it would be a huge pr problem that would lag and lag if it were not for one big thing .. he did indeed run when multiple calls for him to halt were shouted. it's near hard to blame them for shooting him though perhaps they coulda went for non-lethal shots to stop him. either way, likely he woulda been alive had he just stopped for questioning.
The police account of him jumping the turnstile and running has no credibility. Remember, they already knew they had shot an unarmed man before any press statements were made.
He probably just running to catch a train and didn't even hear them until seconds before he was dead.
Posted by qotewwer on July 24, 2005 6:06 PM
It does seem like there's something we don't know about this. It just doesn't add up.
Then there's the fact that the officers were plain-clothes. If a man came at me brandishing a gun and yelling, all I'd notice would be the gun, the lack of a uniform and the value of my life [to me].
A couple of points
1) The BBC are reporting that he had been living illegally in the UK since his student visa expired two years ago
2) Since he had been working as an electrician all the time he was in the UK his student visa application may have been fraudulent.
3) He may have been wearing a heavy coat on a hot day because he felt cold ( several Brazilians have commented on this on the BBC)
4) He may have had wires hanging out of his pockets because he was working as an electrician
Despite all this, I still don't understand why he didn't stop when repeatedly challenged and why he jumped the barrier at the Tube station.
However I don't understand why, having pinned him to the ground, the police then shot him five times...
Posted by fabiola on July 25, 2005 1:15 PM
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one" was a Vulcan axiom. The Kobayashi Maru, however, was the no-win scenario. In Spock's case, his death as a result of his belief in that axiom was a conscious choice of the individual.
Even he would fail to find the logic in this situation.
it would be a huge pr problem that would lag and lag if it were not for one big thing .. he did indeed run when multiple calls for him to halt were shouted. it's near hard to blame them for shooting him though perhaps they coulda went for non-lethal shots to stop him. either way, likely he woulda been alive had he just stopped for questioning.
Posted by myke on July 24, 2005 4:32 PM
The police account of him jumping the turnstile and running has no credibility. Remember, they already knew they had shot an unarmed man before any press statements were made.
He probably just running to catch a train and didn't even hear them until seconds before he was dead.
Posted by qotewwer on July 24, 2005 6:06 PM
It does seem like there's something we don't know about this. It just doesn't add up.
Posted by Jess on July 24, 2005 11:33 PM
Then there's the fact that the officers were plain-clothes. If a man came at me brandishing a gun and yelling, all I'd notice would be the gun, the lack of a uniform and the value of my life [to me].
Posted by Stairs on July 25, 2005 8:41 AM
A couple of points
1) The BBC are reporting that he had been living illegally in the UK since his student visa expired two years ago
2) Since he had been working as an electrician all the time he was in the UK his student visa application may have been fraudulent.
3) He may have been wearing a heavy coat on a hot day because he felt cold ( several Brazilians have commented on this on the BBC)
4) He may have had wires hanging out of his pockets because he was working as an electrician
Despite all this, I still don't understand why he didn't stop when repeatedly challenged and why he jumped the barrier at the Tube station.
However I don't understand why, having pinned him to the ground, the police then shot him five times...
Posted by fabiola on July 25, 2005 1:15 PM
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one" was a Vulcan axiom. The Kobayashi Maru, however, was the no-win scenario. In Spock's case, his death as a result of his belief in that axiom was a conscious choice of the individual.
Even he would fail to find the logic in this situation.
(God, I am such a geek....)
Posted by Jeffrey on July 25, 2005 3:41 PM
Thank you Jeffrey. And for those of you who would like to read more on the subject ...
Posted by bob on July 25, 2005 5:35 PM