Pennsylvania Officer Who Fatally Shot Motorist In Back Cleared Of Murder, Manslaughter Charges

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Pennsylvania officer who fatally shot motorist in back cleared of murder, manslaughter charges.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_APNEWSALERT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-11-05-14-57-33

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Pennsylvania Police Officer's Murder Trial To Begin

Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press
Nov. 3, 2015, 4:05 PM 3

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Video played Tuesday at a police officer's murder trial shows the 15-year veteran shocking a fleeing suspect with a stun gun, then shooting him twice in the back as he lay face down in the snow and appeared to reach for something with his hands.

Officer Lisa Mearkle was charged with third-degree murder for shooting 59-year-old David Kassick after he fled from a Feb. 2 traffic stop in Hummelstown, a Harrisburg suburb. The shooting was captured by a camera attached to her stun gun.

The video shows Kassick's hands repeatedly disappearing underneath his body as Mearkle screams at him to keep them where she can see them, a key point of contention between the defense, which says Mearkle fired in self-defense, and the prosecution, which called the shooting unjustified.

"Show your hands!" she's heard yelling on the video, which was played twice for the jury. Kassick's family cried quietly in the courtroom gallery as the deadly sequence played out in high definition.

MORE...

http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-pennsylvania-police-officers-murder-trial-to-begin-2015-11

[Laurian]

1. No way!

I find this shocking. I can't stand to read/hear any more of these stories about cops getting away with murder. It makes me physically ill. I cannot imagine the family's pain over the loss and lack of justice or accountability.

[HassleCat]

2. He was only trying to ditch his rig

He was trying to get ahold of the syringe he was carrying, so he could hide it from the cops. She was justified in shooting, although different police procedures would keep this kind of thing from happening so often. This sequence of car chase, foot race, shooting happens all the time. In almost every case, the dead person was committing some petty crime, and was merely afraid of getting busted for possession, etc. It doesn't need to end this way, but we need a whole different perspective on crime and police procedures.

[grntuscarora]

7. She was justified in shooting?

Hell, no, imo.

http://www.pennlive.com/#/0


But a right wing judge, reading the riot act to a right leaning jury, and hey, she walks. It happens all the time.

[HassleCat]

15. Unfortunately, she was justified

Cops get themselves into these situations all the time. They get in too close, too quick. The suspect reached inside his shirt, or appears to be pulling something out of his backpack, etc. and the cop kills the guy to save her own life. That's what they're trained to do, so it's not their fault. We send a SWAT team to serve a warrant for failure to appear. We train our cops to fear everybody, and fear causes them to be aggressive. We train them as if every non-cop is a dangerous criminal.

[SoCalMusicLover]

3. Cop Protocol These Days

Shoot First, worry about the facts later.

Well, you can be sure that Mr. Kassick won't be making that mistake again.

I wonder how many people are killed by Pigs, who simply maintained their life was in danger, even though it wasn't.

What good is an unused gun anyways.

[billhicks76]

8. Any Citizen Should Have This Defense Then

We should all be able to shoot and kill anyone who moves their hands in our presence? This country is full of idiots and bad people in positions of power.

[freebrew]

4. This will only stop...

when the people start fighting back.
It will take illegal vigilantism, but at this point I see it as the only answer.

The PTB don't seem interested in reigning in their terrorists.

Shot in the back. That would've been a hanging offense just a few years ago.

Where is justice?

[PSPS]

6. That's what it took 50 years ago to bring the cops to heel.

[Darb]

5. More blood on the hands of the immoral RKHA crowd.

Police act as if everyone is an armed lunatic and they get away with it because there are so goddamned many armed assholes out there and when the sane among us try to find a way to limit the amount of firepower in the hands of idiots, well, get out the hankies because the crybabies will let loose.

Gun humpers are to blame.

[happyslug]

9. More on the Not Guilty verdict.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/11/mearkle_verdict.html

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2015/11/lisa-mearkle_not_guilty_david-.html

NBC News report:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lisa-mearkle-cop-who-fatally-shot-man-back-cleared-murder-n458226

CBS News:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-cop-who-fatally-shot-motorist-in-back-cleared-of-all-charges/

[grntuscarora]

10. I hope they slap a fat wrongful death suit on her ass.

nt

[kacekwl]

11. Kept yelling show your hands

while simultaneously tazing him. Please one or the other officer I can't do both. BANG !

[Sunlei]

12. do not understand how anyone shocked like that can hear or move their hands or arms

[The Jungle 1]

13. Handcuffed man shot in Bucks county

Right here in Bucks county a handcuffed man was shot and killed by Perkasie police.
NO CHARGES.

[Demeter]

14. How long is this farce going to continue?

Justice totally denied, not just delayed.

[Dawson Leery]

16. The government does not keep any statistics on who is killed by the cops.

If there were a way to bankrupt this piggy into "Boxford", that would be more effective than jail time.