shoot first ask questions later. That’s some fine police work.
I don’t think questions was ever part of the plan. It was just “bark instructions, shoot.”
I wonder when they’ll go for the next level of efficiency, just shooting anyone they come across. Think of all the time they’ll save!
If the local D.A. doesn’t prosecute this one, they’d better be expecting burning torches and angry villagers. This has got to stop.
I wonder how he plans to defend this. Clearly the shooting victim moved while black, that may be adequate.
This attitude is prevalent in Hollywood movies. Don’t know if fiction follows real life or vice versa.
on an other thought, I wonder if this kind of police attitude is caused by police training and if better training could be applied to eliminate it. In my parts, police and military training, is rumoured to have lots of nationalistic and right wing rhetoric. So unfortunately such incidents are not surprising anyone anymore
Bro!
I gotta say, looking at the video… he kind of had it coming.
I mean, of course, the police officer, had the arrest coming. It does look like the cop straight up panicked rather than was trying to be a murderous jackboot, but that’s no excuse… if you panic while a big scary police officer manhandles you and you happen to bump him with your arm, you’ll certainly be charged with assault/resisting arrest/etc. This is assault with a deadly weapon, panic or no panic. If you can’t keep your cool while handling them, you shouldn’t have them.
I see that the NJ cops who were caught beating the guy as they shouted “stop resisting arrest” are heading to Federal Court:Dashcam nails cops who beat man while shouting “Stop resisting arrest” - Boing Boing
Although, it sounds like it might have been moved to Federal courts because they think that they will get a more favorable outcome there…
Lawsuit moved to federal court over alleged misconduct by Bloomfield cops | NJ.com
Does anyone here think he will be found guilty?
wow
First off, I find the shooting of any human being with their hands up objectionable beyond words, but forgive me for pointing this out, but Officer Quickdraw McPanicky opened up at a gas station… let that sink in for a moment. He hit this man with a single bullet, but three went FSM knows where. A miracle the gentleman isn’t dead. And another miracle Quickdraw didn’t hit anyone else. I’m sure copologists will be in here soon to say he had it coming, looks like a thug, etc etc etc.
Watch the whole video, the guy with a bullet in him is surprisingly polite and lucid after getting shot.
Dash cams, gun cams and badge cams all around! Let the surveillance state begin with those who enforce the law, it’ll make everyone safer. I for one am sick of this.
Not just at a gas station, but pointed in the general direction of the pumps where cars were being fueled 
It’s almost equally disturbing that the cop in question is such a poor shot. There are several gunshots, and the man (who wasn’t even moving) was only hit once. That’s a hell of a lot of stray bullets flying through the air.
I have to say, reading the description and the video of this incident, it doesn’t seem particularly different than the scores of other police shootings that have been posted on what seems like an average of one a week or so, for the last several years. To me, that raises a major concern, to wit:
This seems entirely unfair to Officer Groubert, to charge him with this crime. His fellow officers nationwide regularly get away with the exact same conduct, and have done so for years, decades even! How could Officer Groubert possibly know and have been on notice that his illegal actions would actually be treated like crimes this time? It seems only fair to police that, if you’re going to actually hold them accountable to the law when for years they’ve been exempt from following it, that they need at least a 3-5 year retraining period, where reactions to lesser crimes like fraud and grand theft are simply being noted as potential retraining opportunities, and more serious infractions like maiming or killing civilians are met with a stern but kindly and measured verbal warning. Don’t want them feeling threatened, after all!
After that time, of course, we’ll need a probationary period, where any punishment is significant but not too severe, like, any civilians killed will result in a reduced number of allowed donuts per week for a set quantity of time, or, required pushups or other PT. Certainly nothing as significant as a suspension or too harshly worded a reprimand. And of course, after any incident, the customary paid uncharged vacation will of course still be granted. Perhaps by 2030 we can start phasing in minimal judicial involvement, to include Judges issuing a reserved “tut tut”, and, in egregious cases, some light community service.
The hell of it is, to be cynical about that is to be pragmatic.
IANAL, but this sure looks like a case where good old qualified immunity is going to work its cop vindicating magic. It worked for these guys.
At least officer Groubert has been sacked and arrested, but he has not yet been convicted.
Yes. He admitted on the video that he removed his seatbelt before pulling into the gas station. I think his guilt is pretty clear.
I really don’t understand why police choose to close the distance between themselves and a perceived threat. This is the second video I’ve seen that the police failed to take advantage of distance or cover to prevent escalation of a situation. The other video is the kid shot over a pair of energy drinks.
This is so out of hand. Police really need to reevaluate their training, their intent and their procedures. Far too many people being killed (fortunate this guy wasn’t killed).
It’s hard to aim accurately when you’re shooting in a blind panic. Officer Groubert was clearly shitting his pants after the guy turned around.
You can just keep making it worse. He shot following the guy who was unarmed - both hands spread wide. He’d decided that the driver was going for a gun (when he’d told him to retrieve his license, and the guy clearly checks his pants pocket first before reaching into the vehicle). He gave him no instruction to not re-enter the vehicle and made the assumption that the driver would know that (he blames him later in the video).
As he followed the guy, he shot - not just toward the pumps - but also toward at least four vehicles, most likely all occupied. He’s damn lucky there isn’t anyone dead.
This was an officer misinterpreting someone’s actions, and then overreacting - with deadly force.
Why assault and not murder?
