Officer Shoots 18 yr old

[evilfarmer]

http://www.wect.com/story/24367610/n...after-arriving

The parents called 911 for help with their schizophrenic son during an episode. Apparently they tazed him to get him to drop his weapon, which was a screw driver, then an officer decided he didn't have time and shot the man while other officers were restraining him.

There is information missing because of the investigation we don't have the full picture from the police side. I dunno if we will ever hear their side.

[Andara Bledin]

A second report that I found stated that the family knew the first officer to respond as they'd called before to help get their son medical attention, and the linked report states that the responding officer stated multiple times that he did not require backup.

Apparently, the officer who shot the teen did so less than a minute after arriving, and the family reports that he made a comment about "not having time" to deal with the situation. It's worth noting that to shoot the kid, he had to fire past the other officers who were atop the 90lb victim.

[s_stabeler]

OK, this looks bad for the police. The cop who had first responded said he didn't need backup, so why did the other cop even come? I can understand the other cop coming if the first cop hadn't said either way, but not when the first cop said "I don't need backup" SEVERAL times. second question- how successfully were they restraining him? since if Tasers had failed to allow the kid to be restrained, it's actually possible it was a good shot ( it depends on what the kid was doing with the screwdriver. If he was moving to attack the police officers with it, then it was, in fact, a good shot. Even a small screwdriver can, for example, blind an officer in one eye.)

In short, I'd like to see more information.

[TheHuckster]

OK, this looks bad for the police. The cop who had first responded said he didn't need backup, so why did the other cop even come? I can understand the other cop coming if the first cop hadn't said either way, but not when the first cop said "I don't need backup" SEVERAL times. second question- how successfully were they restraining him? since if Tasers had failed to allow the kid to be restrained, it's actually possible it was a good shot ( it depends on what the kid was doing with the screwdriver. If he was moving to attack the police officers with it, then it was, in fact, a good shot. Even a small screwdriver can, for example, blind an officer in one eye.)

In short, I'd like to see more information.

I'm not calling myself an expert on procedures or anything, but I'd find it strange if police were not trained to first disarm someone (even if it's a melee or non-firearm weapon) before attempting to restrain them. Again, I could be wrong, but it just seems like common sense to remove anything that could injure an officer, someone else, or the suspect him/herself before approaching them, and certainly before physically restraining them.

[s_stabeler]

I'm just suggesting a ( remote, by the information we have) possibility that would mean the shot was justified. Also, bear in mind we only have the family's POV. I'd like to know what happened from the POV of the officers, for instance. For example, we know that the firts officers on-scene declined backup. Thta does not preclude them requesting backup later. Does it look bad? yes, but the most inflammatory part ("We don't have time for this" *BANG*) comes from what the family said. We don't know how accurate it is. ( as for the neighbors talking about how he wasn't dangerous- it's surprising how many serial killers seemed non-dangerous beforehand. It's irrelevant to the situation)

[Gravekeeper]

Does it look bad? yes, but the most inflammatory part ("We don't have time for this" *BANG*) comes from what the family said. We don't know how accurate it is.

What the officer allegedly said was actually: "I don't have time for this. Tase him. Let's get him out of here.". I'm guessing its just being trimmed up for the sake of sensationalism. The full quote sounds much more plausible.

There was a full account on CNN from a family friend with photos from the scene. From the family's point of view ( So keep in mind that it's rightfully biased and one side of the story ) this is scenario they claimed occurred:

The family called for assistance in getting their son into the car so they could drive him to the hospital for a mental evaluation. But he did not want to go and became agitated. He picked up a 6 inch screwdriver, but did not threaten anyone with it. However, he refused to put it down because it was his and he didn't want to.

Officer Thomas from the Boiling Springs Lakes PD arrived first and confronted the kid in the hallway. He was able to talk him down. He repeatedly reported the situation was okay and he had it under control.

A second officer, an unnamed female sheriff from the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department, arrived on scene to assist Officer Thomas. Both officers were successful in keeping the kid calm and under control.

A third officer, Detective Byron Vassey from the Southport police department arrived on scene and allegedly stated: "I don't have time for this. Tase him. Let's get him out of here.". He ordered the other two officers to use tazers to subdue the kid.

At this point, fearing the tazers, the kid tried to flee into the bathroom. He was struck by both tazers and collapsed. The first two officers got on top of him to subdue him. His step father also moved in to help by getting the screw driver away from him.

The third officer moved between the father and the other two officers and opened fire. Striking the kid in the chest while he was on the ground ( Graphic Image Warning ). The father alleged grabbed the officer that opened fire.

From that point the kid was taken to hospital and all three officers were out of there in under 5 minutes.

[Andara Bledin]

There doesn't appear to be any dissent that the victim was on the ground, being subdued by two officers at the time he was shot. It's also a matter of record that from the time he arrived to the time he called in that he'd shot the victim, only 70 seconds had elapsed.

[ebonyknight]

A third officer, Detective Byron Vassey from the Southport police department arrived on scene and allegedly stated: "I don't have time for this. Tase him. Let's get him out of here.". He ordered the other two officers to use tazers to subdue the kid.

That seems odd. What was a detective doing there?

[Greenday]

Hard to form an opinion when there's only one side to the story. I know people who have been seriously harmed from being stabbed by a screwdriver. It's not that uncommon a thing to happen. Anyone who claims you can't do damage with one is delusional.

I'm not taking sides until more information comes out.

[Nyoibo]

At this point, if he was on the ground with 2 officers restraining him, shooting him was at least reckless.

[Gravekeeper]

That seems odd. What was a detective doing there?

I was kind of wondering that myself.

Hard to form an opinion when there's only one side to the story. I know people who have been seriously harmed from being stabbed by a screwdriver. It's not that uncommon a thing to happen. Anyone who claims you can't do damage with one is delusional.

The screwdriver is really a moot point in this scenario.

He had already been tazed and subdued with two officers on top of him. The screwdriver isn't the issue here. The issue is the apparent shooting of a subdued suspect with disregard for his fellow officers being in the line of fire. A shooting that occurred 70 seconds after the officer arrived on scene.

[Andara Bledin]

A shooting that occurred 70 seconds after the officer arrived on scene.

Slight correction: The call to dispatch that he'd shot the young man happened only 70 seconds after he arrived. He had to have shot him less than a minute after showing up.

[Gravekeeper]

Slight correction: The call to dispatch that he'd shot the young man happened only 70 seconds after he arrived. He had to have shot him less than a minute after showing up.

Hmm, yeah, the family friend's account on CNN says it was only about 30 seconds after the third officer arrived. What the fark happened?

[Cia]

Is it possible that the cop who shot the kid thought he was shooting him with his tazer? It wouldn't be the first time a cop grabbed the wrong weapon by mistake.

[ebonyknight]

http://www.starnewsonline.com/articl...c=pg#gsc.tab=0

Southport Police Chief Jerry Dove said veteran Southport Police Officer Bryon Vassey, 46, is on paid leave. Dove said Vassey was the Southport officer on the scene of the shooting, but declined to answer if Vassey fired his weapon.

"I can't say if he fired his weapon. That's up to the SBI to determine," Dove said.

Yeah, the kid put down the screw driver and after he was restrained by police went into a nerd rage, grabbed an officer's gun and shot himself. No, it was the father who was tired of his kid's shit that pulled the detectives gun and put down his son.

I am extremely tired of hearing these lame excuses that cops come up with to cover their own. "I can't say if he fired his weapon". I got it, it's a case of Saturday Night Live spontaneous bleeding (+1 internet points if you remember the skit).

I think (for once) they were right to clear the two officers on the scene first. It sounds like they acted appropriately, to "Protect and Serve".

A detective responding to a domestic incident? Slow crime night? Spent the weekend binge watching "Justified" and just need some trigger time?

What I am really sick of is the boiler point response of "I was scared". If you are scared working as a police officer, get another job. I am tired of hearing what an "extremely" dangerous job it is. I have seen dozens of lists from different sources on the most dangerous jobs in America and if they do appear on a list, it's frequently at the bottom of those lists.

There are plenty of cops who never manage to draw their sidearms in anger, in their entire careers. Yeah, I know the police chief can't comment on whether he fired or not, but accountability IS a problem in police departments, "rare" incidents aside.

<panting> Sorry. Rant over. I am just tired of hearing about "isolated" incidents as this. It may be unusual, but once is too much. Cops have enough power as it is, and referring to fellow citizens as "civilians" puts the bad apples in a mind set of power and privilege.