Cop shot girl, family sues city

[AwPhuch]

Sad....sad...sad

The protectors are now the targets

[cuylar]

somehow the legal system has become the lottery of the 21st century... who are they stealing from??? ALL OF US.

[darkvibe]

Just to clarify... the girl was shot 3 times and fully recovered. She was suicidal, thats why the police were called. When the cops came she threatened her hister and the officer with a knife. They showed her on the news. She was a big girl. I woulda been scared of her without any weapons. There was outrage in the [black] community about how the shooting was racial.

Google the girls name and there's some interesting reading. It's all racial this and race that bull**** because the cop was white and she was black.

here's a long article about it from right when it happened.
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a

and from the article... this is the mentality of the people that support this kind of stupidity.

"There's no way a little girl with a knife was a threat to a big ol' police officer with a big ol' gun," Powell said.

[VAXDGUY]

Originally Posted by darkvibe

Google the girls name and there's some interesting reading. It's all racial this and race that bull**** because the cop was white and she was black.

So wasn't the girl a racist for attacking a white cop?

[darkvibe]

Originally Posted by VAXDGUY

So wasn't the girl a racist for attacking a white cop?

good point. Counter suit!

[TwoValveKid]

Originally Posted by VAXDGUY

So wasn't the girl a racist for attacking a white cop?

touche!

[DanTheEldest]

Originally Posted by cuylar

somehow the legal system has become the lottery of the 21st century... who are they stealing from??? ALL OF US.

Youbetcha. I remember reading about a country (I can't for the life of me remember which one at the moment) that initiated a civil lawsuit (tort) reform policy that set things up where if you took someone to court for some reason (medical malpractice, product liability, etc.) you better have a pretty darn good case, because if the plaintiff lost they were responsible for paying the legal fees of the defendant. It cut frivolous b.s. lawsuits down to a fraction of what they were, and I'm betting it would work here if we could get the legislation past the special interests currently involved in propogating the new American lottery. (Like that'll happen.....)

[O.C. 4 U]

Originally Posted by DanTheEldest

Youbetcha. I remember reading about a country (I can't for the life of me remember which one at the moment) that initiated a civil lawsuit (tort) reform policy that set things up where if you took someone to court for some reason (medical malpractice, product liability, etc.) you better have a pretty darn good case, because if the plaintiff lost they were responsible for paying the legal fees of the defendant. It cut frivolous b.s. lawsuits down to a fraction of what they were, and I'm betting it would work here if we could get the legislation past the special interests currently involved in propogating the new American lottery. (Like that'll happen.....)

I believe the UK has a "loser pays" civil system.

[cjive134]

We can't agree on which voting machines to use, do you think we can agree on tort reform?

[AwPhuch]

(July 12, 2005) — A Rochester police officer who shot a 13-year-old girl Sunday was trying to prevent the girl from stabbing him and a woman, Rochester's acting police chief, Cedric Alexander, said Monday.
Officer Mark L. Simmons had been invited into the home of Lashedica Mason by members of her family, who had called 911 because the girl was threatening to kill herself with a knife, Alexander said.
As Simmons, 25, talked to family members, Alexander said, Lashedica emerged from the kitchen with an 8-inch kitchen knife and rushed to within 4 to 6 feet of Simmons and Lashedica's 18-year-old sister. Simmons had backed up and ordered Lashedica to stop before shooting her three times, Alexander said.
"The officer acted in an appropriate manner," Alexander said at a news conference. "He acted in the way he was trained to act. This officer and the other person were very lucky not to be injured themselves."
Lashedica was the second child shot in Rochester this weekend. Sunday's incident came just two days after the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Fred Lewis on Langham Street, just blocks from where Lashedica was shot.
Lashedica was listed in guarded condition Monday at Strong Memorial Hospital, where she was treated after the shooting at her house at 30 St. Jacob St., which happened about 10:30 p.m. She was shot in the arm, the finger and the abdomen, Alexander said.
Simmons, who has been with the Police Department for three years and four months, has been reassigned from patrol to desk duty until criminal and internal investigations of the incident are complete. Such investigations are standard procedure for police shootings.
Alexander said his preliminary account of the incident is based on statements provided by Simmons and several people in the house and physical evidence from the scene.
The Rev. Larry Quinn, who acted as a spokesman for Lashedica's family Monday, said the girl's mother won't be prepared to talk about the shooting for several days.
But, he said, "there are differences" between the police version of events and those of family members.

"It's very unfortunate when the family calls for help and something tragic like this happens," said Quinn, associate pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church.
"It's unfortunate that it ended the way it did. (Lashedica) definitely needed some help."

Limited options

Alexander said the incident unfolded in a matter of seconds and there was no time for Simmons to deal with Lashedica in any other manner. The incident occurred in a narrow hallway, which further limited Simmons' options, such as retreating or stepping out of the girl's way.
In recent years, the Police Department has established two new strategies to deal with distraught people, but they were not viable options for Simmons.
Officers in the Emotionally Disturbed Persons Response Team were responding to other calls at that time. Rochester police protocol says that when members of that team are tied up with other assignments, the first available officer is sent to the call. That officer can call for a member of that team if necessary.
Simmons never had a chance to make that assessment, Alexander said. Further, there was no time to even negotiate with Lashedica, he said.

Nor was Simmons able to use a less-than-lethal weapon such as the M26 Taser, which delivers a debilitating electric shock.
Simmons is not assigned to carry a Taser and is not trained to use one.

Also, Rochester police officers never use such weapons when they are alone because a backup officer must provide cover for the Taser operator in case the Taser misses or fails.
When using firearms, Rochester police officers are trained to aim for the center mass of a life-threatening person. This is considered the most effective way to stop a threat because someone shot in the arm or leg could still pose a threat, and an officer has an increased chance of missing the target.
Outrage expressed

The shooting prompted outrage Monday on St. Jacob Street, where several residents joined an impromptu march led by Joy Powell, a community activist.
"There's no way a little girl with a knife was a threat to a big ol' police officer with a big ol' gun," Powell said. "We want some answers and we want them now."
Powell called on residents to leave their houses and join her march, which culminated in a prayer vigil outside 30 St. Jacob St.

Melinda French, who lives across the street from 30 St. Jacob St., joined the prayer vigil and said she, too, wants answers.
French said she's thankful for the work the Police Department does in her neighborhood and has always had good relations with officers. But the shooting gives her reason to fear calling police to help her own children — especially a foster child who has emotional problems.
"If I ever call police, I certainly hope they wouldn't come and shoot her," she said. "I'd want them to talk to her in a calm voice and help her. Not shoot her."
Mayor William A. Johnson Jr., who joined the news conference Monday, said that's exactly the kind of response police provide the vast majority of the time they encounter people. The shooting was a tragic exception to the normal interaction between police and emotionally disturbed people.
Johnson said he has personally read the police reports and believes there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the shooting. He noted that Simmons and Lashedica are both African American, so there is no racial component to the shooting. Lashedica has had a history of depression and was in a high state of emotional distress at the time of the shooting, he said.
Simmons has twice been decorated for commendable action, including recovering a sawed-off shotgun from a woman last year.

"People have to understand the complexity of police work," Johnson said. "If Officer Simmons had decided that that girl didn't pose a threat because she was just 13 years old and he let her throw that knife at her sister, he would have been negligent. These are the kind of things people must understand before they jump to hasty conclusions."
Neighbors described Lashedica — who is also called "Bebe" — as a shy girl who only recently began to emerge from her house.

French's daughter, 11-year-old Theresa French, said she had played cards with Lashedica earlier in the evening Sunday.
Theresa was in bed when she heard the police outside her house.

"I came out and I heard Bebe got shot," Theresa said "I was sad 'cause I was just playing Spades with her. She's real, real, real nice. She's always smiling all the time."

Lashedica was shot three times inside her home at 30 St. Jacob St. about 10:30 p.m. after Simmons responded to a report that she was threatening to kill herself with a knife.
She is listed in critical condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Alexander said members of Lashedica's family invited Simmons into the home. He was talking to family members when Lashedica emerged from the kitchen with an 8-inch knife and rushed at the officer, who was standing beside Lashedica\'s 18-year-old sister.
Simmons backed up and ordered the girl to drop the knife before firing his service pistol, striking her three times, Alexander said, adding that Simmons' statement was corroborated by statements from several people who were in the house at the time of the shooting.

Damned if ya do..damned if ya dont...and trust me a 13year old with a 8" blade who is mentally unstable is a HUGE threat to herself and to others..a 13year old with a kitchen knife can kill you just as dead as a 30 year with a glock!!! Plus the liberal MSM twists it to make it look like the cop just shot her..the headlines should have been...13year old attempts to murder police officer and her sister, heroic cop defends life and liberty with his sidearm!

This is why guns are considered dangerous and whatever..because the MSM twists it such...they dont report it objectively..they report it with the spin that the evil cop toting a murder boom stick shot a poor innocent 13 year old girl who was braiding her sisters hair at mass in the catholic church on sunday while surrounded by the glow of mother theresa herself



UTTER BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!