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Yep where was his backup .
And why didn't he wait for some.
Wanna be cowboy .
Now there is a dead lady .
And he is going to jail for EVER.

Two units arrived on scene within 20 seconds of each other. He had at least one other person with him.

Its one of those things where if he'd sat around and it really was something like a home invasion, he'd be criticized for not wanting to go in. He'd be the next Broward Coward.
 
Ya know,
I can only imagine how tense that situation could be. Potential criminal in the dark and to suddenly see someone appear in a window with a gun in hand?

i don't know how this doesn't happen more often.
I am grateful that the police are there to go into the dark, dangerous places.
God bless them all.
 
And he has only been a cop for a short time.

Which will work in his favor during the investigation and trial. "What would a reasonable officer with his training and experience do in that situation".


This article says the deceased's nephew said she had gotten her gun when she heard noise from outside. The department spokesperson stated he had violated policy regarding deescalation and would have been fired if he had not resigned. I think that's a line of BS meant to appease the public and could be a reason the shooter wins a suit against the department later. If he was new, he got bullied into resigning. I'd have said "lawyer" and got put on admin leave.
 
Without knowing any other details, if I were involved in the investigation, I'd have a few questions:

If the call went to the non-emergent line, what was the dispatch?

Was there input from the supervisor in that district? Was anyone else on the way?

If exigent circumstances didn't exist to make entry, why was there no knock and announce? Or was there? Seemed like a knocking sound at 1:08. Either way, the officers found it necessary to whisper, but weren't afraid of shining their lights everywhere.

He seemed surprised to see the victim and drew his gun in response. So, no exigent circumstances existed to have the gun out. Then why the whispering? Why not be loud and proud? If I'm wandering around holstered with 800 lumens of light flashing everywhere, why no "Hellooooo!!! Fort Worth Police Department! Hellooooo?!?!" Bang on the door, siding, whatever.

The question will be whether he was carrying out his duty lawfully up to the point of of the shooting. If so, I'm not thinking murder will stick. I think the referral was made because he wasn't cooperating. They want you to talk, but you shouldn't. If they threatened the loss of his job, he may have a Garrity rights violation.

I noticed the statement made by the chief hit the same pattern of criticisms made by the same attorney before regarding training, policy, etc.

This thing could be pretty juicy by the end.
 
So let me get this straight, officer is called on an "open structure" call and investigates appropriately, finds someone in a window pointing a gun at him and fires in self defense and is now being indicted for murder.

I'm so glad I never got into law enforcement they seriously couldn't pay me enough.
 
So let me get this straight, officer is called on an "open structure" call and investigates appropriately, finds someone in a window pointing a gun at him and fires in self defense and is now being indicted for murder.

I'm so glad I never got into law enforcement they seriously couldn't pay me enough.

I think their chief was already on the hot seat. Thats why I want to know if the patrol supervisor was involved, were directives given as to how they would respond? Were they both new? Whispers and bright lights and all. Is the other officer in trouble for making the same mistakes up to that point? Did they just follow along? Did they try to slow things down?
 
So, here is where I have issues with what went down!
Officer is spotlighting all over the place and NO ONE is announcing Police, Come out with hands up! Victim is preoccupied with video games and cannot hear the officers who are wispering, (it's a rough neighborhood, so she feels the need to arm herself,) officer gets to the window just as the home owner notices all the spotlighting, and picked up her firearm to investigate the source of all the spotlighting, and NO ONE has announced loudly "Police," so as far as the home owner knows, it could be a burgle about to go down or other bad things. Officer hits the window and sees the armed homeowner, freaks out and fires after yelling show hands, and fires a second later! Home owner never had the chance, and now the officer is up for murder, ( as he should be) for not following protocols.
 
and now the officer is up for murder, ( as he should be) for not following protocols
ok, but how do we know he was not following protocols? What are the police protocols for investigating an "open structure" type call? Do you announce your presence to the potential burglar inside or do you scout the outside perimeter for suspects? What would you do if you showed up and saw a gun in the window investigating a potential burglary?

There are lots of questions I have on this case as for now I see a cop who showed up to do his job with the information he was given. Had he not encountered the homeowner in the window I don't see any reason anyone would scrutinize the tactic he followed investigating this type of call.
 
And this circles back to what No_Regerts pointed out earlier, and as we do not know the specifics for the dept. in question, we don't know!

I still think the Officer shot way too quickly, and even if it was a legit self defense question, I see way to many mistakes that lead to this sad outcome!
 
I still think the Officer shot way too quickly, and even if it was a legit self defense question, I see way to many mistakes that lead to this sad outcome!
if it was a legit self defense question its impossible to shoot too quickly especially if you are already seeing a gun in hand.
Officers have a split second to decide on their life... We all here should know how long it takes to draw from concealment....


This case reminds me of other controversial cases where the officer makes a reasonable decision that turns out to not be the correct perfect decision and someone tragically dies. This is the part about law enforcement that is difficult to judge, Its too early yet to sift thru the media bias and judge if the officer made a choice based on negligence vs reasonableness.
 
So, here is where I have issues with what went down!
Officer is spotlighting all over the place and NO ONE is announcing Police, Come out with hands up! Victim is preoccupied with video games and cannot hear the officers who are wispering, (it's a rough neighborhood, so she feels the need to arm herself,) officer gets to the window just as the home owner notices all the spotlighting, and picked up her firearm to investigate the source of all the spotlighting, and NO ONE has announced loudly "Police," so as far as the home owner knows, it could be a burgle about to go down or other bad things. Officer hits the window and sees the armed homeowner, freaks out and fires after yelling show hands, and fires a second later! Home owner never had the chance, and now the officer is up for murder, ( as he should be) for not following protocols.

Unless they can say he was committing a crime by being there, I doubt murder would stick. Negligent Homicide? Manslaughter? Maybe. Whether or not he was lawfully on the property will probably determine the outcome of this case.
 
Unless they can say he was committing a crime by being there, I doubt murder would stick. Negligent Homicide? Manslaughter? Maybe. Whether or not he was lawfully on the property will probably determine the outcome of this case.
He was there lawfully, its his job to be there directed by the community. This is why so many cops get acquitted in cases like this and why so many civilians don't understand why when a citizen would be convicted. The cop has a legal obligation to be there, a citizen does not.
In my opinion, this case will come down to if the cop made a reasonable decision or acted with negligence. Lawful self defense does not require a perfect decision.
 
How much worse is it with a donut in the other hand? ;):D

Not hard....if the shooter trains that way on a regular basis.

I had a shooter who had 1 inch talons on her nails. Needless to say, I watched her closely. She had zero issues on her drawing and holstering. Zero issues on her reloads. Her support side shooting was no worse than anyone elses.
 
I am stunned that the insurance companies dont require simulators or force on force training on a regular basis.

I was at a public event and visited the SO booth. I asked the Deputy how much force on force training she gets. "What is force on force training?" was her answer.
 
I guess what i'm sayin, IF the Officer HAD called out his presence, ( Especially as he had additional officers present) and then had to shoot, this would probably not be an issue! While the outcome is sad sad sad, ultimately, this officers actions, or lack there of, led to this tragic story, and will surely play a significant part in it's outcome!
 
He was there lawfully, its his job to be there directed by the community. This is why so many cops get acquitted in cases like this and why so many civilians don't understand why when a citizen would be convicted. The cop has a legal obligation to be there, a citizen does not.
In my opinion, this case will come down to if the cop made a reasonable decision or acted with negligence. Lawful self defense does not require a perfect decision.

It depends on whether they consider him entering the gated back yard as having forced entry to the property without an exigent circumstance.
 
I am stunned that the insurance companies dont require simulators or force on force training on a regular basis.

I was at a public event and visited the SO booth. I asked the Deputy how much force on force training she gets. "What is force on force training?" was her answer.

These are a double edged sword. Force on force only works if you use force. Every situation you get into during training requires force, unlike the real world. You see guys go through post-stress letdown after a long day of sims.
 
I do not think Texas has a Universal LEO Certification program like Oklahoma does There was a Deputy out of Rock Springs Texas a decade or so ago who opened fire on a Van filled with people, that took off during a Traffic stop, nearly running over the Deputy's foot (it did miss the foot). One of the rounds killed a young illegal girl. There was no threat to the Deputy after the van pulled away and he then drew his weapon and fired several times striking the van at least three time if I recall. The Deputy had watched a few videos for training.
The US Attorney put him in Prison, five years I think. Should have been the Sherriff.
 

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