Shooting of Unarmed Motorist in Compton Sparks Protest -LAT

[Rose Siding]

Compton officials today joined a chorus of protest over the weekend shooting of an unarmed motorist by 10 sheriff's deputies who fired 120 times, striking the suspect, an officer, and the homes of five residents.

The fusillade of gunfire, caught on videotape and broadcast nationally, lasted 18 seconds. One of the 11 shots that struck homes narrowly missed a 4-year-old boy.
...
Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin...said it is "hard to understand" how officers could have felt threatened. He said one spent round was recovered from a stucco wall of Kelly Elementary School, about two blocks away.

Perrodin, who served 12 years as a police officer, said he canvassed the neighborhood after the shooting and found residents within a block who had not been interviewed by sheriff's investigators.
...
...some deputies opened fire because they erroneously believed that the suspect had shot two colleagues, while others were firing because they thought the suspect was trying to ram officers, Capt. Ray Peavy said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-051105shoot_lat,0,1948821.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[havocmom]

1. Only May... gonna be a long hot summer

in America

[hollowdweller]

2. Were these guys trained by the US army?

[TahitiNut]

3. It's a good thing he didn't reach for his wallet.

:puke:

[kineneb]

4. Oh, no, here we go again...remember Watts?

Sure does make me glad I now live in the boonies. And indeed, it is only May.

[uncle ray]

5. the same damn thing happened this week in Co Springs

except the police were shooting at freaking BISON!:eyes:

about the same number of rounds fired, over 100, and a neighborhood full of shot up homes and now irate residents.

[NuttyFluffers]

6. y'know, i always longed to live through the 60's...

now that we seem to be getting a redux, i don't know if i'm all that ready for it...

well, time to go tune the guitar, sketch out the look of some new duds, bust out the doobie and go save the world. super hippie and his sidekick retro boy are off to save the day again.:hippie: :headbang:

[wellst0nev0ter]

7. Now All We Need Is Simi Valley To Acquit These Officers

same shit, different Bush indeed :eyes:

[smiley]

8. This makes my heart ache

boiling point is coming soon.

[pinniped]

9. It's a good thing they were trained to watch their backdrop.

Some other deputies could've been directly in the line of fire.:eyes:

[The Minus World]

10. Disgusting.

The news footage of the shooting couldn't be any clearer. The vehicle was at a complete stop, posing no immediate threat beyond that of your typical high-speed chase situation; yet, a volley of shots began ringing out - like a brick of firecrackers exploding one by one.

It was a terrible sight to behold. I'm sure some on the right might argue that the driver probably deserved what was coming to him, but such an unprovoked display of force is totally unnecessary. This was, in a sense, firing a cannon at a house fly. It's a miracle that the suspect was only hit four times, and managed to survive.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Jeezus. So damned sad.

Here's the video from that article. They didn't look too frightened during the whole affair. They seemed completely calm:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-sheriffshootout-051005-wmv,0,6408958.wmvfile?coll=la-home-headlines

[0007]

12. I think another Watts is in the makings, the folks are getting pissed.

Why were they after the suspect in the first place?