[RenegadeRick]

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/three-cops-indicted-in-grooms-shooting/20070315140609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

oster_oops: Ok, so maybe they weren't choir boys, but apparently the grand jury saw reason for the case to proceed.

Three of the five policemen whose 50-bullet barrage killed an unarmed man on his wedding day were indicted Friday in a case that heightened racial tensions and renewed allegations that the city's officers are too fast on the trigger.

 

[sanjuro]

 

[dhbuilder]

maybe ??

 

[Old Man G Funk]

maybe ??

As I recall, you leveled a charge about the "choir boys" that Rick asked you to back up...you never did. Care to back it up now?

 

[blue]

Felony murder charges are overrated.

 

[MikeD]

Well, it's pretty damned easy to get a grand jury to indict anyone for anything...all it means is that there will be a trial.

If the police's account is convincing in court (ie, the van struck a cop, and the cop fired in self-defense, and the other cops legitimately mistook the first cop's muzzle flashes for outgoing fire), they meet the Constitutional standards for use of force. Of course, New York state law might be more restrictive for the officers.

And their accounting of the events might fall apart on the stand. We'll see.

It's entirely possible both parties are "right..." The driver of the van might have just seen a screaming man with a gun and tried to didi mau out of there. The police might have legitimately felt it was an attack, and fired until the vehicle stopped. The thing is, a tie generally goes to the police...if they can articulate their reasons for doing what they did, and they're 'objectively reasonable' given the facts known to the officers under the stress and confusion of the situation, they're generally not criminally liable.

Gonna have the **** sued out of them in any case once the criminal piece is over.

MD

 

[$tinkle]

to add to MikeD's comment: can anyone cite the last time a cop was convicted of abuse of power (or whatever charge he caught) which resulted in anything more than a suspended sentence or probation?

yeah, me neither.