Unwelcome Visitor

[geonuc]

4:30 AM and I'm up, which is not unusual for me. What is unusual is that my wife was up, too. She couldn't sleep.

We're in the living room doing what people normally do (drink coffee, check Facebook, play online crosswords, etc) and hear someone come on to our wooden front porch and then rather insistently try to get the door open. Thing is, he didn't go away after trying a couple of times. We figured it was someone with a chemically-induced reality deficiency and I was going to shoo him away. My wife thought that was a bad idea, so I called the police. They showed up in ~12 nanoseconds. The Atlanta Police Department has in my experience been very responsive. We hear them talking with the guy. No yelling, no commotion.

Turns out is was one our neighbors, drunk as he could be and still stand, who had the wrong address. The police escorted him to his own front door.

So why in Good News? Because in some situations and places in this country, it might have gone badly for our neighbor. He's black, you see. Top marks to the APD for their quick response and how they resolved the situation.

[Thumper]

I'm glad the situation was resolved as well as it could have been. And I like the way you saw the positive aspects. Something I need to learn to do more often.

[SciFiFisher]

Well. That is good news. A) you didn't freak out B) you didn't freak out and shoot him. and C) The police didn't freak out and shoot him.

Sadly, this story will never make it into the news cycle.

I am amazed at the number of people who, while inebriated, go to the wrong house.

[geonuc]

Well. That is good news. A) you didn't freak out B) you didn't freak out and shoot him. and C) The police didn't freak out and shoot him.

Sadly, this story will never make it into the news cycle.

I am amazed at the number of people who, while inebriated, go to the wrong house.

There was little chance of A or B happening. It was C that was in question.

[SciFiFisher]

Well. That is good news. A) you didn't freak out B) you didn't freak out and shoot him. and C) The police didn't freak out and shoot him.

Sadly, this story will never make it into the news cycle.

I am amazed at the number of people who, while inebriated, go to the wrong house.

There was little chance of A or B happening. It was C that was in question.

I suspected you were more worried about C.

[Rommie]

While I'm happy what was supposed to happen happened, I'm also kinda depressed that it's a noteworthy enough thing for a thread.

[geonuc]

While I'm happy what was supposed to happen happened, I'm also kinda depressed that it's a noteworthy enough thing for a thread.

Yeah, it is depressing. I'm reading this morning about how the Minneapolis police shot and killed someone who had called 911.

[pumpkinpi]

It was a 40 year old white woman from Australia. Latest report-- "Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond [who had called the police because she heard a sound in the alley], in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene."

I can't imagine what information will come out to show that the officer felt justified in shooting her.

[Thumper]

He was scared, end of story.

[SciFiFisher]

It was a 40 year old white woman from Australia. Latest report-- "Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond [who had called the police because she heard a sound in the alley], in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene."

I can't imagine what information will come out to show that the officer felt justified in shooting her.

WTF?! Those must have been some scary pajamas.!

[geonuc]

It was a 40 year old white woman from Australia. Latest report-- "Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond [who had called the police because she heard a sound in the alley], in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene."

I can't imagine what information will come out to show that the officer felt justified in shooting her.

Like you, I'll wait for the relevant facts to come out, but yeah.

[Rommie]

It was a 40 year old white woman from Australia. Latest report-- "Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond [who had called the police because she heard a sound in the alley], in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene."

I can't imagine what information will come out to show that the officer felt justified in shooting her.

Like you, I'll wait for the relevant facts to come out, but yeah.

Considering how many high profile cases there are coming out of the Minneapolis police department, sounds like they could at least have a review of training procedures etc.

[pumpkinpi]

It was a 40 year old white woman from Australia. Latest report-- "Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond [who had called the police because she heard a sound in the alley], in her pajamas, went to the driver’s side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene."

I can't imagine what information will come out to show that the officer felt justified in shooting her.

Like you, I'll wait for the relevant facts to come out, but yeah.

Considering how many high profile cases there are coming out of the Minneapolis police department, sounds like they could at least have a review of training procedures etc.

The previous high profile case wasn't Minneapolis, it was St. Anthony, which represents a few suburbs just north of the city. But the patrol area borders both Minneapolis and St. Paul.

So that makes it an even more widespread problem. It's not just on city's force that needs better training.

It's not just the training, I won't go into too much detail, because I'd have to google it, so here's the TL;DR version.

Last month the verdict came back for the officer who shot Philando Castile a year ago: not guilty. A coworker of mine went to a town hall meeting not long after the verdict came out. A democratic state representative said that he thought the jury came to the correct decision based on the laws on the books. That doesn't make the shooting justified--it's better laws that are needed.

[geonuc]

Last month the verdict came back for the officer who shot Philando Castile a year ago: not guilty. A coworker of mine went to a town hall meeting not long after the verdict came out. A democratic state representative said that he thought the jury came to the correct decision based on the laws on the books. That doesn't make the shooting justified--it's better laws that are needed.

Yes, particularly the law that allows police officers to use deadly force when they have a reasonable fear for their safety.

We cannot have cops shooting people because they became afraid. The job and their duty require much more. If they are not willing or able to control their fears better than that, they should not be police officers.

In this recent incident, I note that both officers responding to an assault in progress call were rookies. One less than a year and one barely over a year from field training. I imagine - I hope - the police investigation looks into whether that was wise.