Justice for Deven Guilford? Really?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 12:46:07 -0400

I am about fed up with this anti-police, "I don't have to obey the commands of law enforcement officers" bullsh*t. I'll make this short and sweet. 1:REGARDLESS of what an officer is accusing you of, you don't have the right to argue it during a traffic stop. That's what court rooms are for. 2: The Deputy was WAAYY more patient than I would have been. He constantly asked, used please, and even tried to reason with the kid. 3: When the Deputy decided to arrest him, the kid would not follow his commands, resisted his arrest, and after getting stunned for resisting arrest (which he clearly was), the kid charged the officer and assaulted him! Are you kidding? Justice for Deven? THE ONLY reason this kid threw up the excuse that the Deputy didn't have a right to pull him over is because he knew he didn't have his license on him. Plain and simple.

Now I'm not saying the kid deserved to die. If it could have been avoided, it should have been. But at what point do we say, "The kid assaulted a Deputy and the Deputy, at risk of losing his weapon, discharged his weapon"? I mean come on RP, help me out. Am I off on a tangent by myself or is society and media losing their sense? Look at the video, look at the picture of the Deputy after the altercation. Seven shots may have been excessive but the kid wasn't some innocent bystander minding his own business to wind up the unfortunate victim of police brutality and rage. He attacked a Deputy! You don't do that and expect to drive home aferwards.

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime/family-unarmed-michigan-teen-fatally-shot-officer-article-1.2399638

Family of unarmed Mich. teen fatally shot by officer sues

The family of a Michigan teen who flashed a car’s brights at a sheriff sergeant’s SUV and wound up dead filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2015 1:22 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:22:08 -0400

The child's act which resulted in the shooting was him laying hands on the officer. He laid hands on the officer because he was tased. He was tased because . . .

The entire issue comes down to the next few words. Wearing a badge is not a license to seize, arrest, stop, question, or investigate anyone you like. It looks like there was little, if any, reason to stop the kid in the first place.

What weapon of the officer's was about to be taken anyway? Where was his pistol? It should have been holstered since he had just used his taser seconds before. The taser was discharged, so it was no threat. Assaulting an officer is criminal and should not be taken lightly, but assaults on officers need not end in death, especially when it is a child, and even more so in these tragic circumstances.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 16 at 2015 2:45 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 14:45:54 -0400

There are 3 sides to a story.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Oct 18 at 2015 7:19 AM

LTC Kevin B. — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 07:19:54 -0400

Have to disagree on this one. I can't find many good reasons to justify shooting an unarmed teenager after a questionable stop, and particularly so in this case. I've also seen the video. I realize the kid wasn't being completely cooperative, but it appeared to me as if the officer was bothered by the fact that the kid was recording the stop. The officer unnecessarily escalated this into a situation where he felt that he had to resort to deadly force. I mean, come on....the kid was unarmed and was laying face down on the ground. The kid was not threatening the officer until after the officer chose to taze him, and the kid's response easily could have been viewed as self-defense on his part. Given all of the recent videos that have surfaced, I don't find it unreasonable for someone to fear for their life when stopped by the police. Don't blame the unarmed victim.