I don't see the issue? If my neighbor's are playing music too loud at 1:30 am we just start firing into the air for as long as it takes to get them to lower the music. NOT! Sarcasm off now. Something tells me older cop asks jr. Cop (who may not know either is a cop) to lower the LL Cool J music. Jr. Says "F you! Old biotch....". Being the rational PEACE officers they are, they both whip out their CC pistols & begin firing....
Speculation on my part but something tells me there are a lot of details the public will never see on this incident. Wonder if firing at someone and missing them is considered firing up into the air, when its officers involved in CA?. Hats off to the arresting LEA for doing their job & not simply turning a blind eye, as sometimes happens in these situations. No doubt these guys will walk with a slap on the wrist, if the case ever goes to court? Sad.
I love this idea that cops routinely get off with a slap on the wrist for what others would get stiff penalties for. It's so blatantly false, but it seems to be one of those falsehoods that just keeps getting repeated. I am sure it SOMETIMES happens, but it's hardly par for the course. Cops also sometimes get STIFFer sentences than the average joe would get, but that is ignored. Cops are also way more likely to get tried federally if the state trial is a loser (e.g. rodney king) which almost never happens to civilians. It might happen to Zimmerman, though, and if it does that will certainly be an example of this very unusual occurrence for civilians.
Usually, when I ask for examples, people will trot out completely disanalogous examples, etc. For example, they will compare the sentence a convicted felon got for doing X with what a cop got for doing X, failing to realize that a HUGE factor in sentencing severity is the defendant's criminal record (iow something a first timer gets probation for, a convicted multiple felon might get a year or more, etc.)
I've seen several examples even where judges have come outright and said they were giving a STIFFER penalty to the defendant because he was a cop. Which is the exact opposite of what many cop critics believe.
I have several cop friends who have been convicted of crimes (DUI, etc.) and they got the EXACT same sentence that other FIRST time offenders got
Remember, civilians often get plea bargains so you see a guy getting 6 months for crime X and don't realize he actually committed crime Y, but got a plea deal. That's another factor that throws off the comparisons if people aren;'t looking at source documents.