...

IRVINE - The family of a 41-year-old Aliso Viejo man shot and killed by Santa Ana police officers after a 20-minute vehicle pursuit is asking why police resorted to lethal force.

Family and friends of Kevin Powell, as well as community leaders from churches and local organizations, gathered at a news conference organized at Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church Saturday.

Officials said Powell was a parolee with a long rap sheet that included drug offenses, weapons violations and vehicle thefts.

Time and time again people blame the police for killing "an innocent man" who was "changing his life." They ask why this needed to happen. What they need to ask is why a parolee with priors for auto theft is driving in a stolen car with a female who is not his wife.

I was working the day this happened and this is my understanding of what occurred. This parolee was driving a stolen car and refused to stop and the pursuit was on. This parolee stopped his vehicle and they attempted a felony stop on the car. The parolee refused to comply and began reaching into his waistband. The officers opened fire on the vehicle which then took off again. The parolee stopped again and again reached into his waistband. More shots were fired. The parolee drove off again until he stopped on the side of the 55 freeway. More shots were fired and the parolee was killed.

Now forgive me if I'm wrong but if I'm a parolee driving a stolen car being chased by the police who just opened fire on me, my first reaction would be to stop and give up the ship.

Now his wife is wondering why he was killed? Well if he had not stolen the car and/or stopped the first time and/or not reached into his waistband, I'm pretty sure he would still be alive.

Now if I know this much second hand, I'm also sure that the media knows this part of the story as well. But of course this part of the story does not sell papers.

Several community leaders who spoke at Saturday’s gathering said their groups got involved because they are baffled and disturbed at why more than a dozen officers would fire 20 shots at the vehicle of a man who they believe was not armed.

This is rubish. We do not use lethal force unless we feel our lives or the lives of others are in danger.

I know these type of incidents will continue to occur but for once I would like to hear the family take responsibility for the actions of their incarcerated/killed family member.



Let the flaming begin........

[Henry1515]

I know how to solve this problem, change the law! If you run,you get shot,period!

[seraphim]

Is it standard police protocol to begin the character assassination by releasing the guys rap sheet and outing that he *may* have been having an affair? Or do you only do that in the case where the victim doesn't have a gun?

-_Sf

[SuxBeingU]

F this idiot !! if you run you get whatever you get. If you act like an ass you get shot PERIOD. I would like to see more of this. it will make them all think twice about running in the first place.

If I run I will get shot, I think I'll pull over.

I don't need apolice investigation to know why he got shot, HE RAN FTROM THE POLICE IN A STOLEN CAR AND REFUSED TO STOP. NEXT

[Crapgame13]

Originally Posted by seraphim

Is it standard police protocol to begin the character assassination by releasing the guys rap sheet

I didn't realize facts were now considered "Character assassination"

last I checked, a car is a deadly weapon, especially when the man driving it refuses to stop

[Joe Hoya]

One less idiot.

[OddManRush]

You know where you got "shot period" if you "acted like an ass" or ran?

Eastern Germany. I rest my case.

[Crazy_Ivan]

The U.K. is the worst for this kind of crap, we had a pro-soccer player walk into his house and beat the hell out of TWO guys that were robbing his house. The player was arrested for assault. You act like a dumbass you deserve everything the cops dish out.

YouTube - chris rock

YouTube - chris rock

[KINGS17]

Originally Posted by OddManRush

You know where you got "shot period" if you "acted like an ass" or ran?

Eastern Germany. I rest my case.

Hardly a valid comparison, but still the type I would expect you to make.

[OddManRush]

Originally Posted by KINGS17

Hardly a valid comparison, but still the type I would expect you to make.

You know where you get shot shot for making comparisons? Eastern Germany. My case rests.

It was a joke.

But still, getting shot for acting like an ass or running "PERIOD" is a bit draconic don'cha think?

[Trapper9]

He didn't get shot because he ran or acted like an ass, he got shot because the officers felt threatened. Officers tend to feel safer and shoot less when you are lying on your stomach with your arms out.

[OddManRush]

Originally Posted by Trapper9

He didn't get shot because he ran or acted like an ass, he got shot because the officers felt threatened. Officers tend to feel safer and shoot less when you are lying on your stomach with your arms out.

No duh guy. I was responding to posts by Henry1515 and SuxBeingU.

[SicSemprTyranis]

Police are in a no win situation. If they do nothing, there wife potentially gets a folded American flag. If they shoot, they have these nutty rights groups lobbying for nothing short of jail time.

As a law abiding citizen, I can honestly say Im not or never will be worried about the police shooting me. Why? Because I don't do s**t that will get me in that situation. No tears shed here on this one...

[Byatch1979]

A police officers safety should be the primary concern and that dude's rap sheet gets released to give an indication of who this jackass was. The cops new this and were forced to use their discretion. If he was an innocent guy doing nothing, this wouldn't have happened and the cops want you to know this. I don't think that there are TOO many examples of trigger-happy renegade cops shooting innocent people.

[mitchrock]

All officer shootings get investigated. If the investigation shows the officers were in error in shooting then the family should pursue them. If not, the police should sue his family for wasting their time.

[Salty Dog]

This whole thing pisses me off. It took me almost 3x as long to get home last week because of this mess. All the damn streets were blocked and traffic was a nightmare.