Police mistake bar owners for burglars, open fire

[MrScorpio]

Miya Shay

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston police thought they were preventing a break-in, but instead they fired their weapons at the owner of a southeast Houston restaurant.

It happened around 5am Friday morning in the 500 block of Dixie Farm Road near Ellington Field.
Break-ins have been a problem in the area, but so far they haven't had any shootings. That is, until the Houston Police Department opened fire this morning.

Bartender Michelle Larrison has seen her share of break-ins at the Smokin' J's Sports Bar. The latest was just last week.
"Last Tuesday, they shattered the front glass door, which is why we now have the bars across the front door," said Larrison.

The break-ins are so prevalent, that an officer from Houston Police Department's Crime Reduction Unit was actually watching the bar from the outside early this morning. When the officer saw something unusual, backup was called. But what they didn't realize was that the bar owners were inside monitoring security cameras and when they heard a commotion, they headed out the back door.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7608662

[LisaL]

1. At least they didn't manage to actually shoot the owners.

Jeez.

[RC]

2. Its not like the police could actually get to know the business people on their beat.

You know, get to know the various neighborhoods and the people in it.

[Name removed]

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[LisaL]

5. In this case it's a good thing they weren't good shots.

[MrScorpio]

6. Thank goodness for small miracles nt

[TheWraith]

7. You'd be surprised the number of police officers who can't hit ANYTHING.

And it's for a simple reason--most cops don't need to actually fire their weapon in the line of duty. So instead of taking time to practice more than the bare minimum required by the department, they spend their time on paperwork and such.

Now while I can't exactly blame them, the fact of the matter is that LEOs who can't shoot are not just comical, they're dangerous. There was a recent incident in NYC where police responded to a man with a revolver scuffling with an unarmed man. The responding officers got into a gunfight with the armed suspect. He fired two rounds, they fired 50. Only 21 of those actually hit the suspect. The suspect lived, by the way, meaning that they managed to put twenty one 9mm slugs in the guy without hitting his head or any vital organ, or even a major artery.

They did, however, manage to shoot and kill the unarmed victim of the attack. And guess what--the suspect fired two shots at the cops, but six police officers were injured. So even if he landed 100% of his bullets, the police shot four of their own, and likely more.

Police marksmanship is one of those things that you don't need--until you REALLY need it, at which point it's far too late to learn.

[MrScorpio]

8. Damn skippy. nt

[Name removed]

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[Jim Sagle]

11. Cops almost kill an innocent man for no goddamn good reason, and all you can find to bitch and moan

about is alleged anti-police online attitudes? Now THAT'S what's pathetic.

[Name removed]

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[pipi_k]

18. Actually you could have been right there beside them...

and still be none the wiser about the whole thing because you wouldn't have an inkling as to what went on in the minds of everyone involved.

This doesn't sound like a case of police brutality or, as some like to say, "overuse of power".

It sounds like a case of mistaken fears on the part of both "sides", who each assumed that the other were the criminals who had been breaking into stores.


It's just way too easy for people to assume they have all the facts, or to know exactly what they would do in any situation. Yeah, the police are supposed to be trained professionals, but they're also human beings who, like the rest of us, want to go home alive and in one piece at the end of the day.

Darkness...uncertainty...fear...adrenaline...these things can all combine to produce some tragic, or near-tragic results.

I would say that the store owners were just as lucky THEY didn't shoot and injure, or kill, a cop, even by mistake. Imagine having to live with that guilt the rest of their lives.

[Jim Sagle]

19. I don't recall that anyone said it was brutality. But surely it was ill-trained and panicky

reaction for police to open fire without first verbally commanding the suspects to halt and shed their weapons. I can't think of any legitimate excuse for that.

[pipi_k]

21. Maybe the police thought it better not to give away their exact position

by yelling. If anyone inside knows which direction to shoot at, they probably would. Like I said, cops just want to go home after each shift.

[Jim Sagle]

23. That's an excuse to murder innocents? Only in a Mad Max movie.

[pipi_k]

24. No "innocents" were murdered, or even harmed.

But even if there had been, I think it behooves people not to judge the actions of others unless they have been placed in similar situations.

Really, if you think it's that easy to have to make snap decisions, I invite you to find some sort of online "test" whereby you, as a "police officer" have to make decisions based on limited information.

How many times would you be "killed" by not reacting quickly enough?

How many innocents would you end up "slaughtering" by reacting TOO quickly?


Easy enough to judge if one doesn't actually have to do it in real life. So the next argument would probably be, well, they don't HAVE to do it. That's right. They don't. But they do. Most of them do it with the best of intentions, hoping to get criminals off the streets and maybe improve their own little corner of the world.

A few years of knowing they can never change the world, and having to deal with attitudes like some displayed here...it's a wonder any of them even bother to care anymore.

[Jim Sagle]

26. NO one has the right to kill others on the street with NO WARNING.

That's the bottom line for all those who value the rights of free citizens.

[Statistical]

25. To prevent this senseless gun violence we should ban all guns except for use by Police and Military.

er wait ....

[MrScorpio]

20. Yep, that's the best part of my day

:eyes:

[savalez]

9. Reminds me of this story

http://abcnews.go.com/US/phoenix-family-lawsuit-cops-shot-homeowner-intruder/story?id=8756441

[Wilber_Stool]

10. It's a good thing they were

sot at by cops. They could have been killed.

[Cleita]

12. That nearly happened to me.

I was working as a bartender and one morning when I was supposed to open, I got off the bus and saw the door of the bar was wide open. Without the lights on the place was pitch dark even in the day. I panicked and ran in the door when I was yelled at to freeze, turn around and put my hands on my head. Then a police officer came out of the darkness with gun drawn and asked me to identify myself. I said I worked there and then had enough presence of mind to ask how they got in and why.

It turned out the place had been burglarized. A passerby had noticed the door was open and no one was there so he notified the police. The police couldn't find the lights to turn them on, hence the place was so dark so they had stayed in the dark with their guns drawn until they could reach someone or someone arrived.

I got to admit I was a mess the whole day. I couldn't concentrate because all I could think of was, if I hadn't looked right to them they could have shot me.

[Cronus Protagonist]

13. My calculations are that the police are most often the scariest people at any location

1/ We know they have guns.
2/ We know they can shoot and kill with impunity
3/ I've been physically attacked by cops without any justification and their buddies HELPED THEM
4/ They repel criminals with hidden guns just by being there

Ergo, good cops or bad cops, the cops are the most dangerous people in any given location........ so I stay away from them as far as possible.

[JVS]

16. Don't they have a course of action short of shooting up the place?

[Mariana]

17. What for? It's not like anything bad is going to happen to them

for shooting at innocent people. I didn't notice anything in the article that said they'd been arrested and charged, like anyone else would have been.

[Odin2005]

22. Trigger-happy dumbfuck pigs!