Drunk Man Shot by Police as He was Running Away

[BionicBunny]

Thank you Val

Did you watch the body cam footage? I don't think it had anything to do with it honestly. They were very cordial with him. They didn't lose patience with him as they questioned him, even though it took them several tries to get answers. They were very calm and respectful and he was very respectful also.

The interaction seemed perfectly by the book and calm until he decided to bolt. And they weren't even being brutal with him as he was fighting both of them. They were on the ground wrestling for a bit. And they were legitimately still just trying to get cuffs on him. They never beat him. They never seemed to step out of bounds.

Once he stole that tazer though, the concern then becomes him disabling the officers and taking their sidearm. I truly believe that this was a case of things escalating because of him trying to run. They were even doing CPR trying to bring him back. I don't believe either of them had malice in their hearts. I think it's just a horrible tragedy brought about by escalation.

Do you have a link to the body cam, Val? I haven’t seen it.

[jessilin0113]

Reality, Jes, Reality. It is not any cops job to take drunk drivers home then visit them the next day to give them a citation. They don't have enough time to do what they have to do, let alone play nice to some drunk. Drunk driving is against the law. If you fail a field sobriety test, it is their job to haul your drunk ass to jail, ticket you, then you call someone to come get you out of jail.

I honestly don't see how you function in the real world. Or do you?

They dont have enough time to do what they need to do (solve violent crimes, which they are terrible at), *because* they are called for stupid shit like this. Jail is overused. This guy wasn't driving drunk at the time, let the fire department or paramedics take him home, and mail him a F***ing ticket. Then a dude isn't dead and the cops can focus on actual crimes.

Last time I checked that's not the paramedics job. So they can get hurt by some drunk guy? Don't they suffer enough at the hands of addicts, people with severe issues, and drunks they're trying to save from themselves? Don't firemen and women suffer enough putting out fires and saving our sorry butts? No. The guy was blocking the drive through. It's the police's job to take care of that. Perhaps they should better secure their tasers and not shoot a guy fleeing the scene. I'm sure they could impound his car and find him easily the next day. But...it's THEIR job.

From what I've read, 911 was called for a guy asleep in his car. What if he'd had a seizure? Or am aneurism? Why wouldn't a paramedic be appropriate for that? They didn't know he was drunk, as far as I know.

[Della]

I finally watched the video. Damn, Atlanta PD is thorough in its DUI screening.

I don't understand why he tried to run away. Except that he was obviously seriously intoxicated (blackout maybe?) and maybe didn't realize what he was doing. I wish this had a different ending. On foot, and with back up, he wouldn't have gotten far. That kind of situation is seen on COPS all the time.

[Pjmm]

They dont have enough time to do what they need to do (solve violent crimes, which they are terrible at), *because* they are called for stupid shit like this. Jail is overused. This guy wasn't driving drunk at the time, let the fire department or paramedics take him home, and mail him a F***ing ticket. Then a dude isn't dead and the cops can focus on actual crimes.

Last time I checked that's not the paramedics job. So they can get hurt by some drunk guy? Don't they suffer enough at the hands of addicts, people with severe issues, and drunks they're trying to save from themselves? Don't firemen and women suffer enough putting out fires and saving our sorry butts? No. The guy was blocking the drive through. It's the police's job to take care of that. Perhaps they should better secure their tasers and not shoot a guy fleeing the scene. I'm sure they could impound his car and find him easily the next day. But...it's THEIR job.

From what I've read, 911 was called for a guy asleep in his car. What if he'd had a seizure? Or am aneurism? Why wouldn't a paramedic be appropriate for that? They didn't know he was drunk, as far as I know.

It's appropriate for paramedics to attend to the man to be sure he's not ill. It's not appropriate for anyone to expect them to take him home or even ask that he move his car. The paramedics aren't a taxi service nor AAA. Their job is, if he's ill is to treat him on scene and take him to a hospital. And hospitals have better things to do than deal with a drunk, especially one that's apparently belligerent. The man was blocking the drive through. So police have to handle that. That's their job. And they failed. You can't shoot a man running away no matter how much you'd like to.

[Lemons]

I finally watched the video. Damn, Atlanta PD is thorough in its DUI screening.

I don't understand why he tried to run away. Except that he was obviously seriously intoxicated (blackout maybe?) and maybe didn't realize what he was doing. I wish this had a different ending. On foot, and with back up, he wouldn't have gotten far. That kind of situation is seen on COPS all the time.

I’ve never seen Cops. Do people actually run and do they know they’re being filmed?

[Della]

I finally watched the video. Damn, Atlanta PD is thorough in its DUI screening.

I don't understand why he tried to run away. Except that he was obviously seriously intoxicated (blackout maybe?) and maybe didn't realize what he was doing. I wish this had a different ending. On foot, and with back up, he wouldn't have gotten far. That kind of situation is seen on COPS all the time.

I’ve never seen Cops. Do people actually run and do they know they’re being filmed?

Yes, quite frequently. They also hide, fight, resist and some just make ya scratch your head or laugh. The cameras are pretty visible. I know two of our cops who've been on the show.

[DSamuels]

I finally watched the video. Damn, Atlanta PD is thorough in its DUI screening.

I don't understand why he tried to run away. Except that he was obviously seriously intoxicated (blackout maybe?) and maybe didn't realize what he was doing. I wish this had a different ending. On foot, and with back up, he wouldn't have gotten far. That kind of situation is seen on COPS all the time.

I’ve never seen Cops. Do people actually run and do they know they’re being filmed?

They run ALL.THE.TIME!

[hockeymom87]

I finally watched the video. Damn, Atlanta PD is thorough in its DUI screening.

I don't understand why he tried to run away. Except that he was obviously seriously intoxicated (blackout maybe?) and maybe didn't realize what he was doing. I wish this had a different ending. On foot, and with back up, he wouldn't have gotten far. That kind of situation is seen on COPS all the time.

I’ve never seen Cops. Do people actually run and do they know they’re being filmed?

They run ALL.THE.TIME!

The question is do they have weapon while running? Did they turn the weapon on the police?

[moviestar]

They didn’t have another one?

Yes. Except that knives can be thrown. So, imo, it depends on how far away the person is. They're not trained like Bruce Lee, who could duck and avoid a thrown knife...

And this is when a taser should be employed, not bullets.

They WERE employing the tazer, until it was stolen and the weapon was turned around to be used on one of them. They had used all methods at their disposal up until that time.

[Fliptopz4]

Why does a drunk dude sleeping in his car warrant an armed cop showing up?

BECAUSE......

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the shooting, said the deadly confrontation started with officers responding to a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the restaurant’s drive-thru lane. The GBI said Brooks failed a field sobriety test and then resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him.The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the shooting, said the deadly confrontation started with officers responding to a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the restaurant’s drive-thru lane. The GBI said Brooks failed a field sobriety test and then resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him.

I don't think they needed to arrest him. Take him home and let him sober up and then issue a citation. No need to escalate what was originally a pretty mild situation. A lot of shit we call the cops for could be decriminalized, including this.

Are you saying driving drunk should be decriminalized?