Police shoot pregnant woman dead (USA)

[SuddenlyOld]

Ok America, since when did it become normal for police officers to point guns at pregnant women accused of shoplifting?
She didn't have a weapon or get violent. Turns out she hadn't stolen anything either.
If I was black in America I'd be scared to go out 😪😪😪
This is probably the worst thing I've seen ever.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66690408

I would say that she decided to leave the scene, and that really is the issue. Leaving just gives the impression,rightly or wrongly, that the person who is being stopped is up to something much worse.

No, she wasn't. Watch the video again, her wheels were locked to the right and she rolled forward. She wasn't driving straight at the office at all. The only time she did seem to attempt to accelerate in any meaningful way was AFTER she was shot, so I'm assuming it wasn't an entirely voluntary action.

Fuck me, some of you are fucking awful. There is no excuse for the officer's actions. There were other options he had (shoot out the tyres for example), yet he saw fit to jump in front of a car and shoot a woman dead. Just fuck off.

Excuse me?
Who are YOU to tell me to fuck off?
I actually edited my comment within seconds as I realised I was quoting an article I'd read without making it clear I was quoting - plus I'd read a couple of other comments and realised that what I had read was rubbish.

Aaaargh, sorry, I didn't mean to quote you!

There are grown (non-Australian) adults who freak out when they see a bloody spider, of course there are going to be people who freak out when the police try to stop them. The police should be able to handle that without unnecessary force.

They could have followed the car, or pulled the details and visited her at home. It was suspected shoplifting, she didn't have a body in the boot.

I'm not keen on the police. They turned up at my door and "asked" to look round my flat. I felt I had to let them because of the way they spoke, and there being two big guys when it was just me and my babies at home. They had mistaken me for my cousin, who I was only on nodding terms with, and even after seeing me (we look quite different) they wanted to violate the security of my home.

Can someone please explain how the police force ( in general) are supposed to uphold the laws and keep peace and order if people think its ok to just not do as they are asked/ told to by a police officer because they insert various random excuses here are female, black, asian etc?

NO ONE has suggested that. Just don't shoot people. Not a big ask, is it?

Maybe complying would be the better option, and ,yes, we are going round in circles.
BTW, do you really think if the police had visited her at home, having checked her address through registration details, that she would have let them in, cooperated and nothing untoward would have happened? There would ,quite probably, still been problems.

IMO, if they are not able to de-escalate a non-life-threatening situation without reaching for their guns they are not fit to serve as a police officer.

In this case, they should have allowed her to go and followed up later pending taking a full statement from the store employee and checking CCTV. Equally, they could have used their radio to request her car be stopped by traffic police/a colleague.

There were multiple actions they could have taken rather than letting her go or shooting her to death.

You don't always have to do what a police officer says.

There are things they can request and things they can't.

It is important that people know their rights. Even as those rights are taken away from us.

How do other police forces , that are generally unarmed, manage to catch criminals,make arrests etc.? Magic?

How were the officers supposed to ascertain that she was unarmed? She refused to get out of the car and tried to drive off! Yes officers in the USA are trigger happy but people tend to forget that they are not the only ones who have the right to be armed ( unlike the uk). They didn't know anything, so if im being completely honest she knew the possibility of what could happen when she refused to do as she was asked, i have no sympathy! Until people have actually served in the emergency services ( police in particular) they have absolutely no idea what these workers have to deal with on a daily basis and the absolute pond life they have to tolerate! It's unsurprising that they become jaded and treat everyone as a potential threat!

There are always armed police on duty, but in the UK not every police officer carries a gun, a lot of officers carry tasers now though.

@CallumDansTransitVan

They need to build trust the police are renowned for misogynism and racism. Two black women were murdered on a London estate and the officers were taking photos of them and passing it around. The young black school girl who was striped searched at school when she should have been doing her GCSEs. The list goes on and on.

@AngryGreasedSantaCatcus in most other countries the police are also armed as they are in the usa! Are you suggesting that a potential car chase putting members of the public at risk of harm would have been a better solution?

@Carpediemmakeitcount tbh the police don't HAVE to do anything however members of the public HAVE to comply with a request from a police officer or face consequences if they don't!

Haven’t RTFT, but read a few posts.

I live in the US and as @BlackberryCrumbs observed, guns are the problem. People are shot daily where I live, whether the police are involved or not.

Four were shot today alone, one killed and three injured. On Friday, a 12-year-old was shot at a football game, thankfully he’s recovering.

It’s out of control and unfortunately, there’s no solution in sight.

That’s not true actually. They have a lot of rules they have to follow. That’s in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notice-of-rights-and-entitlements-a-persons-rights-in-police-detention

@ChardonnaysBeastlyCat that is just a list of your rights if you are in police detention, obviously people have rights! That doesn't mean you don't have to comply with a request from a police officer! How are they actually supposed to detain someone in the first place if anyone can just refuse to comply?

No they don't.

Don't you know your rights?

Advice and Information - Liberty (libertyhumanrights.org.uk)

Police powers to stop and search: your rights - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

A police officer might stop you and ask:

• what your name is
• what you’re doing in the area
• where you’re going

You don’t have to stop or answer any questions. If you don’t and there’s no other reason to suspect you, then this alone can’t be used as a reason to search or arrest you.

A police officer might stop you and ask:

• what your name is
• what you’re doing in the area
• where you’re going

You don’t have to stop or answer any questions. If you don’t and there’s no other reason to suspect you, then this alone can’t be used as a reason to search or arrest you.

If a police officer asks you your name, you don't have to tell them.

You might but you don't have to.

I wasn’t minimizing police behavior in my previous post, btw, but I think it’s difficult to understand just how prevalent gun violence is in some parts of the US.

We’re planning to move to a different area as soon as it’s feasible.

It's unsurprising that they become jaded and treat everyone as a potential threat!

And that's what's fucking wrong with it all.

Undoubtebly there are good and bad officers. And the behaviour in both those examples is terrible. I have witnessed and been the target of some dickhead Police as well. But by and large most interactions have been fine.

What needs focused on is the vast majority of interactions are fine, are not intended to cause offence.

But when examples of the athletes behaviour are held up as proof of racism, it gives a skewed interpretation of racist behaviour and encourages cries of prejudice where none exist.

You are comparing apples with oranges though when 40% of the population either owns or lives with someone who owns a gun. I'm in Ireland and when they stop someone for shoplifting there is no thought at all that the person might whip out a gun and shoot them dead, I don't think anyone has ever even been stabbed in the town I live in never mind shot, it is a completely different situation and requires a completely different mindset when entering the situation. There is about 120 guns per 100 people in the US, in Ohio where this happened you carry a gun without a permit. You cannot in any way compare how the police might act in Ireland, the Uk or Spain for instance. It just isn't the same. When so many people have guns and you are allowed to carry a gun around with you where ever you go the police would be fucking stupid not to assume that people are carrying a gun. They have lives and families too that I assume they would like to go home to.