When California parolee Cedric Ramirez opened fire on pursuing police from inside a Pico Rivera house, a L.A. sheriff's deputy mistook Frank Mendoza for the parolee and shot the innocent man dead as he was fleeing his home
I also posted this piece on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. Bob Walsh commented that “This is one of those tragic situation that happens from time to time in the real world. “
I replied by saying, “I have a problem with Mendoza’s shooting. Did the deputy bother to take a look-see whether Mendoza was armed or not? It appears as though he was fast on the trigger.”
Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle then said, “I’m with you, Howie. First, you must assume innocents are in an invaded home. Second, unless Mr. Mendoza has a gun or something that looked like one, you don’t shoot. To wit, only one deputy did so.
Inasmuch as law enforcement officers can only shoot to protect themselves and the public, this one is hard to explain, much less justify.
Too bad the Sheriff didn’t enlist that special LAPD Christopher Dorner case Protection Detail - They shot dozens of rounds at two LA Times ladies and just nicked ‘em.”
To which I replied, “But, Paco, those LAPD cops were not totally incompetent shooters. In the shooting frenzy, they did manage to hit the proverbial side of the barn. They totaled the truck driven by the two LA Times ladies. And to their further credit, somehow they also managed not to shoot each other.”
Paco then said, “Good point. Then again, how many rounds missed? They never showed photos of the trees and other down-range obstacles, just the truck...”
No comments:
Post a Comment