Police Shooting Frenzy Raises Concerns - 23 officers fired a total of at least 377 rounds

[Jesus Malverde]

On December 10, more than two dozen police officers from across Miami Dade County converged on a blue Volvo that had crashed in the backyard of a townhouse on 65th Street just off 27th Avenue.

As the car was wedged helplessly between a light pole and a tree, nearly a minute passed before officers opened up – firing approximately 50 bullets at the car and the two unarmed men inside the vehicle.

The two men inside the car survived that initial volley of gunfire, according to witnesses, who said they could see the men moving inside the Volvo. Everything went quiet for nearly two minutes before the officers opened up a second time – unleashing an unrelenting torrent of bullets that lasted almost 25 seconds. By the time it was over, the two men inside the car were dead.

CBS4 News has learned a total of 23 officers fired a total of at least 377 rounds.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/05/06/police-shooting-frenzy-raises-concerns/

both men inside the Volvo were unarmed at the time police caught up with them.

[Fumesucker]

1. That's more than four times as many as all German cops fired in 2011

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/11/11662345-german-police-fired-just-85-bullets-total-in-2011

German police officers fired a total of 85 bullets in 2011, 49 of which were warning shots, the German publication Der Spiegel reported. Officers fired 36 times at people, killing six and injuring 15. This is a slight decline from 2010, when seven people were killed and 17 injured. Ninety-six shots were fired in 2010.

[DanTex]

12. A big part of that is that Germany has sensible gun control laws.

It's basically becomes an arms race. It's not that German police offers are kindler, gentler people. It's that in the US, there are a lot more people walking around with guns, and so police are a lot more anxious to shoot first.

[951-Riverside]

20. I have a few choice words for you but I'll just let these videos do the talking...

"a lot more people walking around with guns, and so police are a lot more anxious to shoot first." - DanTex

[DanTex]

21. Yes, those videos illustrate my point.

In countries with sensible gun laws, that kind of stuff happens less often.

[951-Riverside]

23. Right...

"those videos illustrate my point. In countries with sensible gun laws, that kind of stuff happens less often." - DanTex

[951-Riverside]

2. They've been at war with us for quite awhile now.

The American people are enemy combatants and they've been given orders to shoot you deader than rock.

[Jesus Malverde]

5. That was hard to watch...nt

[defacto7]

6. We have witnessed

a couple of true sociopaths. There it is folks, in dead color.

[blkmusclmachine]

9. Wow, that was VICIOUS

[Egnever]

3. Concerns about what?

The cost of lead?

Cause that many people firing at a vehicle should raise more than concerns.

[brer cat]

4. +1. nt

[DFW]

7. Here's what scares me most

Probably little to no disciplinary action will be taken (a few loud lectures, maybe), and this will not be the last incident of its type.

[Jesus Malverde]

11. Considering one killed a cop...spot on.

The family of the completely innocent man, might get a settlement.

[Logical]

13. Spot on? You mean lynching him? So kill a cop and have no gun and....

You deserve to be executed?

[Jesus Malverde]

15. spot on as there will be no punishment for the popo.

Maybe I should have said +1 or something like that to be clearer.

It was obviously frontier justice.

[Logical]

22. Sorry! Totally misunderstood! nt

[Jesus Malverde]

25. Yeah I posted poorly.

Thanks to you for clarifying something that could be alert-able.

[Logical]

36. No problem. Not close to alert-able! :-) nt

[DFW]

14. Which one killed a cop?

The article said no cops were killed--not the one shot at by the perp, and not the ones shot by other cops in their little shooting spree.

[Jesus Malverde]

16. I was under the impression he killed a cop earlier.

Earlier that night, the driver of the Volvo, Adrian Montesano, robbed a Walgreens at gunpoint, and then later shot Miami Dade Police Officer Saul Rodriguez in a nearby trailer park.

Officer Released From Hospital After Being Shot By Walgreens Robber

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/12/16/officer-released-from-hospital-after-being-shot-by-walgreens-robber/

You are correct.

[DFW]

29. Not that it changes much in the long run

But it does detract from the argument about the firepower needed to stop a "cop killer." Like the other cops' bullets that (through no safety precautions of their own) manage to wound two of their own instead of kill them--the outcome of either shooting was only NOT fatal by an accidental factor of a few inches, not by any intentions of mercy on the part of any of the shooters.

[Jesus Malverde]

30. It calls into question their training, discipline and sense of justice for sure...nt

[CreekDog]

17. you don't even read the articles you post?

the officer was not killed.

Three other officers were hospitalized with minor injuries from the gunfight, including an officer who was hit by flying glass.
All officers, including Officer Rodriguez, made full recoveries from their injuries.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2623725/Major-concern-police-shootout-crashed-car-revealed-included-23-officers-firing-total-377-rounds-two-unarmed-men.html#ixzz31DtGIthN

[Hulk]

8. And I thought the Catholic priests were out of control....

I lost my faith in the Catholic religion, and my faith in the police is hanging on by a very thin thread. Just who is in charge of these brutal thugs? You want justice for lives wasted, gop'ers? Where is the justice here? And it goes on DAILY!

[Jesus Malverde]

10. With the police it's less and less about community, its a gang mentality, very much us against them.

The police have been militarized through the war on drugs. Today rather than policing, they are on patrol.

Add to that an influx of veterans with multiple tours of duty, who as seen as the go to guys for training.

The best way to illustrate this is through the SWAT Teams, back in the 70's at the time of the TV show SWAT. Only LA had a swat team, today even the smallest towns have a team of trained policemen whose role is most often to kill the suspects.

Look at the uniforms of police officers. In the past they dressed in civilian type uniforms with ties and signature police style hats. Today the trend in uniforms is towards combat boots, bloused pants and baseball hats when they aren't running around in combat helmets.



Tactical is the meme.

[SwankyXomb]

31. All that guy on the right's uniform needs

is a couple silver lightning bolts and a red armband.

[frylock]

34. no shit

[mainer]

18. Two cops shot by other cops in this incident!

Two cops shot in the crossfire. Bullets went into townhouses where families were getting kids ready to go to school. Bullets went into other cars. Not only were these cops maniacs, they weren't even good shots.

According to the article, one of the guys in the car had shot a cop earlier. Now it turns out the cops were more of a menace to each other.

[Lizzie Poppet]

26. Cops: the REAL gang who coudln't shoot straight.

[lpbk2713]

19. They couldn't wait for reinforcements to arrive.

This sounds like the end of "Bonnie and Clyde"

[Jesus Malverde]

28. good analogy...nt

[Rex]

24. YAY COPS!

They are the bestest!

[Kelvin Mace]

27. A cold blooded execution!

And it will be a miracle of anyone is fired or prosecuted.

[bottomofthehill]

32. So much for 1 shot 1 kill.

377 rounds, they will bankrupt the city on ammo costs alone.

[The Straight Story]

33. I would feel more safe if we removed guns from on duty cops

(as a civilian they would still have the right to own one).

[indepat]

35. Ah, the sweet smell of a militarized police force