Thread: Man killed by Long Beach police was holding a water nozzle

For the lawyers in this group... remember the LEGAL standard is what the officer knew and perceived at the time. Hind sight will always be 20/20 but at the time, if they can articulate that based on the information they had before arriving and what that saw when they arrived, and to a grand jury of citizens from their community making the case that it was reasonable based on the information they had at the time, they will walk from criminal prosecution.

Originally Posted by Trlsmn

When all is said and done the man does have the right to hold a water nozzle in public, he also has the right to point it at someone, anyone, including the police, to the defenders, please post the law that says he cannot do this?

The burden is on the police not the man.

Was it stupid on the part of the man? I think the results make that obvious.

See, and that's the shortsightedness of the statement. "When all is said and done". That's also called hindsight. It comes down to what the officers knew and perceived at the time they shot. It will come down to what they thought and knew at the time they fired their weapons.

Originally Posted by JohnWayne

See, and that's the shortsightedness of the statement. "When all is said and done". That's also called hindsight. It comes down to what the officers knew and perceived at the time they shot. It will come down to what they thought and knew at the time they fired their weapons.

Well, they thought he had a gun, and now they know he had a garden nozzle, whoops.

Originally Posted by Chee-to

Well, they thought he had a gun, and now they know he had a garden nozzle.

Right, it's not my argument that they were justified ultimately. It is going to be determined by what a reasonable citizen will believe that the OFFICERS believed at the time.