I think I'm starting to get it. It's OK for us to allow our young children to play with guns, but when they get a little older they should stop. Is that about it?
Here's a question. Does anyone really believe the cops told him to put the gun down? Wouldn't pointing a gun at a crowd of people be enough reason to shoot him without first giving him the chance to change his mind? Wouldn't time be of the essence in a case like that?Investigators say they've recovered a fake pistol from the scene of a police-involved shooting in the Bronx early Friday morning.The New York City Police Department says the incident began at around 3 a.m. when officers went to check out a fight near the intersection of Grant Highway and Jerome Avenue in Highbridge.
Upon their arrival, officers saw a man pointing what appeared to be a 9-millimeter hand gun at a crowd of people outside the Cocoa House club.
Police say the man, identified as Mamadou Balde, 21, was shot when he refused to drop the weapon.
He was hit three times. The gun was later found to be a fake.
I think they blew his ass away, or at least tried to, at the first possible moment. Then, being so adept at covering up their wrong actions with lies, they added that part about his refusing to put the gun down. Don't forget, in other cases it's "reaching into the waistband" or "raising the gun" that is the determining factor in lethal threat. What, in this case he was pointing the gun at people and they tried to negotiate with him?
Here's the only hope I see, since no one wants to ban toy guns and the trigger-happy cops are inveterate. In another year or so they'll come out with a new technology. It'll look like the night-vision goggles but be equipped with that Terminator-type computer scanner. This equipment will tell the cops if they're dealing with a toy gun or a real one. Then there will be no more excuses.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
You assume no one in the crowd would dispute the police story if they did not really tell him to "drop his weapon."
ReplyDeleteYou also claim their actions were wrong. How long should they have waited before taking action? Should police have to wait for a potential shooter to shoot first? How many shots do they get to fire? Do they have to hit someone before police can intervene with deadly force? Should the police be required to try to disarm the person without using deadly force? How many police officer need to be injured before they are allowed to use deadly force?
Look it is very simple. If you do not want to be shot by the police, do not get involved in a fight at 3 am, don't have what looks to be a gun in your hands threatening other people, and don't refuse to drop whatever it is when the police tell you to drop it. This dude had many chances to avoid this.
Again, play stupid toy gun games, win stupid toy gun prizes....
ReplyDeleteI would never convict a police officer that did this, jury nullification all the way....
"Again, play stupid toy gun games, win stupid toy gun prizes...."
ReplyDeleteExactamundo.
In this case Jim, I didn't say they should have waited or that they were wrong. I said they unnecessarily added the part about dropping the gun.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you defend trigger-happy cops so much?
In other cases can't you admit that they sometimes shoot prematurely?
well im a friend of this guy since we were 12 and trust me they didnt not order him to put it down nor they seen him wit the fake gun,,,cops just wanted to shoot at him and they covering it wit lies,,,if you ask anyone that was there they would tell you that the cops didnt oerder him to put his gun down,,,tell me why wont he put it down when he knows is a fake gun?
ReplyDeleteStupid clown dropped the gun fast enough after he was shot I bet.....
ReplyDeleteI wish though that he would have clamped on with all his retarded criminal might so that they would have had to shoot him to death....
Can't win em all....
Dear Anonymous, not the last one the one before that, I'm sorry to hear he was a friend of yours. I believe you about the cops. That's why I post stories like these.
ReplyDeleteTo the last anonymous, you're a silly asshole who likes to talk tough. Guys like you give a bad name to responsible gun owners.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"well im a friend of this guy since we were 12 and trust me they didnt not order him to put it down nor they seen him wit the fake gun,,,cops just wanted to shoot at him and they covering it wit lies,,,if you ask anyone that was there they would tell you that the cops didnt oerder him to put his gun down,,,tell me why wont he put it down when he knows is a fake gun?"
Tell me what the heck he was doing with a fake gun that looked enough like a real gun to be a potential threat?
There are proper ways to transport firearms - which is NOT out in the open where it can be perceived as a threat - and there are improper ways to do so. No matter how you try to spin it, this was provocative behavior which incited the response of the police, in the context of reported violence - another contributing factor to the events. Smarter moves would be 1. don't be carrying around fake weapons at 3 a.m. when it is dark that reasonably can be mistaken for a real gun; 2. don't be waving it around when there are police who can reasonably be apprehensive about that behavior - put it down or put it away WITHOUT being told to do so first; and 3. when you have the opportunity of removing yourself from violence, do so, don't be pointing fake guns at people who are fighting, and then try to blame someone else for what happens as a result.
The primry cause of death to Mr. Mamadou Balde should be listed as terminal stupidity on his death certificate, with firearms as a contributing factor.
His loss to his friends and family is a very sad occurrence. I'm not writing this in a glib or flippant tone, nor do I wish to minimize his death.
But if there were ever an avoidable kind of firearm death, this one would seem to be IT - and that avoidance should pretty much rest on the side of Mr. Balde, not the police who seem pretty clearly legitimately to be attempting to protect the lives of others and themselves.
What WAS your friend doing with this gun anyway? In what universe does a fake gun not have all the downsides of a real gun, with none of the advantages?
Dog Gone "In what universe does a fake gun not have all the downsides of a real gun, with none of the advantages?"
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic line. Love it. The only thing worse than carrying a fake gun is brandishing a fake gun.
Wait a minute, Dog Gone. Stupid behaviour should not be met with summary execution like it often is. In my opinion, whenever someone shoots another, we have to focus on the shooter first.
ReplyDeleteMamadou Balde is the prime suspect in the murder of CBP Officer Maurice Gordon (one of my fellow officers before I retired). I forwarded his photo matching the composite sketch of the killer to Officer Chianese 115th Pct.My last communication with the engaging Police Officers was that he was not expected to survive his wounds. I think he knew he was a marked man and decided to commit suicide by cop. He fits EVERY DETAIL of the composite sketch. Please do not identify me as this man is/was a gang member.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - As an afterthought I'd like to convey my accolades to the responding officers. God bless the NYPD!...Another demon got his bat wings.
DeleteP.S. - The killing of Officer Maurice Gordon was the aftermath of a dispute with the suspect who wanted to dance with his cousin. She refused, inflaming the suspect. Officer Gordon intervened on her behalf. The suspect and an accomplice followed Officer Gordon home and ambushed him in his driveway. The Officer returned fire but was cut down by a fusillade of over 50 bullets. There was a second man involved: He was either a shooter or the driver. Nonetheless, he was an accomplice to murdering a Federal Agent. Officer Gordon left behind his wife and infant daughter. His father died of a heart attack the day after the wake. Mamadou Balde's accomplice remains at large.
ReplyDeleteCompare these two images:
ReplyDeletehttp://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2014/03/suspect-113-prec-cold-case-1395854125.jpg/extralarge.jpg
https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/mamadou_balde-300x450.jpg?quality=100&strip=all&w=300&h=441&crop=1