Not Right

Most of my blog has been dedicated to political opinions. On some level this entry may also be considered political, but at its core this event was just wrong and I find it very disturbing.

I am embedding a video in this post and I will warn you that while it is not graphic, it contains bad language and at 1:26 into the video a man is shot. This man has since died of his injuries. I will provide my account the situation below so I leave it to you to decide if you wish to watch the video.

For starters, here is the video.



What follows next is my account of the situation. If you watched the video and/or do not wish to read my full account, then feel free to skip this section.

The location of this event is a subway platform in the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system. A few BART police officers have detained at least 5 people. The train is stopped and our point of view is from the train. We are watching along with all other travelers. We cannot hear what is being said between the officers and those being detained.

To the left of the screen is a man that is apparently handcuffed and lying on his back. His legs are extended in front of him and he is propping himself up by his elbows. He is visibly separated from the other detainees and, possibly because he is handcuffed, the police pay little attention to him during this video.

There are four other men sitting against the far wall of the platform with police standing in front of them. They are not handcuffed. The first man wears a hat and his hands are held above his head. The second man is the victim of the shooting. As the video starts he is sitting with his hands at his side. The third man is also just sitting with his hands at his side. The fourth man is only visible for parts of the video, but he mostly sits still. From my perspective it seems the police are going working their way from man to man searching and handcuffing each.

I do not claim to know anything about why these men are being detained. That is really irrelevant when weighed against what transpires. I have seen other videos from different angles and it is clear that the police were outnumbered and at one point some bystanders approached the officers. More police showed up and, between the outnumbered police and the crowd screaming from the train, the situation looked very sensitive.

After several moments of discussions, and possibly negotiations, between the officers and the detainees, two of the officers pull one man to the ground. They hold him on the ground for several seconds. The man is face down. One officer holds his back, or legs, and the other has his left knee on the man's neck.

There is movement by the officers and it appears that the officer at his legs is doing a standard search for weapons and such. The officers do not appear to be in distress and none of the other officers come to their aid. There is, in fact, a third officer standing right next to them talking on his radio. He never makes any attempt to assist the other officers so I have to believe there was no belief that they were in danger. Again, keep in mind that it is not possible to hear what is being said between these officers and the man on the ground.

While holding the man on the ground, the officer holding the man's legs stands suddenly and starts to draw his gun. At the same time, the other officer takes his left leg off the man's neck, turns, and puts his other knee on the man's neck. All the while, the man is still lying on the ground. For the instant while the officer at his head is changing position and the officer at his legs is drawing his gun, the man is not being physically restrained. Yet, I do not see him make any attempt to get up or resist the officers.

Just as the officer puts his knee to the mans neck again, the other officer finishes draw his gun, holds it for a second and then shoots the man in the back. The officer that had been holding the detainee's neck jumps up. The officer that was talking on the radio stops talking on the radio and puts his hand on his gun.



And now my opinion on this tragedy.

All I can say is that I saw nothing in this video to justify this man being shot IN THE BACK. Even if the man was resisting, he didn't seem to be resisting very hard. Was shooting this man in the back really the only course of action here?

A BART spokesman said there was more to this than what can be seen in the video. If that is the case, then they better start talking soon because the public is already forming their opinions. The public has staged protests, which devolved into a riot. This should show how sensitive this issue is.

I have heard reports that the officer mistook his gun for his Taser. I will admit that, from the look on the officer's face after he fires his gun, he almost appears shocked at what he just did. That being said, I find it hard to believe that a trained police officer, who took several seconds to grab his weapon, could mistake one for the other. Even after he drew his gun he paused for several seconds before actually firing.

And if he did draw the wrong weapon, I still question whether or not the victim was doing anything that warranted even the Taser.


That is really all I have to say at this point. We will see what the BART Police office does in the next few days.