A death that drives us to our knees

[FreakinDJ]

A death that drives us to our knees

But as with so many people who have been participating in vigils and marches in Santa Rosa since Tuesday, I'm also having a hard time understanding why the deputy felt so threatened that he had to pull the trigger — eight times.

After all, it was not as if they had evidence that this suspicious person with his back to them presented a clear and present danger. He was not walking toward a crowd of people. The

deputies were not responding to a report of a dangerous person firing an assault weapon in the area.

Residents of that area in fact are used to seeing young men with airsoft rifles roaming the open fields. Andy was killed beside a large undeveloped lot where, in the spring, the grass grows so tall that it's a fun place for children to run and hide — and play with BB guns. Were the

officers not familiar with that?

http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20131027/OPINION/131029669/-1/PT07?p=1&tc=pg

[Octafish]

1. A child with a toy gun is killed, no questions asked...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/obama.protest.rifle/

Men with loaded assault rifles are protected, allowed to intimidate people at a presidential political rally.

Some things are very wrong with our laws and their enforcement.

Thank you for bringing this essay to our attention, FreakinDJ. That Paul Gullixson is one great writer.

Was that enough to take a life? Why is it always “shoot-to-kill” anyway? Wouldn't this have been a good time to show force that was less than lethal?

[etherealtruth]

2. "Men with loaded assault rifles are protected, allowed to intimidate people"

Those very "men" are defended and even lauded. I can recall a poster (here) that self identified as a police officer claiming nothing could be done in the case of the idiot strutting around the periphery of school grounds while open carrying a gun ... yet somehow a kid with a toy gun is shot seven times.

I am bewildered

[FreakinDJ]

3. Rumors about what actually happened are very disturbing

There was some video shot by a neighbor passing by that has been wiped clean from the internet. Others have seen it and commented on it on the net.

Also there were some other witnesses that have yet to come forward. Story goes Andy Lopez after being hit by 1 of the first 2 shots fired WAS STILL ALIVE and moving around, but had fallen on top of the Toy gun. That's when the "24 yr Veteran Officer" fired 6 more bullets into Andy's frail little body (as reported by Eye Witness accounts)

Sonoma County Sheriffs Dept. isn't going to release the name of the officer in hopes most of this will blow over in time. But as other Sonoma County Defense Attorneys have claimed, the Sheriffs Dept. has one 24yr Veteran Officer who has been involved in several "Unarmed Citizen Killings" before.

Steve Fabian, a boardmember of the county chapter of the ACLU, said, “It’s hard to second guess a police officer in this type of situation without knowing all the things that took place, both in the current situation and the prior situations.”

He added, however, “I think that at the same time, three shootings — most officers go through their career with no shootings — it just raises a lot of concerns.”

http://www.stevefabianlaw.com/in-the-news-2/