Was lethal force warranted in this case?

Question

In my blog I have the link to the article and my comments on the use of lethal force in this case. A 60 year old off duty cop chases down a bank robber, and after telling the robber to freeze while the robber gets into his truck (and no weapon was visible on the robber), the robber ignores the cops commands and the cop shoots the robber, killing him. Most civilians would argue that the use of force in this case was excessive. I disagree and applaud this officer's efforts. What do you think? And why?

http://daysinblue.blogspot.com/2008/07/supercop.html

Answer 1

I wasn't there so it's hard to say.  However, I noticed a few things in the story that play in the Officers favor.  The bad guy threatened the bank staff with a gun but did not show one.  The bad guy also reached inside the truck.  I do not know if the bank staff told the Officer the bad guy told them he had a gun.

When you look at use of force (lethal or otherwise) and if it was justified or not you need to look at the totality of the circumstances from the view point of what a reasonable officer would do in the exact same situation.  Those are the guidelines spelled out by the Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor.  You can not weigh in the fact that the bad guy did not have a gun (or at least it doesn't appear he did) or any other hindsight.

So what you have is an Officer in pursuit of a bank robber.  The Officer is alone and has been shot in a past encounter.  The Officer may have been told that the robber told the clerk he had a gun or maybe he wasn't told this.  When the Officer caught up to the robber the robber was non-compliant (would not stop getting into his vehicle) and reached into the vehicle for an unknown reason.  The Officer believed (and this is important) that the robber was reaching for a weapon and believed he was imminent danger so he shot the robber.

I believe the Officer will be cleared of any wrong doing based on this.  I say pin a medal on the Officer and bury the dead perp.  

I predicted the Sean Bell verdict, the clearing of the Florida State Officers in the Tasering of that idiot at the Kerry rally, the Tasering of the other idiot by the Utah Trooper, and other uses of force.

Here is a link to Graham v. Connor:

http://supreme.justia.com/us/490/386/cas...

Answer 2

no way!

Answer 3

Sounds like a good shooting to me; the old cop goes home in one piece and the bad guy is watching grass grow from the bottom side.

Answer 4

very good job by the police officer

Answer 5

I wasn't there, so I can't comment on what the officer saw, felt, heard, smelled, etc.  

It's super easy to set in a safe, stress free environment & read a report or watch a 2 dimensional, bad quality video & then take all the time you want to pick apart what an officer literally has a split second to decide.

Answer 6

I believe so...But then again 1/100000 of a second between life and death.

Answer 7

way to go pops! I feel for the bank robber but i'll tell you as I see it, he knew the job was dangerous when he took it and he figured after the heist he would cash in his chips but it looks as if he cashed them in during the heist. HAW HAW HAW!!!