Ottawa Hills officer's trial opens with dash cam vid

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http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=7433661

TOLEDO, OH (WTVG) -- A never-before-seen police dash cam video was shown in court today in the trial of an Ottawa Hills police officer accused of shooting and paralyzing a man during a traffic stop.

The video shows Officer Thomas White following Michael McCloskey and his friends on their Harleys. At one point, McCloskey takes off at a high rate of speed. Officer White hits his siren and McCloskey stops his bike.

Officer White ends up shooting McCloskey. Attorneys for White say he believed McCloskey had a gun. However, McCloskey was unarmed and appears docile in the video.

The jury will have to determine if the shooting was justified. White is charged with felonious assault and faces up to 11 years in prison.

You can follow the link to watch the dashcam video. It clearly shows the victim being shot in the back. IMO it was not "justified" and this cop should be in prison.
 
This was linked to on a motorcycle message board I frequent. I watched it yesterday and was disgusted.

The cop's attorney is seen in the video asking the cop about the motorcyclist not putting up his hands but if your bike is in gear you can't do that safely.

His argument that he thought the guy had a gun is pure, unadulterated BS.

The cop should be charged with attempted murder.
 
That is what an attempted murder looks like. Sickening. Just sickening. I do not know if the kid deserved to die – I do not know all of the facts, nor am I a jury. But no matter what the facts are, cops are not there to execute people.
 
Just read this a few minutes ago...

http://toledoblade.com/article/20100512/NEWS02/5120338/0/BUSINESS05

Although testifying that Officer White did not tell him what happened that night, Officer Sargent said that at one point he asked his colleague if he needed anything.

"He declined. He finally said that he wanted it off his chest," Officer Sargent testified. "He said he hoped that he hadn't [made a mistake] and that he didn't end up in jail."

I'd say he made a mistake, a big one.
 
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I bet there is a good chance that the cop’s firearm was discharged accidentally. He probably had his finger on the trigger. This is NOT an excuse, just a possible explaination. He may have lied that he thought the guy had a gun because he did not want to tell the truth that he fired accidentally.

/John
 
I bet there is a good chance that the cop’s firearm was discharged accidentally. He probably had his finger on the trigger. This is NOT an excuse, just a possible explaination. He may have lied that he thought the guy had a gun because he did not want to tell the truth that he fired accidentally.

/John
EXACTLY what I thought while watching that.

Mixed with a ration of disgust, but still what I was thinking.
 
Here is a longer version of the video I found. You can hear the motorcyclist say "I can't move I'm paralyzed"
finally, they take the bike off the poor guy, who was also burned pretty bad by the bike.

http://control.newsinc.com/Playlist/show?vcid=81822&freewheel=59432&sitesection=toledoblade

Well, he should look on the bright side. He couldn't feel the burn...

ETA: You have to love how the cop drops the bike and then tells the friend he can't pick it up. (based on garbled sound, so I could be wrong)

ETA^2: For the sarcasm challenged among us, that's a sarcastic statement and I am not trying to be funny with it.
 
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I bet there is a good chance that the cop’s firearm was discharged accidentally. He probably had his finger on the trigger. This is NOT an excuse, just a possible explaination. He may have lied that he thought the guy had a gun because he did not want to tell the truth that he fired accidentally.

/John

This is what I am thinking. His hand was at his waist and turned. I am thinking finger on trigger and adrenaline
 
My GOD, that is sickening. I can't imagine how the LEO doesn't go to the can. Two lives wasted.
 
I bet there is a good chance that the cop’s firearm was discharged accidentally. He probably had his finger on the trigger. This is NOT an excuse, just a possible explaination. He may have lied that he thought the guy had a gun because he did not want to tell the truth that he fired accidentally.

/John


Negative. There was near ZERO chance the firearm discharged accidentally. If the course of events occured as you describe - which I agree is probably what happened - the officer fired his weapon negligently. The weapon did not discharge accidentally, the officer fired negligently.
 
Negative. There was near ZERO chance the firearm discharged accidentally. If the course of events occured as you describe - which I agree is probably what happened - the officer fired his weapon negligently. The weapon did not discharge accidentally, the officer fired negligently.

yup...key word.....but I think this is what was meant
 
Look at the video again at about the 4:05 mark it does look to me like the guy is turning and looks like he could be drawing a gun. Split second to make a decision I can see why he shot. All the biker had to do was hold his arms out away from his body and he most likely would not have been shot. My guess is he gets off.
 
Look at the video again at about the 4:05 mark it does look to me like the guy is turning and looks like he could be drawing a gun. Split second to make a decision I can see why he shot. All the biker had to do was hold his arms out away from his body and he most likely would not have been shot. My guess is he gets off.

The turn happened before the cop calls out.
 
Look at the video again at about the 4:05 mark it does look to me like the guy is turning and looks like he could be drawing a gun. Split second to make a decision I can see why he shot. All the biker had to do was hold his arms out away from his body and he most likely would not have been shot. My guess is he gets off.

Nope, I don't buy it. The cop can't go on a hunch that it "looks like he could be drawing a gun."

He shot a man in the back, perhaps due to adrenaline or a just an ND, and he's trying to find an excuse.
 
Look at the video again at about the 4:05 mark it does look to me like the guy is turning and looks like he could be drawing a gun. Split second to make a decision I can see why he shot. All the biker had to do was hold his arms out away from his body and he most likely would not have been shot. My guess is he gets off.

No. The cop thought the biker was a suicide bomber and was trying to detonate his shoes. [laugh] Are you freaking kidding me?

1) The cop had NO reason to suspect the gun. These guys were simply speeding.
2) If danger was perceived, the cop could have and should have used his cruiser as a protective burier.
3) The biker was shut in the back. Unless this kid was Annie Oakley, there is no way he presented any danger to the cop.

Bottom line, this was either attempted murder or criminal negligence. No ifs, buts or maybes.
 
Even if the victim WAS turning, there wasn't any reason to think the guy was about to shoot at the cop. As far as I can tell, the guy was only speeding and possibly driving to endanger. He wasn't doing anything that could be taken as hostile.
Pure and simple, the officer shot a guy at a traffic stop with NO provocation.
 
I bet there is a good chance that the cop’s firearm was discharged accidentally. He probably had his finger on the trigger. This is NOT an excuse, just a possible explaination. He may have lied that he thought the guy had a gun because he did not want to tell the truth that he fired accidentally.

/John

ND was the first thing to come to mind. I can't see anything that would give the cop reason to shoot. I suspect that his lawyers determined they have a better chance of going for broke than telling the truth.
 
ND was the first thing to come to mind. I can't see anything that would give the cop reason to shoot. I suspect that his lawyers determined they have a better chance of going for broke than telling the truth.
It wasn't at all what came to mind for me. What comes to mind for me is that the cop was amped, saw him start to turn and fired. I think the cop totally overreacted. I don't see anything in there that makes me think his actions were anything other than intentional -- in some ways more reprehensible.
 
wow, that video is scary! Ive been pulled over on my bike, and while I put the bike in neutral and killed the engine, my hands were on my hips. I got pulled over for no inspection sticker, and while I try to be respectful to the point of being a suck-up, at no point did the thought cross my mind that the cop would think I had a gun. I want to know why the officer in this video even had his gun drawn... hand on it in the holster, sure... but drawn and aimed?
 
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