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This is something I saw circulating on Facebook when I woke up today. I imagine it may have been brought up sooner or later, so I thought I would go ahead and get it started and see what the opinion was on the matter from the folks here at SWRP.
Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by two police officers after being arrested and restrained on 07/05/16. Someone made a recording of the act as it happened, which I am going to link under some kind of spoiler tag if at all possible. I imagine it isn't the kind of thing many people would want to see, so if you're the type of person who's faint of heart, probably pass on viewing it.
Long story short, the man was restrained by two officers, and was carrying an illegal firearm. He was tazed, with no noticeable effect. The police shot and killed him. There is now a lot of public outcry about the shooting, and it's becoming a cause célèbre. The police were originally called in response to a man fitting his description threatening someone else with a gun.
His arrest record was released as well, however, which is below within another spoiler tag to try and preserve length of this post.
It's also made known that, because of this, he was no stranger to the Baton Rouge PD. He was a registered sex offender, possessing carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The girl, who was 14, was found out to be pregnant from then 20-year-old Alton. There are also charges of assault, battery, domestic abuse, various drug charges, public intimidation, and resisting arrest.
In the video, he was also carrying an illegal firearm which you can see the officers remove from his person.
So my question is this: did the police really make the right call in shooting him? It's somewhat difficult for me to personally decide. He was held down by two officers who continued to shout at him for compliance, and he continued to struggle. To me, it also appears as though he attempts to reach for the gun in his pocket. It's difficult to tell, though. Either way it was evident he was not peacefully complying, he has a rather lengthy criminal background, and was potentially under the influence of drugs. What are your thoughts on this?
The other situation involves Philando Castile, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. There is another video to go along with it, although you do not see the shooting itself happen. Shot in the arm with blood all over his torso, you can see his head slump back, and he was confirmed to have passed away. Their 4-year-old daughter was also in the back seat of the vehicle during the shooting, and his girlfriend in the passenger seat.
He and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, were pulled over for a broken taillight. He had informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a weapon, and stated that he was reaching back for his driver's license and identification before being shot four times in the arm. It appears to me the man didn't even get the opportunity to comply peacefully before being shot. Whether there's a lack of details and no full explanation on what happened, or if the officers were too quick to pull the trigger, I can't make that call.
This one, however, seems a little more cut-and-dry than the one involving Alton Sterling. Philando, as stated, was licensed to carry, has been reported to have informed the officer about said license and his weapon, and has no outstanding criminal charges that I can find. Thus far, he did exactly as the police request and was still killed for it.
Of course, his family and coworkers are all elaborating that he was a confident, kind person who was overqualified for his position as a school nutrition services supervisor. So, again, I ask for your opinions on this matter as well. This second one seems fairly clear to me, though the first I find myself still hesitant to take a side on.
Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by two police officers after being arrested and restrained on 07/05/16. Someone made a recording of the act as it happened, which I am going to link under some kind of spoiler tag if at all possible. I imagine it isn't the kind of thing many people would want to see, so if you're the type of person who's faint of heart, probably pass on viewing it.
Long story short, the man was restrained by two officers, and was carrying an illegal firearm. He was tazed, with no noticeable effect. The police shot and killed him. There is now a lot of public outcry about the shooting, and it's becoming a cause célèbre. The police were originally called in response to a man fitting his description threatening someone else with a gun.
His arrest record was released as well, however, which is below within another spoiler tag to try and preserve length of this post.
- 9/09/96 aggravated battery
- 10/31/97 2nd degree battery
- 1/06/98 simple battery
- 5/04/00 public intimidation
- 9/20/00 carnal knowledge of a juvenile
- 9/04/01 domestic violence
- 5/24/05 burglary of an inhabited dwelling place
- 7/11/05 receiving stolen things
- 9/12/05 burglary of inhabited dwelling place
- 3/17/06 simple criminal damage to property, simple robbery, simple theft, drug possession, misrepresentation during booking, simple battery, aggravated battery
- 4/12/06 aggravated battery, simple criminal damage to property, disturbing the peace, unauthorized entry
- 4/04/08 domestic abuse battery
- 6/03/09 resisting an officer, drug possession, receiving stolen things, possession of stolen firearm, illegal carrying of a weapon with CDs, sound reproduct without consent
- 10/12/09 illegal carrying of weapon, marijuana possession
- 8/13/15 failure to register as a sex offender
- 4/08/16 failure to register as a sex offender
- 6/14/16 ecstacy and marijuana possession
It's also made known that, because of this, he was no stranger to the Baton Rouge PD. He was a registered sex offender, possessing carnal knowledge of a juvenile. The girl, who was 14, was found out to be pregnant from then 20-year-old Alton. There are also charges of assault, battery, domestic abuse, various drug charges, public intimidation, and resisting arrest.
In the video, he was also carrying an illegal firearm which you can see the officers remove from his person.
So my question is this: did the police really make the right call in shooting him? It's somewhat difficult for me to personally decide. He was held down by two officers who continued to shout at him for compliance, and he continued to struggle. To me, it also appears as though he attempts to reach for the gun in his pocket. It's difficult to tell, though. Either way it was evident he was not peacefully complying, he has a rather lengthy criminal background, and was potentially under the influence of drugs. What are your thoughts on this?
The other situation involves Philando Castile, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. There is another video to go along with it, although you do not see the shooting itself happen. Shot in the arm with blood all over his torso, you can see his head slump back, and he was confirmed to have passed away. Their 4-year-old daughter was also in the back seat of the vehicle during the shooting, and his girlfriend in the passenger seat.
He and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, were pulled over for a broken taillight. He had informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a weapon, and stated that he was reaching back for his driver's license and identification before being shot four times in the arm. It appears to me the man didn't even get the opportunity to comply peacefully before being shot. Whether there's a lack of details and no full explanation on what happened, or if the officers were too quick to pull the trigger, I can't make that call.
This one, however, seems a little more cut-and-dry than the one involving Alton Sterling. Philando, as stated, was licensed to carry, has been reported to have informed the officer about said license and his weapon, and has no outstanding criminal charges that I can find. Thus far, he did exactly as the police request and was still killed for it.
Of course, his family and coworkers are all elaborating that he was a confident, kind person who was overqualified for his position as a school nutrition services supervisor. So, again, I ask for your opinions on this matter as well. This second one seems fairly clear to me, though the first I find myself still hesitant to take a side on.
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