Cop Down -- would you intervene?

[Jack Burton]

There were two big developments Monday in the case of a motorist who was shot and killed along Greenwell Springs Road Friday after a fight with a police officer. Investigators say an autopsy shows the deadly bullet was fired by a bystander, not the officer. Police also announced that no charges would be filed in the case, either against the police officer involved or the bystander who fired the fatal shot into the head of George Temple.

Bystander Fired Deadly Shot, Not Officer - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

 

[netsecurity]

Maybe. It sounds like physical force (grabbing the guy and pulling him off) could have worked pretty easily, especially if the officer already shot the guy once, but I wasn't there, so I am not going to second guess.

I would definitely aid an officer, but I doubt I would ever shoot someone unarmed unless the situation were extreme. Maybe this was an extreme (deadly) beating, or maybe it wasn't, the article doesn't describe the attack in detail.

 

[WyldeShot]

I would help.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Dunno without being in the situation.

My rational thought is that if I could intervene without placing myself in significant danger and it looks like the officer is in grave danger then I would, but if intervening would place myself in danger then I seek cover and safety.

But I also know that when in the heat of the moment I tend to react on instinct and training so I'd probably end up trying to help even if it placed myself in danger since I have combat training.

Like a lot of things in life, that situation falls into the category of "I hope I never find out how I will react."

 

[Excalibur]

Don't know if I would have shot the guy either. We do have the beauty of hindsight to look at this.

If the guy was using a weapon, knife or struggling with the officer's gun, I'd shoot. If he was unarmed and just trying to beat up the officer, I'd get him off him however possible

 

[TaunTaun]

I don't know if I would have fired either, but if I saw an officer in distress, i'd be following my normal pattern. Heading towards trouble instead of away from it.


I see a lot of traffic stops late at night from my front porch, and the wife and I are always keeping an eye out for the officers, even if they don't know it.

 

[ATM]

I would likely intervene with whatever assistance I reasonably felt the situation warranted.

 

[AD Marc]

I might assist an officer using physical force, and have done so on occasion at work, but I would be very hesitant to skin out my gat around a cop who was just in a fight. He doesn't know you. For all he knows you are the friend of his opponent and he is in a highly adrenalized state

You might eat some friendly fire...which really isn't friendly at all if you are on the receiving end.

 

[fastwally]

Four rounds with a 45 and still going? He needs to carry something with a little more stopping power.

 

[cosermann]

Depends. Probably. Be advised there are risks as described below.

Commentary by Evan Marshall

 

[dom1104]

Nope, I learned on INGO that cops suck.

 

[badwolf.usmc]

I try to help whomever is in need, doesn't matter if they are a cop.

 

[downzero]

I would probably not intervene, because I don't know who is in the right and who is wrong. In my mind, there is a strong presumption that the officer is the good guy and the other person is not, but unless I observe some objective facts that suggest that's the case, I could be assisting an unlawful arrest or helping a government official violate the rights of one of my fellow citizens. I will not participate in such an action, and I'd be no more justified in doing so than the officer himself, and in fact, my culpability might be even higher.

All bets are off if my safety is threatened, however.

 

[Fixer]

I would help if needed, officer or not. I would also have fired if he got the better of the cop, I would not want to get to close. I am not an MMA fighter, that's why I carry a gun! With 4 rounds to the chest the guy was amped to say the least. They don't fall over like in the movies. Great job to the citizen!

 

[griffin]

Four rounds with a 45 and still going? He needs to carry something with a little more stopping power.

Someone needs to tell the NYT.

Gun Used by Shooter Is Known for Its Deadly Power

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re probably not going to be able to hit the broad side of a barn with it. If you can put a round in center mass of the body, or the head, he’s probably not going to make it.”

Then they go on to talk about gun control.

 

[EOD Guy]

I think most folks would want to help but circumstances could keep them from helping.

 

[femurphy77]

Gotta help, it's the right thing to do. It's no different than being the first on the scene of an accident. Gotta stop and try to help.

 

[lucky4034]

I guess you'd never know until you got there. Past experience tells me I would likely tried to stop the guy by yanking him off rather than shooting him off....

I don't think I would have shot the guy unless he posed a threat to me tho.....

 

[WyldeShot]

My father was in this position a number of years ago. My father is a salesman for a company and his district takes his throughout the lower half of Indiana. One day he was driving on the interstate and noticed a State Police car pulled over. As he got closer he noticed a rather large man punching a female officer.
My father turned around and pulled behind the officers car and observed for a few seconds. The female office was getting beat up pretty bad and the guy easily had 100+ lbs on her. My dad, always having at least 2 handguns with him, got out of the car and grabbed his 44 mag and began walking towards the altercation. The female office yelled at my dad to get back in the car and leave. At that moment by dad told her no and told the guy to let her go and to get on the ground. Dad had to repeat himself but I'm sure he guy did not like the idea of having a hand cannon pointed at him so he get on the ground.
The officer was hurt and could not get up so my dad held the guy at gun point until backup arrived. When they arrived, the officers pulled their guns on my dad, almost ignoring the other guy. Once the officers figured out what was going on, the arrested the other guy but continued to question my dad. They asked my dad he had other weapons in the car and he just happen to have 3 handguns and a shotgun, plus a fair amount of ammo from shooting just a few days before. The offices asked if he thought it was necessary to have that many weapons, dad replied with YES. They let dad go without saying anything. About a week later dad received a thank you card from the office he helped.

 

[TTravis]

I likely would help if I were in a position to do so. There is one local cop that I would not **** on if he was on fire!