Other State Officer shoots suspected shoplifter at Home Depot

[Nick Burkhardt]

Officer shoots suspected shoplifter at Home Depot in Riverdale, authorities say

Here is what we know.

www.11alive.com

GBI: Officer shoots at shoplifter trying to leave Home Depot in pickup truck

<p>The GBI told Channel 2's Tom Jones the shoplifter got into a physical altercation with police and tried to escape in his pick up truck before the shooting. </p>

www.wsbtv.com

Shoot a fleeing Shoplifter? Ok if you are the Police.

Read More

 

[Camelfilter]

Officer shoots suspected shoplifter at Home Depot in Riverdale, authorities say

Here is what we know.

www.11alive.com

GBI: Officer shoots at shoplifter trying to leave Home Depot in pickup truck

<p>The GBI told Channel 2's Tom Jones the shoplifter got into a physical altercation with police and tried to escape in his pick up truck before the shooting. </p>

www.wsbtv.com

Shoot a fleeing Shoplifter? Ok if you are the Police.

Too soon to say if it was a justified shooting or not, investigation is under way.

Same as I'd expect a civilian involved defensive gun use.

Innocent until proven guilty, I recall that is a "thing". One of those amendments along with the 2nd...perhaps the 14th.

 

[The Heretic]

When I went thru lethal force training (US fed gov.) it was reinforced that fleeing felons could only be shot if we felt that the fleeing felon was a danger to innocents.

It seems that has changed in the 40+ years since given the incidents I have read about (I have not read what happened with this one). Is shoplifting a felony now?

 

[Stomper]

Don't steal, won't get shot.... M'Kay!!

 

[The Heretic]

Don't steal, won't get shot.... M'Kay!!

I think the point is that the police can do this but a homeowner can't?

 

[308]

'When officers arrived, they got into some sort of "physical altercation" with the suspect, 42-year-old Terry Bradshaw, before he was able to break away, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation'

Pro Tip-1: Don't physically altercate a police officer or you might get shot.

Pro Tip-2: Non LEOs are not there to enforce laws with their CCW...the CCW is for personal defense.

 

[The Heretic]

'When officers arrived, they got into some sort of "physical altercation" with the suspect, 42-year-old Terry Bradshaw, before he was able to break away, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation'

Pro Tip-1: Don't physically altercate a police officer or you might get shot.

Pro Tip-2: Non LEOs are not there to enforce laws with their CCW...the CCW is for personal defense.

And homeowners?

My shotgun is for home defense.

Someone can break into my house and as long as they stay I could legally shoot them as I would be in fear for my life. But regardless of whether I got into an altercation with them or not, if they leave, I can't legally shoot them as they are running or driving away as I am no longer in fear for my life.

Ditto with LEOs - at least, they are no longer in fear for their lives when a suspect flees from them. So how come they can shoot someone fleeing their custody - especially a shoplifter?

Policy and practice used to not allow this for LEOs. Why is it now ok?

 

[308]

I thought the topic was about shooting petty thieves running out of big box stores with bubblegum they didn't pay for?

 

[Stomper]

Perhaps while attempting to escape the officers the suspect was operating the vehicle recklessly and endangering any innocents within close proximity....

 

[Alexx1401]

As so often happens with these things there is so little info yet. Often when "news" outlets start putting out info it is later found to be fabricated. Of course that will not stop many from passing judgment LONG before anything is really known. As written it sure does not "sound good". Seldom are these things anything close to the initial story though. Said both LEO's were wearing cams, be interesting to see if that video is let out to be seen.

 

[The Heretic]

I thought the topic was about shooting petty thieves running out of big box stores with bubblegum they didn't pay for?

Exactly.

How are they a threat that justifies shooting them?

I used to be a federal LEO and I have had lethal force training. It was 40 years ago, but the policy then was unless someone was a known continued and immediate threat to innocents you could not shoot even a fleeing felon. It was pretty much the same as the law is for 'civilians'

I have observed that this is no longer the case in many jurisdictions - just observe how many of the controversial LE shootings are of someone fleeing LEOs. And now LEOs are shooting shoplifting suspects? With another person in the vehicle? I find this questionable.

 

[The Heretic]

As so often happens with these things there is so little info yet. Often when "news" outlets start putting out info it is later found to be fabricated. Of course that will not stop many from passing judgment LONG before anything is really known. As written it sure does not "sound good". Seldom are these things anything close to the initial story though. Said both LEO's were wearing cams, be interesting to see if that video is let out to be seen.

Yes, I usually wait for most of the facts - especially in social media like Facebook. Here I am a little more likely to jump in earlier.

 

[The Heretic]

Perhaps while attempting to escape the officers the suspect was operating the vehicle recklessly and endangering any innocents within close proximity....

Perhaps. I didn't see anything mentioned to that effect - yet.

 

[Alexx1401]

And homeowners?

My shotgun is for home defense.

Someone can break into my house and as long as they stay I could legally shoot them as I would be in fear for my life. But regardless of whether I got into an altercation with them or not, if they leave, I can't legally shoot them as they are running or driving away as I am no longer in fear for my life.

Ditto with LEOs - at least, they are no longer in fear for their lives when a suspect flees from them. So how come they can shoot someone fleeing their custody - especially a shoplifter?

Policy and practice used to not allow this for LEOs. Why is it now ok?

If, and that is the big if, that is what happened, probably will not go well. That is assuming the "news" as reported is anything close to fact. Would you want to be tried and convicted of a shooting off the info the local news put out?
None of us has a clue yet what really happened here. While back one like this went down here at a mall. 2 LEO's approach, guy tries to take off, runs into one LEO who goes over the hood, and top, lands on the ground, then fires into the fleeing car. Damn good shooting. The chase is now on. This City LONG ago stopped allowing high speed chase. This one a LT got on the air, shouting at his guys to ram the car. Perp who is wounded stops, runs into a home and locks the door. LT shouts "boot the door" to which they ask him to repeat. He said "I said boot the damn door". They did, perp arrested.
Now is any of this close to what happened here? Who the hell knows. Wish I had kept a copy of the story I just told as it came out in the local news. Because it sounded a LOT like this one when they first started to report it. "Officers shoot unarmed fleeing suspect". As far as I remember the news never did put out what really happened.

 

[The Heretic]

Would you want to be tried and convicted of a shooting off the info the local news put out?

This forum is not a court, it isn't really even very public, so I am more prone to share my thoughts based on the limited info we currently have.

That said, I am also commenting on the general trend of LEOs shooting fleeing suspects.

The policy used to be to not do that except in exigent circumstances.

Today the opposite seems to be true; someone runs from a LEO, even if it isn't apparent that the person has done anything illegal, and bam bam bam! They get shot and the LEO claims they were in fear for their life because someone was running away from them.

If a civilian did that they would be in cuffs and facing a murder charge.

 

[308]

This forum is not a court, it isn't really even very public, so I am more prone to share my thoughts based on the limited info we currently have.

That said, I am also commenting on the general trend of LEOs shooting fleeing suspects.

The policy used to be to not do that except in exigent circumstances.

Today the opposite seems to be true; someone runs from a LEO, even if it isn't apparent that the person has done anything illegal, and bam bam bam! They get shot and the LEO claims they were in fear for their life because someone was running away from them.

If a civilian did that they would be in cuffs and facing a murder charge.

It's been a long time since I went through the academy but I if I remember correctly, lethal force could be used against a 'fleeing felon' where that felon had a weapon and had the likelihood of using it against the officer or an innocent while fleeing. I never heard that we could shoot someone for running out of Home Depot with a stolen drill motor.

I do recall sitting in my wife's handgun training class at MCSO where the officer said civilians with CC permits will be accountable 'for every round fired'....odd, I've not heard the same for, maybe like those NYC cops who shot something like 90 rounds at a guy and maybe hit him once or twice.

 

[Alexx1401]

This forum is not a court, it isn't really even very public, so I am more prone to share my thoughts based on the limited info we currently have.

That said, I am also commenting on the general trend of LEOs shooting fleeing suspects.

The policy used to be to not do that except in exigent circumstances.

Today the opposite seems to be true; someone runs from a LEO, even if it isn't apparent that the person has done anything illegal, and bam bam bam! They get shot and the LEO claims they were in fear for their life because someone was running away from them.

If a civilian did that they would be in cuffs and facing a murder charge.

I am not seeing that, Cops being allowed to shoot people who simply ran. Unless you mean it was how the "news" reported it, later to be found bogus. I have seen a few high profile shoots where Cops are being charged with a crime for shooting someone. Have some where they were found to shoot a fleeing guy for no reason and walked?

 

[bbbass]

Wasn't Terry Bradshaw a football player and commentator... shooting him is a little harsh!

 

[Alexx1401]

It's been a long time since I went through the academy but I if I remember correctly, lethal force could be used against a 'fleeing felon' where that felon had a weapon and had the likelihood of using it against the officer or an innocent while fleeing. I never heard that we could shoot someone for running out of Home Depot with a stolen drill motor.

I do recall sitting in my wife's handgun training class at MCSO where the officer said civilians with CC permits will be accountable 'for every round fired'....odd, I've not heard the same for, maybe like those NYC cops who shot something like 90 rounds at a guy and maybe hit him once or twice.

THAT part always scares me. When you see video of LEO's firing on some scum in a place where others are. I often watch those wondering, where the hell are all those rounds going that miss? That one a while back where they shot that meth head in the center of town. He was throwing rocks at them. They opened up on him twice to put him down. I kept wondering how many cars and stores had holes in them when they were done.

 

[308]

Wasn't Terry Bradshaw a football player and commentator... shooting him is a little harsh!