White St. Louis cop shot black off-duty officer then claimed it was a friendly fire incident

[still_one]

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and local news outlet Fox2Now, a white St. Louis police officer shot a black off-duty officer from his own force after a car chase ended in a crash outside the off-duty officer’s home.

The African American officer, who has not yet been identified, came outside of his home while off-duty after hearing the commotion from a car chase that ended nearby. Despite identifying himself as a cop, the man was ordered to the ground by two officers. He complied, and soon after, they recognized him and told him to get up.

That was when a third officer entered the scene, and because he did not recognize the black off-duty cop and claimed to “fear for his safety,” shot the off-duty cop in the arm.

The Post-Dispatch reported that police are calling the incident an example of “friendly fire” due to the suspects from the car chase firing at police. The paper also reported that police initially claimed that the 38-year-old African American officer, who has been on the force for 11 years, was “caught in the crossfire.”

“This is the first time that we are aware, that a black professional, in law enforcement, himself being shot and treated as an ordinary black guy on the street. This is a real problem,” Rufus J. Tate Jr., the attorney for the injured off-duty officer, told the local Fox affiliate.


http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/white-st-louis-cop-shot-black-off-duty-officer-then-claimed-it-was-a-friendly-fire-incident/

[benld74]

1. WHY come out of ur house to help

When not on duty?
I don't understand
I get he wanted to help
But cops had no idea the # people in the car
Where they could have went

Off duty guy should have known better
IMHO

[MrScorpio]

3. You're joking, right?

Where's the sarcasm thingy?

[Blue_Tires]

6. You have *GOT* to be taking the piss...

[MrScorpio]

2. This story has everything:

White cops shooting a non-aggressive black man out of fear and then go lying about it.

Welcome to America, everybody.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Of course this story doesn't officially end until we read

that the cops involved won't get so much as a written reprimand for being weak-assed, skittish trigger-happy cowards...

Who knew black folks put this much fear of God in so many people???

[malaise]

4. Racism is live and well

[forgotmylogin]

5. I think most people would check outside to see what was happening

if there was police activity happening. We're learning this is not the greatest idea, but an officer especially is qualified to assist if something is happening.

I don't understand the impulse for cops to run in wildly guns blazing like Muppets onto a scene before they've even learned what's going on. Black people standing with white people is not automatically a "shooting emergency"

Unarmed black people running away is not a shooting emergency either.

We need some kind of "judge-jury-executioner" statute that makes law enforcement heavily responsible when unarmed suspects of a nonviolent misdemeanor or possible traffic violation are killed because the officer "haz a panic". Especially when suspects are shot at long range running, enclosed in their car, or have no criminal record. Unwarranted escalation of a situation *by* law enforcement should hold consequences.

[Blue_Tires]

7. Seriously, what the fucking hell is going on in St.L?

Link to tweet

[Aristus]

8. The 'Blue Lives Matter' crowd must be going insane.

The victim was a black cop, but the guy who shot him was a white cop.

The cognitive dissonance is no doubt at lethal levels...