"If you see something, say something!"

If they observed him pointing the gun at several things, they should have also observed him NOT SHOOTING THEM, and since they were hidden and he didn't know they were there I'm gonna go ahead and assume he wasn't pointing it "at them".

What would these officers have done if someone was in their own house practicing (dry fire drills anyone?) and a neighbor called saying a man was seen holding a gun? Would they shoot you while you were in your house?
 
"The officers had a position of cover and were observing the suspect while other officers were en route," said Sgt. Dina Zapalski, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.
 
blindndead said:
"The officers had a position of cover and were shooting the suspect while other officers were en route, where they would shoot him more just to be sure because the cops on scene had already run out of ammo" said Sgt. Dina Zapalski, a spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.
Click to expand...

fixed it for you
 
Cops should be required to pass a vision test before being allowed to carry. Another case of that old worn out phrase, "I thought me life was in danger". Well in this case it was not and the cops should be thrown in jail. I'm sick of reading these stories how cops are able to get away with murder! Hopefully the family of this guy will bring a civil suit against these cops and they go to prison.
 
Last edited:
Well, looks like CA cops are getting better, this time they shot someone and then handcuffed them, unlike the BART rent-a-cop that shot a cuffed "perp" in the back.

To the poster alleging anti-cop sentiment, I see more along the lines of anti-idiot sentiment. Look at what's been posted recently, the actions of idiots.
 
derek said:
Any officer that mistakes that for a firearm should probably stick to writing parking tickets. I have to identify a weapon before I shoot, they should have to as well.
Click to expand...

I agree completely - but officers have misidentified far stranger things as guns with equally tragic consequences. At least something like this vaguely resembles a gun.

The officers should be canned at the very least.
 
I saw a news clip on this last night that was pretty disturbing. It showed the Police Chief walking out of a interview because he couldn't explain why his officers shot this guy six times with their handguns and twice with a shotgun without muttering a word. Talk about arrogant.[rolleyes]
If you've ever seen a deer that has been hit with a slug or buckshot you can only imagine how large the pool of blood was BEFORE they put cuffs on him. This guy was probably dead before he hit the ground and obviously not a threat.
Now the taxpayers of this town will have to brace themselves for the pending lawsuit because these officers didn't take the time to ID their target.
 
vellnueve said:
http://www.amazon.com/Claber-9567-Metal-Jet-Pistol-Garden/dp/B000BQSSA2/ref=sr_1_12?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1292360377&sr=1-12

Something like that could easily look like a gun from 50 feet away.
Click to expand...

Ya but that was not just an ordinary snub-nose water nozzle:

Heavy duty spray pistol with resistant, inalterable chrome metal components, new anatomical rubber grip and convenient front on-off flow mechanism. Rear metal knob adjusts strength of water jet. Pistol body is rubber lined for protection against impact. Water flow can be adjusted as required, from completely closed (concentrated) to completely open (fan spray). Performs with outdoor temperatures of up to 140-degrees and water temperature ranging from 32-degrees to 120-degrees.
 
"He took us swimming, he bought us cupcakes in 85-degree weather," said Julie McKernie Hampton, 40, who was Zerby's friend and neighbor. "I just can't imagine Doug having a gun."
Click to expand...

So gun owners aren't nice people? Since when, I go out of my way to help people daily.
 
I thought they got a call about a person with a gun. This guy was drunk and had this water nozzle in his hand and pointed it at the cops, in a dark environment.

I am not excusing the action of the cops, but it does sound like the guy had a little part in all of this...
 
I guess I look at this in a little different light.

Police get a 911 call about a drunk male with a gun on a lawn. They arrive, observe the man handling something, give him commands (which he does not comply with), and then points whatever he was holding (they beleive is a gun) at them. I do not expect police officers to wait until someone actually fires first to return fire so in this caase I beleive their actions were justified.

I feel bad for him and his family but he played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. Just my $.02 though
 
Jay6 said:
I guess I look at this in a little different light.

Police get a 911 call about a drunk male with a gun on a lawn. They arrive, observe the man handling something, give him commands (which he does not comply with), and then points whatever he was holding (they beleive is a gun) at them. I do not expect police officers to wait until someone actually fires first to return fire so in this caase I beleive their actions were justified.

I feel bad for him and his family but he played a stupid game and won a stupid prize. Just my $.02 though
Click to expand...

They didn't give him any commands. According to the article, they opened fire before making their presence known.
 
ochmude said:
They didn't give him any commands. According to the article, they opened fire before making their presence known.
Click to expand...

And they appear to be crack shots like the LAPD. The "perp" was only hit twice.
She said within 30 seconds she heard two types of gunshots. She counted at least 15 shots fired.
Click to expand...

Lots of fail to go around however. A drama queen 911 caller embellishes the facts of the call, yielding a response not commensurate with the facts, which is then turned fatal by an appalling lack of accountability in police policies that have granted way too much deference to the "furtive movement". Until we force police academies and PDs to adhere to a deescalation policy on contact this will continue to occur. The courts justifiably want to show deference to those admirably performing what is a dangerous and thankless job, but in doing so they have removed too much liability. It has backfired and now that deference is causing needless deaths.
 
terraformer said:
And they appear to be crack shots like the LAPD. The "perp" was only hit twice.


Lots of fail to go around however. A drama queen 911 caller embellishes the facts of the call, yielding a response not commensurate with the facts, which is then turned fatal by an appalling lack of accountability in police policies that have granted way too much deference to the "furtive movement". Until we force police academies and PDs to adhere to a deescalation policy on contact this will continue to occur. The courts justifiably want to show deference to those admirably performing what is a dangerous and thankless job, but in doing so they have removed too much liability. It has backfired and now that deference is causing needless deaths.
Click to expand...

All true. I have to wonder how that so called "drama queen" caller feels now, knowing they caused someone to be executed for what amounted to watering their damn lawn![rolleyes] This situation can't leave those officers feeling to great either...
 
Terminator03 said:
All true. I have to wonder how that so called "drama queen" caller feels now, knowing they caused someone to be executed for what amounted to watering their damn lawn![rolleyes] This situation can't leave those officers feeling to great either...
Click to expand...

If society is lucky, they will all make the situation better. All three of them.
 
ochmude said:
They didn't give him any commands. According to the article, they opened fire before making their presence known.
Click to expand...

I am sorry I did not read that. The article that I head read did not have specifics and I did in fact just assume they would have given him commands. I am sorry, I was incorrect in this assumption. Still this does not change my opinion a lot though.

Here is the article and a picture of the hose he was holding. Looks enough like a gun in my opinion for his actions to be pretty stupid.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/man-killed-by-long-beach-police-was-holding-a-water-nozzle.html
 
"The officers had a position of cover and were observing the suspect while other officers were en route,"

"Police said they did not have time to make their presence known or to tell Zerby to drop the weapon before opening fire because they believed he was a threat."

Does not compute....
 
Jay6 said:
I am sorry I did not read that. The article that I head read did not have specifics and I did in fact just assume they would have given him commands. I am sorry, I was incorrect in this assumption. Still this does not change my opinion a lot though.

Here is the article and a picture of the hose he was holding. Looks enough like a gun in my opinion for his actions to be pretty stupid.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/man-killed-by-long-beach-police-was-holding-a-water-nozzle.html
Click to expand...

The 911 call was at 4:40pm. Civil twilight was at 5:12pm in L.A. on Sunday, so it was dark when the officers responded. That nozzle could easily be mistaken for a firearm, especially in low light. All I can confidently say is I'm glad I wasn't in their shoes when they responded, and the 911 caller got a really rough lesson in how to MYOFB.
 
Inmo, after seeing the picture of the "dangerous firearm", I can certainly understand some heightened sensitivity with the offers, but they really f**ked up by not at least ordering him to drop his "weapon". It sounds like they didn't even confront him directly about it at all before executing him. Based on that, I can't see how this would ever be ruled as a justified shooting.
 
All the excuses in the world don't change the fact that the guy was sitting on the steps playing with a garden hose nozzle and waiting for a friend to come home when he was shot to death.
 

Similar threads

Next comes if you fart, you lose your gun rights.
Replies
10
Views
382
rewster
rewster
hope this this belongs here....don't look if you get offended easily
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
frenchman
frenchman
  • Locked
Navy scrubbed this photo can you see why?
Replies
17
Views
819
Mountain
Mountain
Missouri law being passed: If you home school, your home is now considered a school and you can't own guns
Replies
17
Views
699
Nhusa
N
MUST WATCH IF YOU ARE SELLING OR PLANNING TO SELL A FIREARM AND ARE NOT AN FFL
Replies
19
Views
640
Bigfudge16
Bigfudge16
Back
Top Bottom