Is this a justifiable police shooting?

[Comrade Grumpy]

http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/DPS-Trooper-Shoots-Motorcyclist-During-Pursuit--184656241.html

Posted: Mon 3:59 AM, Dec 24, 2012A A Reporter: KHOU

DPS Trooper Shoots Motorcyclist During Pursuit

A motorcyclist is in stable condition after he was shot trying to evade a DPS Trooper early Saturday morning in southwest Houston.

The trooper had pulled over the rider for a traffic violation at 12:20 a.m. on State Highway 99 near FM 1405 in Chambers County. The rider took off and the trooper pursued him.

The chase, which reached speeds up to 100 mph, continued through the east loop to State Highway 90 onto Post Oak Road. That is where the trooper opened fire on the motorcycle. He hit the rider in the leg trying to disable the motorcycle.

The rider stopped near Brookston Street, where he collapsed from the gunshot wound. He said he did not want to stop, because his driver’s license had expired.

The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.

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I think not. The fleeing motorcyclist posed no direct threat to the trooper.

And then there was the case in October where another Texas trooper opened fire on a fleeing truck carrying Guatemalan immigrants, killing two.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/us/2-guatemalans-died-when-texas-trooper-in-helicopter-shot-at-truck.html?_r=0

Houston, we have a problem.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. no. and don't pursue someone going 100 unless they have a hostage

or something major has happened.

Just my opinion.

[Lizzie Poppet]

2. Absolutely not.

Terrible judgement by the officer...

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. No, this is not "a good shooting."

Even the pursuit might be questionable.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. A shooting can be both legal and uncalled for

I use those terms both for LEO and civilian shootings.

Not sure if it is out of policy, but it should be if there was no threat to the cop or others.

Since it is a cop, it will be declared lawful. That doesn't mean it was a valid/required/good shoot.

[Whovian]

5. Americans with guns like to kill. n/t

[Bake]

10. This is NOT a gun control issue.

It's a law enforcement issue. If you want to be taken seriously, try sticking to the subject at hand.

And no, this was in NO WAY a justifiable shooting.

Bake

[Whovian]

11. It is an issue that has to do with America's

fascination with guns and their power.

[Bake]

12. No, it's law enforcement, pure and simple.

Unless you're arguing that cops should be unarmed. The shooter wasn't a "gun nut" (well, actually he may be, but that's not the issue here), he was a cop who was legally armed and presumably trained when/when not to use deadly force.

Bake

[logosoco]

6. No.

Oddly enough, just this morning in my usually quite semi-rural neck of the woods, a woman was kidnapped from her home and the cops (and we have a sheriff and deputies here) stop the kidnapper/would be robber. One warning shot was fired. They stopped them with what must have been good police work and a tack strip.
I am amazed it all happened and no one was hurt, but it certainly enforced my opinion that "things can go down" and no one needs to get killed. The story in the OP case is over kill. And the cop is damn lucky the biker is still alive.

[RandiFan1290]

7. Shoot to kill, center mass, it's not a Hollywood movie!!

All that bullshit!

[Earth_First]

8. Absolutely not. n/t

[Posteritatis]

9. I imagine that was followed by a spectacularly unpleasant debriefing. (nt)

[Robb]

13. Bad shooting. But I'll grant probably one hell of a shot.