BART Officer Will Get Railroaded

I couldn’t resist the pun. 

Seriously though, read this.  Now, I have watched that video online.  I have also seen the officer’s somewhat odd behavior following the shooting.  And I think he made a mistake.  I think he blew it big time.

But murder?  Right in front of all those witnesses? I doubt it.

Keep in mind what the geniuses in that article are alleging.  For this to be MURDER, the cop would have to be more than careless, and more than stupid.  He would have to be someone who MEANT TO KILL the suspect.  I just don’t buy it.  Not to mention that Mr. Shakur is also quoted as saying that the cops murder someone every day.  Let’s hope he gets to address the court…

The better charge might be negligence or something like that.  In any case, here is my prediction:

Just like other cops on that Left Coast that we love, this guy will be convicted.  After all, if he isn’t, they might have another riot.  Hey, it was enough to get the Rodney King cops convicted the second time. I think it will be enough again…

What do you think?

Officers Acquitted In Sean Bell Shooting – This Is No OJ Simpson Case

The wait is finally over.  This MSNBC article confirms that the officers who shot Sean Bell are not guilty.  Phew.  As I look at the angry mob at the court house, I can’t help but think:  This case was not even half  as cut and dry as the OJ murders.  Where was Al Sharpton and company then?

I don’t know if there will be a “civil disturbance” over this, although I am sure Al Sharpton would like nothing less.  I do know the system worked here.  Here are a few reasons why:

1. If you try and run over a peace officer (or any one else for that matter) then it seems fair for the officer to defend themselves.  Especially when you do it a couple of times, and your friends are there to help.

2. Assume for a minute — which I do not — that this is a bad shooting.  That doesn’t make it a crime.  I have warned many a time that if we start prosecuting, as opposed to disciplining, officers for uses of force that are out of policy, we will lose our cops by the dozens.

3. The court apparently heard “conflicting” testimony on what happened that night.  We are all innocent until proven guilty, and beyond a reasonable doubt is a tough, tough standard.  Even the witnesses for the prosecution couldn’t nail this thing down consistently.  Given that ambiguity, the verdict appears just.

Finally, and let’s not forget the good Dr. Sharpton (where is that PhD from?) and his antics here, the judge must have been swayed by the negative publicity here.  I have long believed that Sharpton, Jackson, and the others are all just hurting themselves when they rile up the populous around these events.  No doubt the judge heard them loud and clear  -  which probably made him think even harder on whether he was being swallowed up by the publicity machine.  Good work, Al.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.  I wonder, by the way:  Do those angry folks in NYC think the OJ verdict was a rip off, too?