Washington cop shoots skateboard-wielding stepbrothers accused of stealing beer

[Zaac]

Washington cop shoots skateboard-wielding stepbrothers accused of stealing beer

A police officer in the Washington state capital of Olympia shot and wounded two unarmed black men suspected of trying to steal beer from a supermarket on Thursday, law enforcement said, prompting protests in the city.

The two stepbrothers, aged 21 and 24, were hospitalized, one in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts told a news conference.
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Officer Ryan Donald, who had been with the Olympia Police Department for three years, told authorities the men had no weapons but attacked him with a skateboard, and that he had issued a verbal warning before opening fire.

The incident follows a series of fatal police confrontations across the United States that have put law enforcement agencies under scrutiny over the use of force, particularly against minorities.

After reports of the shooting, several protests took place in Olympia, a city of about 48,000 people where only 2 percent of the population is black, according to U.S. Census data.

Around 400 took to the streets on Thursday evening, meeting at a park before marching to City Hall, according to local newspaper The Olympian. Photos of the demonstration published by the paper showed a racially mixed group, with many whites taking part.

The police chief said Donald, who is white, and other officers responded to an assault call at a supermarket around 1 a.m. An employee reported that two men who were trying to steal beer had thrown the items at him and then ran away.

One man was shot in a confrontation with Donald, Roberts said, and the two suspects then ran into the woods. When they re-emerged, multiple shots were fired, Roberts said.

“There was some sort of confrontation there, and the officer felt threatened and discharged his firearm,” Roberts said.

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http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/was...elding-stepbrothers-accused-of-stealing-beer/

Systemic. Just shoot and claim you felt threatened or feared for your life and dead people aren't around to dispute it.

 

[annsni]

Or maybe the cops are just telling the truth. Trust me, if someone comes at me wielding a large wooden item with metal parts and I could defend myself, I would.

 

[Doubting Thomas]

Lesson: don't steel and don't attack cops with skateboards

 

[InTheLight]

Lesson: don't steel and don't attack cops with skateboards

...Or you'll be shot dead. Kind of a steep learning curve, don't you think?

 

[Zaac]

Or maybe the cops are just telling the truth. Trust me, if someone comes at me wielding a large wooden item with metal parts and I could defend myself, I would.

You know the cops could be telling the truth and this would STILL be senseless.

It's the same systemic pattern all across the country. If you're black, the cops are shooting to kill and then just claiming they feared for their lives .

If you're white, a lot of the cops are magically showing restraint.

 

[annsni]

...Or you'll be shot dead. Kind of a steep learning curve, don't you think?

Yeah - That happens. Maybe don't attack a cop. I think most kids learn that at an early age. It's not like the kid didn't know the cop was armed.

Oh and neither one are dead, are they?

 

[InTheLight]

Yeah - That happens. Maybe don't attack a cop. I think most kids learn that at an early age. It's not like the kid didn't know the cop was armed.

If I were a cop and if a kid came at me with a skateboard my first move would not be to shoot him.

Oh and neither one are dead, are they?

Not this time. Probably because the cop was a lousy shot.

 

[matt wade]

These fools are 21 and 24, can we stop calling them kids?

 

[Bro. Curtis]

So now cops are to stand and let themselves be hit with skateboards ?

No, the cop wasn't a lousy shot, he hit both of them numerous times. Moving targets are very hard to hit with a pistol.

Yes this cop did the right thing.

 

[sag38]

I'd love to see light and Zaac placed in the shoes of those two cops. It's easy to judge from the popcorn gallery..

 

[Zaac]

I'd love to see light and Zaac placed in the shoes of those two cops. It's easy to judge from the popcorn gallery..

Your judgment makes that clear. :laugh:

I'm just saying that it's just too easy for cops to shoot to kill over nothing. There has to be a point where this whole "I feared for my life" or "I felt threatened" excuse just doesn't work.

I can kill you with a feather. Are you justified as a cop to shoot to kill me because I come at you with a feather?

You've got crazed biker gangs running around with guns talking about killing cops and cops are showing all kinds of restraint.

But a guy pulls a skateboard and the cop shoots to kill? He must have looked in his eyes and seen a demon.

 

[matt wade]

Oh, ye great, almighty, and wise herald of righteousness, Zaac, I come before you to inquire and determine the proper actions if I, as an unrighteous, stupid, old, white man am attacked by a fine, upstanding, young black man with a skateboard. Oh ye all knowing, judge of all white men, please impart on me your wisdom. Should I, a symbol of all the world's ills, allow the black man to beat me to a pulp in order to, in a small way, adjust the scales back in the black man's favor? Please, ye decider of all things unfair, gift me with your superior knowledge.

 

[Salty]

Oh, ye great, almighty, and wise herald of righteousness, Zaac,...

Oh boy, am I waiting on this response!

 

[Revmitchell]

It looks like black lives matter only when they are killed by a white cop. Otherwise black folks that are killed are ignored. Geraldo Rivera got it right I believe. This obsession with black people being killed by white cops is going to hurt the civil rights movement especially as a result of the six cops being overcharged.

 

[Zaac]

Oh, ye great, almighty, and wise herald of righteousness, Zaac, I come before you to inquire and determine the proper actions if I, as an unrighteous, stupid, old, white man am attacked by a fine, upstanding, young black man with a skateboard.

Kiss him and beg his forgiveness.

Oh ye all knowing, judge of all white men, please impart on me your wisdom. Should I, a symbol of all the world's ills, allow the black man to beat me to a pulp in order to, in a small way, adjust the scales back in the black man's favor?

Maybe you brought it on yourself by responding incorrectly? If only you hadn't talked back or been disrespectful he may not have had to beat you with a skateboard.

Please, ye decider of all things unfair, gift me with your superior knowledge.

Now now. In the words of James Baldwin ..." it is not permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime."

 

[InTheLight]

Oh, ye great, almighty, and wise herald of righteousness, Zaac, I come before you to inquire and determine the proper actions if I, as an unrighteous, stupid, old, white man am attacked by a fine, upstanding, young black man with a skateboard. Oh ye all knowing, judge of all white men, please impart on me your wisdom. Should I, a symbol of all the world's ills, allow the black man to beat me to a pulp in order to, in a small way, adjust the scales back in the black man's favor? Please, ye decider of all things unfair, gift me with your superior knowledge.

Grab the skateboard and wrench it out of his hands. Or else immobilize the skateboard and attack the person.

The cop in this story was not injured.

 

[Don]

Maybe you brought it on yourself by responding incorrectly? If only you hadn't talked back or been disrespectful he may not have had to beat you with a skateboard.

I'd actually like to see a serious answer, rather than a frivolous one that encourages disrespect of authority.

 

[Zaac]

I'd actually like to see a serious answer, rather than a frivolous one that encourages disrespect of authority.

Maybe authority should stop disrespecting others too?

 

[matt wade]

Maybe you brought it on yourself by responding incorrectly? If only you hadn't talked back or been disrespectful he may not have had to beat you with a skateboard.

Oh thank you great conveyor of knowledge and justice. I now understand how very wrong I was. I understand now that it is acceptable for a black person to respond with violence when they have been talked back to or been disrespected. Thank you for imparting this great knowledge that violence is a natural reaction of the black man.

 

[matt wade]

Grab the skateboard and wrench it out of his hands. Or else immobilize the skateboard and attack the person.

The cop in this story was not injured.

Ah, we have been graced by another judge of unfairness. Thank you for your presence, oh great one. Could you train me in the ways of removing a skateboard from someone intent on utilizing it to beat me to a pulp? I would be most interested in your instruction on how to accomplish this without suffering broken fingers, wrists, or forearms. Thank you, ye man of great disarming ability.