Thu Feb 20, 2014 at 07:56 AM PST
Is That a Gun in Your Hand or Are You Just Trying to Change the Channel?
Have you ever answered your door while holding something? A pen,
perhaps, or the remote. A tennis racket? A book? Have you ever opened
the door not knowing exactly who is on the other side? You may wish to reconsider these behaviors.
In fact, if you are male, you probably want to make sure you answer
the door without your pants on, because cops are not likely to ask
whether that's a gun in your pocket or you are just happy to see them
before they shoot you dead.
Christopher Roupe was fatally shot in the chest Friday, Feb. 14 when Euharlee officers showed up at the door of his mobile home to serve a probation violation warrant for the boy's father, WSB-TV reports. A female officer reportedly told the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that Roupe pointed a gun at her after he opened the door.
But the family's attorney, Cole Law, said the boy was holding a Nintendo Wii video game controller, and was about to watch a movie.
"The eyewitnesses on the scene clearly state that he had a Wii controller in his hand. He heard a knock at the door. He asked who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the door he was immediately shot in the chest," Law told WSB.
RT @RT_America: Georgia teen killed by police was holding a Wii remote, not a gun, family says http://t.co/... pic.twitter.com/7rGqc29Y28
— Minister Flashes (@Federal_flashes) February 20, 2014
Neighbor Ken Yates said that he saw the female officer immediately after Roupe was killed and described her as being visibly distraught. "This is tragic," Yates told the station. "She came out of this house. She put her head in her hands and she was sobbing."Over and over we hear of trigger-happy cops who see a gun in every object, or no object at all. This officer, along with all the others who shoot first and never ask any questions afterwards, will continue to "protect and serve" the community because the law allows them to shoot to kill with no consequences as long as they are willing to state after the fact that they believed they were at serious risk.
Now we, as a society, are extending that right to everyone with "stand your ground" laws. We see this in the case of Jordan Davis,
dead because his assailant, Michael Dunn, "thought he had a gun." with a
jury deadlocked as to whether this was justifiable homicide.
When you carry a license to kill, you should have a responsibility not to kill. But modern day police not only carry a license to kill, they are trained in paranoia and then given what is effectively carte blanche to fire.
Just ask Chrostopher Roupe or Andy Lopez. Oh, wait, you can't ask them, they're dead.
When you carry a license to kill, you should have a responsibility not to kill. But modern day police not only carry a license to kill, they are trained in paranoia and then given what is effectively carte blanche to fire.
Just ask Chrostopher Roupe or Andy Lopez. Oh, wait, you can't ask them, they're dead.
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