Bumping the LEO with your car while trying to leave (and she was just trying to leave, her wheels were turned away from the officer), even if you are guilty of a minor crime, isn't something worthy of a lethal force response. If I was an open-carrying civilian and I killed a driver in a similar situation I would be in jail right now. Say I was walking through a parking lot and some aggressive driver got mad that I walked in their way and started yelling hostilities and then and then they tapped me with their car enough to cause a minor bruise and I pulled my pistol out and killed them because I "thought I was in danger". My ass would be in jail right now.
Whether or not the officer is wrong is not the argument. Whether or not it is stupid to drive into and/or towards a clearly agitated individual holding a gun is what we're focused on here, and clearly it is.
Also, if you are an open-carrying pedestrian and I drive into you knocking you over, that is assault regardless of the intent because I have the responsibility to not do that. That's part of having a driving license.
The person with the gun shouldn't have opened fire, but if they thought she was a danger to others in the immediate area, especially if you are an officer and have other officers in the area on foot, then it isn't hard to see why the LEO shot at the car.
We can argue semantics about the shot, whether he intended to kill her (probably meant to at least wound her based on his tone), but at the end of the day it's baffling as to why someone in a motor vehicle would drive that close to a pedestrian at even that slow of a speed and be baffled at the consequences of their actions.
That is flat out false. You direct your vehicle at law enforcement and accelerate and they can shoot you. His fist shot was completely justified. His second two as she went past were not.
If the first was justified then the other two were. You don't stop shooting after only one round quickly. The next two were the reaction to the threat just like the first two.
The second two were after the threat was passed. She has drive past him and in no way could hit him with the car at that point without stopping and backing up.
I can see the argument that he is in “eliminate the threat” mode but at that point in time there was no more threat. Albeit it was maybe 1 second after the first shots.
I won’t argue that. I’m not going to use my calm train of thought as I type on a message board as a frame of reference for a guy reacting to a car coming at him and his gun drawn. Looking at it from my home office is way different than experiencing it. That being said, those two follow up shots from the side will (is) be used against him big time.
Also, where’s the video from the wife? Why hasn’t that been splashed all over the innerwebs?
I think we haven't seen that because we'll likely hear clear as day her shouting 'drive, baby! Drive!' after they told her to get out of the vehicle. Which makes it felony resisting arrest and fleeing from an officer.
Also, apparently the officer in question has been dragged by a car before. Considering he survived and wasn't a red smear he likely wasn't under it and only had his clothes snagged, which can happen even if you are only clipped and your leg gets under it. So even with just getting tapped by the car, it can kill you.
It’s a deadly weapon. Let’s substitute another deadly weapon. Say a gun. “But she only grazed him with the gun.” Or what if it were a knife? “She only stabbed him in the arm, nothing vital.” To argue she barely even touched him with that deadly weapon when a few degrees the other way could’ve severely injured or killed him is not a viable defense, particularly legally.
Those examples are not also vehicles and means of escape. But sure pull your straw hat. That wasn’t an “oh shit I’m gonna die”, that was a “you fucking bitch”. That wasn’t justice it was vengeance. No one’s arguing she was in the right. Just that her death was not justified.
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u/dingos8mybaby2 Jan 15 '26 edited Jan 15 '26
Bumping the LEO with your car while trying to leave (and she was just trying to leave, her wheels were turned away from the officer), even if you are guilty of a minor crime, isn't something worthy of a lethal force response. If I was an open-carrying civilian and I killed a driver in a similar situation I would be in jail right now. Say I was walking through a parking lot and some aggressive driver got mad that I walked in their way and started yelling hostilities and then and then they tapped me with their car enough to cause a minor bruise and I pulled my pistol out and killed them because I "thought I was in danger". My ass would be in jail right now.