Brickbat: Itchy Trigger Finger

Attorneys for Nassau County, New York, have agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Iyanna Davis. In 2010, Nassau County cops were supposed to search the apartment below the one Davis lived  as part of a drug investigation. But officers mistakenly burst into her apartment and one accidentally fired his rifle. The bullet went through her abdomen and both of her legs. An internal investigation cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Now, had the crackerjack law enforcement professionals accidentally shot the person in the apartment they were supposed to be in...

Anyway, good thing the shooter had a badge, or he would be in big trouble, criminally speaking.

[Swamp Think]

+1 negligent discharge

[mr lizard]

You know who else experienced negligent discharge? ..... And fucking sqlrs!!!!

[Almanian!]

Every baby daddy in the inner city?

PS RAAAAAAAAACIST!

[Ted S.]

I'm more concerned that he wants to fuck SQLers, and not other database managers.

[db]

Why is it, again, that we allow "internal investigations" to proceed as if they are legitimate forms of inquiry?

END INTERNAL AFFAIRS.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I thought everyone was afraid of internal affairs on Law & Order!

[Cyto]

I have a friend who worked internal affairs for a couple of years. The majority of the cases they actually spend time on are things like an officer going home to bang his wife instead of doing his patrols or being an addict and doing drugs on the job. With union protections being so strong, the main focus of the IA job seems to be getting the documentation needed to fire someone that would have been fired on the spot without the protections the unions have in place. Even the most obvious cases for termination are often overturned by the arbitrator.

The abuse cases they work are in the "cop is actually a criminal" category, like raping prostitutes(by coercion) or stealing drug money. They actually set up surveillance and use tracking devices for those kinds of cases.

He didn't recount too many "cop beats down 22 year old loudmouth for disrespecting him" cases. I suppose those mostly consist of making a couple of phone calls and closing the case. The threshold for internal affairs being able to do something to an officer is pretty high, usually involving establishing a pattern of behaviour over a period of time. Video is going to change that calculus at some point. Departments won't be able to continue using the "he said, she said" argument in the face of damning video evidence much longer. They keep trying it these days, even in cases as egregious as the Kelly Thomas beating. So far they are getting away with it, but the tide is changing.

[WTF]

...the tide is changing.

Not seeing much evidence of that, but I hope you're right.

[Ted S.]

an officer going home to bang his wife instead of doing his patrols

In this case, the general public is probably safer for it.

[DontShootMe]

I wasn't aware cops banged their own wives while on duty. I thought that was reserved for banging other folks wives...

[Rich]

Hey, what are prostitutes and "traffic violators", chopped liver?

[PH2050]

No wonder people want to ban guns; they're constantly firing themselves and injuring people.

[invisible furry hand]

Davis, who was 22 at the time, said she hid in a closet when police burst into the building because she thought they were armed robbers.

Armed robbers know not to shoot unless they have to

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

"An internal investigation cleared the officer of any wrongdoing."

Of course it did - shoot an innocent person in the wrong location, what could be wrong with that?!?!?!

GAH!

[WTF]

The officer said his assault rifle went off accidentally

So he lied, because guns don't fire unless you pull the fucking trigger. And then of course he was cleared by his fellow cops.

[Vulgar Madman]

They also have a safety.

[Vulgar Madman]

Maybe the police need safety's.

[Drake]

Unreal to me that they accept that level of incompetence. Negligent discharges in the military cost people at least one rank. Shooting somebody entirely by accident? A Soldier would be lucky if it just cost him his career and he wasn't doing serious jail time.

[Ted S.]

WHY DO YOU HATE OUR BRAVE HEROES IN BLUE???

[UnCivilServant]

WHY DO YOU HATE OUR BRAVE[1] HEROES[2] IN BLUE???

[1][Citation Needed]

[2][Citation Needed]

[Drake]

Why do you hate our Soldiers and Marines - by holding them to so much higher standards than our blue heroes?

[Ted S.]

Would it be better if I said I expected all of them to be incompetent? After all, they're all government sector workers.

[Rhywun]

Hey, at least they I paid her off to shut her up.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The excuse.

Pretty weak.

She jumped out of the closet? That's so irrational from her perspective to do that and unbelievable it's retarded that the cops would even go with that.

[WTF]

Fuck it, it's not like there will be any repercussions for the cops.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"The results of the internal investigation are sealed through a confidentiality agreement, but Davis' attorney said it was riddled with inaccuracies used to justify the shooting."

IOW, "here ya go, taxpayers, this is a bill for an unfortunate accident your employees were involved in. Never mind what happened, you're not supposed to know that, just pay up."

[Ted S.]

Note that the negligent (at least) cop isn't named. Any normal person who gets arrested will end up in the "Police Beat" section of the local paper, if not with their mug shot on TV.

And the cops claim they're held to a higher standard....

[AdamJ]

As in, it takes a much higher standard to hold them accountable for crimes.

[Almanian!]

Good police work led to recommendations for kinetic occifer action. A raid law-keeping mission was conducted. Procedures were followed A gun discharged. A wound was made. An investigation was conducted. Everyone All occifers got home safely to their families. Medals were awarded.

AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED

[Ted S.]

They didn't even shoot any dogs.

[Almanian!]

"Dogs were not encountered."

[Robert]

Why was he even carrying a rifle into an apt.? Was he expecting to shoot out the window at someone?

[Ted S.]

The tenants are lucky the cops didn't use a tank to knock down the door.

[LarryA]

That would be difficult on an upper-floor apartment.

[sarcasmic]

Why was he even carrying a rifle into an apt.?

Because there was no danger. Had there been any danger then they would have waited for the person to go outside to check the mail or something. Being that there were no danger to the officers, they thought it would be fun to go in with rifles and body armor. And grand fun it turned out to be, because they got to shoot someone! That's why they take on the job you know. To shoot people.

[Bronwyn]

Starting early with the nut punches this morning, aren't we? Can't we wait until normal business hours?

[Ted S.]

I think the Brickbats always come at 6:00 AM.

There's normally a post at 7:00 every morning, but that one doesn't seem to have shown up. They probably couldn't find a good video to post for the sixth or seventh time.

[Rich]

The results of the internal investigation are sealed through a confidentiality agreement

Emphasis added. WTF?

Davis was shot in the breast[,] abdomen and both thighs. ... Davis was pleased by the settlement and felt that justice was served

So, several bullet holes, internal injuries, and perp cleared, for $650K of taxpayer money plus costs. *I* would not be "pleased".

[Warty]

There are no gun accidents, only gun negligence. Unless you're a pig, apparently.

[Ted S.]

The gun was released on its own recognizance.

[Copernicus]

" But officers mistakenly burst into her apartment and one accidentally fired his rifle. "

" An internal investigation cleared the officer of any wrongdoing."

These two sentences, as written, are logically impossible.

If he accidentally fired his rifle, then he did something wrong. That is the definition of an accident. When things go wrong. Unless somewhere in the rest of the account (which I didn't read) it says that the rifle fired itself, which leads to a different sort of impossible.

[AdamJ]

Yeah, and how hard is it to not enter the wrong apartment?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Well you know, the apartments of "those people" look all the same.

[Rich]

Moreover, there's *never* any lighting in "those hallways".

[Rich]

Moreover, there's *never* any lighting in "those hallways".

[Rich]

Probably because the rats squirrels have chewed up the wires.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Well, shit. There you go with the whole "words have meanings" thing.

[Rich]

If he accidentally fired his rifle, then he did something wrong.

Perhaps an Act of God made the officer's finger twitch. I'll wager something like that is in the sealed investigation results -- "Officer X, understandably having low blood electrolytes due to stress and heat, was unable to control his momentary hand spasms, which resulted in blah blah blah ...."

[Slammer]

Twinkie/Donut defense?

[R C Dean]

Those momentary hand spasms somehow

(a) switched off the safety;
(b) placed his index finger on the trigger;
(c) pointed the rifle at a person; and
(d) pulled the trigger.

Its a wonder he could even stand up, what with his appendages apparently doing all kinds of complicated things completely beyond his control.

[Robert]

Twitch?! Why was it even on the trigger? Why was the barrel not pointed down or up?

What position could the lady have been in relative to the shooter to get it in both thighs as well as the abdomen? She must've been at least somewhat sideways to the shooter for that to be possible from a single shot. Probably bent over, too, to get the abdomen in that line of fire.

[Slammer]

I don't imagine a "I accidentally fired my rifle and the cop was killed" defense would ever go over too well.

Two sets of laws.

[Vulgar Madman]

You wouldn't need a defense, you'd be dead.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Hey, remember that toddler who was mysteriously in proximity to a flashbang grenade that was thrown and exploded, and is now still in an induced coma?

As the Georgia town's police department hasn't paid its blood money yet, "the toddler's family told WSB they have no insurance and have set up a website to collect donations for the baby's treatment."

No insurance? Someone better get pajama boy down there stat, to explain how they can get on the exchange! I hope he speaks some Laotian!

[Rich]

In other exchange news:

The Obama administration is contacting hundreds of thousands of people with subsidized health insurance to resolve questions about their eligibility. Of the eight million people who signed up ..., two million reported personal information that differed from data in government records

What does pajama boy have to say about *that*?

[db]

Attorneys for Nassau County, New York, have agreed to commit taxpayers to paying $650,000 plus attorney's fees to settle a lawsuit brought by Iyanna Davis.

[John]

There is or should be at least more to "wrongdoing" than murdering someone. I have no doubt that the cop didn't intend to shoot the woman. He was, however, negligent and shot her anyway. Negligence that results in serious harm to someone and costs to your employer gets you fired in every line of work but police work it seems. If I drive and UPS truck and screw up and pull out in front of someone and cost the company $650,000, I won't be a UPS driver anymore. If I work at a law firm and screw up and don't file a complaint in time before the statute of limitations runs, I won't be working for the firm any longer.

Thanks the unions, even gross negligence involving firearms that results in death or serious injury is not considered even worthy of discipline. Yes, he was guilty of "wrong doing". Fucking up and accidentally shooting someone is wrong doing by anyone's definition except apparently a cop's.

[Rich]

John, it's because UPS drivers and attorneys do not put their lives on the line every day. Is that so hard to understand?

[John]

Accidentally shooting someone will almost certainly get you chapter out of the military. But in fairness it is not like we expect soldiers to put their lives on the line like cops.

The sick thing about that "we are putting our lives on the line" BS is that in every other profession but cops that fact means a higher standard of professionalism. Yes, jobs like being a fire fighter or a soldier or pilot can be dangerous. And for that reason, those professions are and should be held to a very high standard of professionalism. Cops in contrast use that as a justification to be less professional.

Cops claim that they are in a dangerous job where their lives and the lives of others are in danger so that justifies them being allowed to have a lower standard of professionalism and be excused for negligence. yeah, that makes sense.

[Geoff Nathan]

What also pisses me off is that being a cop actually isn't particularly dangerous. I think some Reason article pointed out once that taxi drivers and (I think) pizza delivery guys were much more likely to die in the line of duty than our guys in blue. So they're not exactly putting their lives on the line in the way that Checkered Cab and Dominos guys are.
Sigh...

[John]

Most of the dangers they create themselves by constantly and needlessly escalating the violence in situations.

And yes, statistically being a cop is not and should not be that dangerous. We have a functioning justice system and no one ever gets away with killing a cop. Killing cop gets you the death penalty in most states and life without parole in all states. No ordinary criminal is looking to kill a cop. The best protection they have is a uniform and a badge. If they would ever just calm the fuck down and make it a point to identify themselves before busting in, they would be in virtually no danger.

[sarcasmic]

Most of the dangers they create themselves by constantly and needlessly escalating the violence in situations.

What's the point in having a job that allows you to use violence without consequence if you can't use violence at every available opportunity?

[Copernicus]

"What also pisses me off is that being a cop actually isn't particularly dangerous. I think some Reason article pointed out once that taxi drivers and (I think) pizza delivery guys were much more likely to die in the line of duty than our guys in blue"

Those statistics are a bit skewed because fortunately, Cops kill everything moving thus eliminating any source of harm.

That's why so many of these Cop stories have such happy endings (..and he went home safely).

[Bean Counter]

Anybody remember Columbine? Cops stood around for hours while 2 punks roamed the hallways killing unarmed kids. Some of the cops on the scene were observed arguing with the commanders to let them go in, but the command structure was unyielding. So they waited while one brave teacher bled out on the floor. They finally went in after the murderers had offed themselves.

[Copernicus]

But procedures were followed, no cops were hurt. This is a happy ending because we exist so that violent morons can have a career eating donuts safely.

[R C Dean]

I'm sure, as well, that the Columbine cops would have shot anyone who tried to go into the building while they were standing around. "Refusal to obey cop orders" is a capital offense, after all.

[Ted S.]

I have no doubt that the cop didn't intend to shoot the woman.

You're a better man than I am.

[John]

I will always assume incompetence, especially where cops are involved.

[R C Dean]

I think he did intend to shoot her. I believe his brain sent a signal to his trigger finger when he saw her.

That's "intent" when it comes to shooting someone. Did you mean to pull the trigger? If you did, its not negligence, its intentional.

Negligence would be you had the safety off and your finger on the trigger and stumbled and accidentally pulled the trigger. I'm pretty sure that ain't what happened here.

[John]

I am pretty sure that is exactly what happened here. I bet you anything he didn't have his safety on, had his finger on the trigger and stumbled or was startled and flinched and he fired his weapon. Accidental discharges happen. That is why everyone but the cops are so intense about safety.

[R C Dean]

Don't forget; he "accidentally" aimed the gun at the victim, as well.

[Fluffy]

...the tide is changing.

Not seeing much evidence of that, but I hope you're right.

I don't want to be too hopeful, but there's a feel to the police vs. public thing that feels a lot like gay marriage or pot legalization right before the break.

And don't get mad at me if those aren't your issues; I'm talking about the balance of public sentiment and how that relates to change, and not the merits of the issues themselves.

There was a moment when gay marriage was ridiculous, and a moment right after that when it was an inevitable avalanche.

That's how this feels to me. The police are successfully holding the line, but it feels like a rearguard action. It's entirely institutional; the DA's are in their pocket, and for the moment that's good enough. But the portion of the public that reflexively supports the police in every dispute is shrinking, and the portion that demands action seems to be getting bigger.

Remember, a few days ago crazy teabaggers shot two cops dead and called for revolution...and it's already off the news. Even five years ago that would have been a mini 9/11. Now there was a distinct undertone of "Yeah, well, you knew this was coming," to the public reaction, despite the fact that those two fuckers were batshit crazy. The police establishment should be very, very concerned at the really meager public response to what should have been their ultimate propaganda moment of the century.

[mad.casual]

I don't want to be too hopeful, but there's a feel to the police vs. public thing that feels a lot like gay marriage or pot legalization right before the break.

I think you're being too hopeful. Dorner was A-1 top-shelf legal news for like a week. They shot civilians left and right looking for him. People were wearing "I am not Chris Dorner" T-shirts. They burned down a house to 'apprehend' him.

At this point, you're lucky to find people who can remember who he was. He should've been a bigger news story than Rodney King, if anybody remembers who he was.

[R C Dean]

Call me when police riots like "Boston Strong" and the Doerner manhunt are met with local militias manning checkpoints are refusing to let the rioters into their neighborhood.

"We got it, officers. The people in this neighborhood are safe, and we intend to keep it that way. Move. Along."

We got a look at this in the Nevada ranch standoff. We need more of it.

[Mainer2]

I mentioned this in a previous thread...here in New Hampshire we recently had an officer shot and killed. Apparently he blundered into a domestic dispute (grown son and aged father, and the son shot him. Police from all over were driving at high speed to converge on the house. (I was on the road in the area, and actually got off the road for my own safety.)

So they all converged on the house, brought in a Bearcat....and stood around and watched the house....which the son set on fire....so they stood around and watched the house burn.

My point is they argue...it's a war out there...we need body armor and SWAT teams and Lenco Bearcats...then when there is Actual Danger, well fuck, no one wants to go into the house to confront the guy. They endangered god knows how many people driving 100 mph on two lane roads because "officer down", then did essentially nothing but watch.

[sarcasmic]

Look at how they nabbed Whitey Bulger. They lured him out of his apartment to a place where they could ambush him. They did this because the guy was dangerous.

They only send in the SWAT team when they're positive that there are no threats to the officers. SWAT raids aren't about officer safety. They're about getting high on adrenalin.

[Mainer2]

No threat greater than a Laotian baby.

[R C Dean]

Absolutely incredible that "accidentally" shooting someone is considered "no wrong-doing" by the cops.

results of the internal investigation are sealed through a confidentiality agreement

Effing Christ. Seriously?

[Paul.]

A flashbang to the face of an infant is a we-wouldn't-have-done-anything-different moment.