Escambia County, FL: Unarmed Man Shot by Deputies Inside His Own Car Outside His Own Home

[ariesgem]

Deputies in Florida's Escambia County have some explaining to do after they allegedly shot an unarmed man for grabbing a box of cigarettes out of his own car outside his own house.

Roy Middleton was returning home from work early Saturday morning, when he stopped by the car he and his mother share to grab some cigarettes.

A neighbor who didn't recognize Middleton phoned the local sheriff's office to report a possible burglary.

Deputies dispatched to the scene found Middleton inside the vehicle and ordered him to back away with his hands in the air. As he was doing so, Middleton says he turned to face the deputies.


snip.....

All told, deputies fired seven shots, five of which struck the car and the side of Middleton's house, where his elderly mother Ceola Walker was sleeping.

At least one of the bullets hit Middleton's leg.

"I don’t understand how they could fire so many shots at him," said Walker. "He wasn’t resisting or anything and he was at his own house."

http://gawker.com/unarmed-man-shot-by-deputies-inside-his-own-car-outside-949237195?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_twitter&utm_source=gawker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[Tippy]

1. Seems FL believes shooting first before... and asking questions

[mnhtnbb]

2. That's the Lincoln Navigator logo on the rear tail light.

What do you bet it was profiling--like Morgan Freeman driving that new caddy in Driving Miss Daisy--
that those deputies couldn't believe a black man could own that car?

Let's see. Driving Miss Daisy was set in, what, the 1950's? early 60's?

Gee, you've come a long way, Florida.

I hope the guy sues the CRAP out of that police department.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. it's a town car. by the looks of it, older.

Police really need to have murder charges pressed more often in cases where they fire on unarmed/non-threatening people.

[Boom Sound 416]

32. early 2000's lincoln town car

[RockaFowler]

3. I have no words

So his neighbor doesn't even know who he is?? Or doesn't want to know??

The first thing my husband & I do when we see someone new come into the neighborhood is introduce ourselves to them. It makes for a peaceful neighborhood when you get to know your neighbors.

[ohheckyeah]

33. Sounds to me like the neighbor

panicked. Maybe if he had just waited a minute or two and watched he would have recognized his neighbor.

[Jim__]

5. Yes, but did the deputies think they were in danger?

I know it's not funny. I just can't believe that things like this are now just about normal.

[Sometimeswedrown]

7. Was there non compliance?

And how long does it take to grab a pack of smokes?

O wait I just did it giving time for the 911 call, radio dispatch and travel time....

I could have smoked the entire carton.

[The Blue Flower]

10. Your point?

It's his car. He can sit there as long as he likes.

[Sometimeswedrown]

13. Was there non compliance? That was the point

All you see is rouge police officers I myself would like to know all of the details requiring law enforcement to feel the need to fire seven rounds? To much to ask?

[Sheldon Cooper]

23. Could you please learn to spell rogue? An error like that makes you look silly.

Why are you asking for details that "required" LEO to fire seven rounds? Since when does LEO need details? They shoot anyone they feel like shooting.

[mike_c]

25. suppose there was?

Noncompliance? Really? Noncompliance means someone chooses not to obey a command. Is that in itself a threat to anything but the cops' inflated sense of authoritarianism? Since when are police all powerful commanders of the public? What happened to the concept of public SERVICE, as opposed to public ENFORCERS? And above all, how can one justify a wild, one-sided shootout in response to "non-compliance?"

You question boogles my mind. Non-compliance?! WTF?

[enlightenment]

11. Aside from the questionable nature of your post,

it is odd that you seem to think that non-compliance with a police order is justification for opening fire and shooting someone.

Firing a weapon used to be a position of last resort for law enforcement; now it seems to be the first choice. If you don't see something wrong with that, I have to wonder what sort of person you are.

[Sometimeswedrown]

12. All you have to wonder is how it feels to be faced with another armed person

That is all

[Berlum]

14. But the man was not armed

as you are ignoring.

It must feel absolutely pathetic & sad to live your life gripped by unreal and irrational fears.

[Sometimeswedrown]

16. Do you understand non compliance?

He is bent over in a car digging around what ever if he lunged or looked to have had a weapon or been some sort of threat etc.

The officers fired seven times right now without knowing ALL details it gives me the feeling maybe the officers did feel they were justified?

[NutmegYankee]

18. Black man in a very nice luxury car...

I'm sure the cops felt they were very justified. Mind you, the man had his hands in the air as requested.

So they shot at an unarmed man with hands in air who was inside his own auto on his own driveway. And you think it was justified?

[Jenoch]

30. What most likely happened is that ONE

of the officers fired for some as yet unknown reason and the other followed suit.

[ohheckyeah]

34. Who gives a fuck as to how the officers

"felt"....good God. They shot an unarmed man for being in his own car in his own driveway.

[enlightenment]

20. Where does it say this individual was armed?

You seem to be stretching to justify excessive force.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

29. Even the cops didn't claim that he was armed.

[NutmegYankee]

15. +1

Non-compliance if (BIG IF) it occurred does not justify shooting. Oh, and nice shooting there - 14% hit rate at how many feet?

They should be fired for incompetence among other things.

[GeorgeGist]

22. About as long as it takes ...

to make up some bullshit story to cover their sorry asses.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

26. Trolling here? Instead of here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3365205

[mike_c]

6. pigs with weapons....

What could possibly go wrong?

[oldhippie]

8. Our highly trained police officers ...

... Are the only ones that should be allowed to have guns.

Yea cops. They're the best!

[NutmegYankee]

9. Ah, police - shoot an inncocent man, get free paid vacation.

"The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is reportedly investigating the incident, and the deputies involved have been placed on paid leave."

Let's get right to end now. The investigation will find that the police acted in accordance with their procedures and will not be charged. In the meantime, they went to Disneyland.

[whistler162]

31. Well thank the unions for that!

[NutmegYankee]

36. Why do you blame the Unions?

The local authority could have easily passed laws/regulations to the contrary.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

39. What justifies your anti-union post?

[HillWilliam]

17. This is the kind of thing that happens when you take the least educated and least motivated segment

of the population then hand them a gun and a badge.

[Bandit]

19. They were simply "Standing their ground"

Who knows a scary black man could indeed have a gun......

[frylock]

21. fuck tha police

[malaise]

24. Living while black

He needs to come back as a white fetus

[Scurrilous]

27. Escambia County: East Alabama, South Georgia.

[tkmorris]

40. When I lived next door in Santa Rosa county we just called it L.A.

As in, Lower Alabama. I loved the place in a lot of ways, but the people who lived there... sheesh.

[Scurrilous]

42. The beaches are nice....

LOL

[AnotherMcIntosh]

28. Or, "Police Shoot Innocent Car 5 Times. Accidentally Shoot Car Owner's Son Once."

[AnotherMcIntosh]

35. Einstein: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about

the former."

[davidohenry]

37. It seems

It seems like you need guns JUST to protect your self from the police!!!!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

38. No.

[davidn3600]

41. What? No one suggesting guns be taken away from the police?

Every other shooting someone makes the comment that guns shouldnt be in the hands of the public.