Cry of ‘Gun’ Is Claimed in Fatal Shooting of Fellow Officer

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

Nassau County police officers who witnessed the fatal shooting of a fellow officer last weekend said that the victim was wearing his badge and that they did not hear the officer who shot him identify himself or yell anything before firing, the president of the Nassau police union said Monday.

“No one heard, ‘Stop! Police!’ ” James Carver, the president of the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association, said.

However, someone seems to have yelled something: officers have said that a civilian at the chaotic scene — possibly a retired New York City police sergeant — was heard yelling “Gun! Gun!” or words to that effect just before Officer Geoffrey J. Breitkopf, who was in plain clothes and carrying a rifle, was shot on Saturday night, Mr. Carver said.

If the account is accurate, it adds a member of a third police department, albeit retired, to the scrum of officers outside a crime scene where a lack of recognition among officers proved fatal. The officer who fired the fatal shot was from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s police department.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/nyregion/15nassau.html

[midnight]

1. Why in the world did they not use a taser... These are the kind of conditions

these tools were supposed to be used for. What a mistake...

[Supply Side Jesus]

3. Lethal force is met with lethal force

If the perp was viable, you don't want to be standing there hoping your taser works properly when the M4 is leveled at you.

[AtheistCrusader]

4. Dude was carrying a long rifle.

It would make mincemeat out of police vests, even a .30-30 deer rifle will go right through, so it's their 'worst case scenario' and makes police officers jumpy.

I do not understand why some officers respond to crimes with long guns, in plain clothes. I have seen it myself, and it is quite disturbing. You have no idea who they are or why they are doing it. (the ones I saw were responding to a silent alarm at a bank behind me)

Most certainly, police procedure was violated in at least one, if not multiple ways.

[Supply Side Jesus]

2. my god, what a cluster...

My thoughts to all involved parties

[smoking357]

5. This is What Happens

When these trigger-happy goons have conditioned themselves to shoot at people quicker than Billy the Kid.

I'm just glad a citizen wasn't the victim, this time, as is usually the case. Perhaps with one of their own getting killed, they'll start to revamp their dangerous procedures.