timf343
Campaign Veteran
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Friday night shooting on Strip
- Thread starter timf343
- Start date
timf343
Campaign Veteran
imported post
timf343 wrote:The driver ran a red light putting pedestrians and other motorists at risk. Obviously details are missing in this case, but reaching into the vehicle seems like it could be excessive for a mere traffic infraction. Not to mention the officer was reaching for the passenger, not the suspect!
Then at 7:45 PM on a busy Friday night on the strip, an officer fired his weapon four times at a powerful vehicle fleeing at high speed? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That seems like a pretty bold risk to the safety of the many innocent people in that area. Unless all four rounds struck that vehicle, where did those other rounds land? YIKES!
timf343 wrote:
They approached the vehicle, with one officer contacting the driver of the vehicle and the other contacting the passenger. The officers had a brief conversation with the two people and the officer reached in to try to control the passenger, according to police.
The driver then accelerated the vehicle, driving over the officers’ bicycles and fleeing the scene eastbound on Sands Avenue. One officer then fired his weapon four times, striking the vehicle several times, according to police.
Then at 7:45 PM on a busy Friday night on the strip, an officer fired his weapon four times at a powerful vehicle fleeing at high speed? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That seems like a pretty bold risk to the safety of the many innocent people in that area. Unless all four rounds struck that vehicle, where did those other rounds land? YIKES!
joeschmo
Regular Member
imported post
You weren't there so you shouldn't be one to judge.A vehicle is a deadly weapon and when the driver uses it to assault an officer, it is met with deadly force. There seems to be much more to the story than a simple traffic violation, and officers do not reach into a vehicle unless something is amiss and the occupants are not obeying basic commands (such as keep you hands visible). I think with the number of people around and the manner in which the suspects acted, it sounds reasonable based on the facts that the officer who fired his weapon believed that the lives of both his partner and the citizens around the area were at risk. I don't doubt that all 4 rounds struck the vehicle. One of the news clips showed the vehicle being towed away, and it had at least 2 bullet holes in the tailgate below the window, and the window was shot out.
You weren't there so you shouldn't be one to judge.A vehicle is a deadly weapon and when the driver uses it to assault an officer, it is met with deadly force. There seems to be much more to the story than a simple traffic violation, and officers do not reach into a vehicle unless something is amiss and the occupants are not obeying basic commands (such as keep you hands visible). I think with the number of people around and the manner in which the suspects acted, it sounds reasonable based on the facts that the officer who fired his weapon believed that the lives of both his partner and the citizens around the area were at risk. I don't doubt that all 4 rounds struck the vehicle. One of the news clips showed the vehicle being towed away, and it had at least 2 bullet holes in the tailgate below the window, and the window was shot out.
Gordie
Regular Member
imported post
Unless traffic is drastically lesson the strip than the last time I visited Vegas, the vehicle wasn't going to be able to go far before it was stopped anyway. Since the police already had stopped the vehicle, they should have already had the licence number, so the chances of the suspects getting very far are slim.
Firing into a vehicle does not guarantee the bullets will be stopped, especially if fired into the windows. I have seen most handgun rounds penetrate completely through the body of a car.
Obviously, there is more to the story than we are seeing. I would like to know what else was going on to make the officers take the risk.
Unless traffic is drastically lesson the strip than the last time I visited Vegas, the vehicle wasn't going to be able to go far before it was stopped anyway. Since the police already had stopped the vehicle, they should have already had the licence number, so the chances of the suspects getting very far are slim.
Firing into a vehicle does not guarantee the bullets will be stopped, especially if fired into the windows. I have seen most handgun rounds penetrate completely through the body of a car.
Obviously, there is more to the story than we are seeing. I would like to know what else was going on to make the officers take the risk.
timf343
Campaign Veteran
imported post
Agreed that I may have jumped to conclusions a bit and I obviously don't know all the facts. But like Gordie said, they couldn't have gotten very far. And they didn't. They were pulled over just 0.75 miles from the incident. So just what caused the police to open fire?
Agreed that I may have jumped to conclusions a bit and I obviously don't know all the facts. But like Gordie said, they couldn't have gotten very far. And they didn't. They were pulled over just 0.75 miles from the incident. So just what caused the police to open fire?
joeschmo
Regular Member
imported post
I've heard the officer who fired was not the officer who was struck by the vehicle and he fired as the vehicle was moving towards his partner. Also, it wasn't a whim thing, since I have also heard that they already had a code red on the channel for the stop, which means something was very wrong from the beginning. Either way, all the facts should come out in the use of force review board. There are casinos on 2 corners of that intersection along with the Fashion Show Mall on a 3rd corner. There were also a lot of witnesses who were interviewed and gave statements about what they saw.
I've heard the officer who fired was not the officer who was struck by the vehicle and he fired as the vehicle was moving towards his partner. Also, it wasn't a whim thing, since I have also heard that they already had a code red on the channel for the stop, which means something was very wrong from the beginning. Either way, all the facts should come out in the use of force review board. There are casinos on 2 corners of that intersection along with the Fashion Show Mall on a 3rd corner. There were also a lot of witnesses who were interviewed and gave statements about what they saw.
timf343
Campaign Veteran
imported post
I stand corrected. I do apologize for jumping to conclusions on the conduct of the officer involved. I admit I did immediately assume the officer fired without good cause, but I think that was mostly based on my prejudice against traffic stops.
I remember this story in which a driver intentionally ran over pedestrians on the strip and am not oblivious to the fact that shooting at a bad guy in a crowded location can sometimes be worth the risk:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-22-las-vegas-death_x.htm
Tim
I stand corrected. I do apologize for jumping to conclusions on the conduct of the officer involved. I admit I did immediately assume the officer fired without good cause, but I think that was mostly based on my prejudice against traffic stops.
I remember this story in which a driver intentionally ran over pedestrians on the strip and am not oblivious to the fact that shooting at a bad guy in a crowded location can sometimes be worth the risk:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-22-las-vegas-death_x.htm
Tim
iSharpShooter
Regular Member
imported post
Granted, this is Nevada but down in Cali where my work is, there are several traffic officers that I know quite well due to the high security nature of the complexes. I've been told by a few of them that they're trained not to fire unless they feel there is a lief threat.
I feel the same about traffic cops as the rest of y'all do, but I'm confident in saying that the officer in question had little doubt when he pulled the trigger, which is of course not an action he can undo.
HOWEVER, this isn't Hollywood and being the previous owner of many SUV's, I do have to ask myself why he fired. Think about this, the vehicle is pulling away from you, probably at a good rate of acceleration, right? Given the type of vehicle, it most likely had tinted windows making view of the driver difficult of not impossible. The only way to stop the vehicle or rather cause loss of control and hopefully stop is a direct hit to the driver. Given the other factors, this does seem somewhat unlikely.
-b
Granted, this is Nevada but down in Cali where my work is, there are several traffic officers that I know quite well due to the high security nature of the complexes. I've been told by a few of them that they're trained not to fire unless they feel there is a lief threat.
I feel the same about traffic cops as the rest of y'all do, but I'm confident in saying that the officer in question had little doubt when he pulled the trigger, which is of course not an action he can undo.
HOWEVER, this isn't Hollywood and being the previous owner of many SUV's, I do have to ask myself why he fired. Think about this, the vehicle is pulling away from you, probably at a good rate of acceleration, right? Given the type of vehicle, it most likely had tinted windows making view of the driver difficult of not impossible. The only way to stop the vehicle or rather cause loss of control and hopefully stop is a direct hit to the driver. Given the other factors, this does seem somewhat unlikely.
-b