Houston Grand Jury Clears Officer in the Shooting Death of Jordan Baker

Local news reports

 

Trigger-Happy Colorado State Troopers Fired

Local news reports

The Colorado State Patrol has fired two troopers who were involved in the 2010 shooting death of an unarmed suspect.

Trooper Ivan Lawyer and Cpl. Kirk Firko were notified Tuesday they are no longer employed by the agency.

The troopers went to Jason Kemp's home in 2010 while investigating a traffic accident. Lawyer said that during a struggle, he shot Kemp because he saw him raise his arm and thought he had a weapon.

The troopers had no comment.

This goes to show you how easily a criminal act can be passed off as a legitimate DGU. This one almost was.

But, even in gun-friendly Colorado, sometimes the trigger happy gun owners, cops in this case, don't get away with murder.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Good Cop, or Trigger Happy Bad Cop?

 I am concerned that when there are other police present, when there is no clear drawing of a gun on the officers or anyone else, when no weapon is found in the hands of the person who is shot, that this should NOT be considered a justified shooting.  While the article claims that the previous shootings were found to be justified, I'd have to add that I don't find that credible if the city was also paying off a settlement over the shooting in a substantial amount to avoid going to trial.
While the article states there were weapons in the house, it did not state these were ILLEGAL weapons in the house.
I particularly object to the shooting with the child in the man's arms being at risk, had the officer missed.  That, in view of the man NOT having a gun, was clearly NOT a justified risk.
Arizona appears to be have a gun culture which is far too quick to resort ot lethal violence.
They're not the only ones.


From MSNBC.com :

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Grandpa-shooting Arizona officer has five previous kills under his belt 

By msnbc.com staff and NBC News

The Arizona police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man while he held his baby grandson has been involved in at least five previous fatal shootings, police said.
The officer, James Peters of the Scottsdale police, was on administrative leave Thursday after he killed John Loxas, 50, with a single rifle shot to the head Tuesday. Loxas' 9-month-old grandson, who was in his arms, was unhurt.
"There were at least three officers in position to engage the suspect," Sgt. Mark Clark, a spokesman for the Scottsdale police, told NBC station KPNX of Phoenix. "At least one of the officers thought he saw something in the suspect's hands."
KPNX reported that Peters has now been involved in seven shootings in the past 10 years, six of them fatal. The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the city of Scottsdale agreed to a $75,000 settlement in 2009 with the family of one of the people Peters had killed; the city denied liability.
New Times, a Phoenix alternative weekly, profiled Peters in 2010 under the headline "'Dirty Harry' in Scottsdale? Badass Cop Bags Four Bad Guys in 10-Year Career." 
Police said that as a former member of the SWAT team, Peters had been involved in the department's most dangerous assignments and that all of the previous shootings had been found to be justified.
In the incident Tuesday, police were called to Loxas' home after a call to 911 reported that he had kicked over a trash can and threatened the owner when he complained. The caller said Loxas was walking around the neighborhood with his grandson and a weapon. 
"We have a neighbor out here that pulled a gun on us," the caller said. "He's got a baby in his arms. He's got a gun, and he cocked it."
Loxas had returned home by the time police arrived, and he answered the door with the baby in his arms. Peters and another officer told investigators they saw something in Loxas' hand, and when he turned, Peters fired a single shot, killing Loxas instantaneously.
Afterward, detectives determined that Loxas wasn't armed. But they did find several weapons in the home, KPNX reported.