I wouldn't say they're trigger happy. They were told by dispatch from the 911 caller that they were pursuing 2 suspects armed with handguns. When confronted, the suspects ran, escalating the situation. When one became cornered he made a motion reaching for his waistband, a typical location for a handgun. Given a situation where they are confronting someone who they have been told has a firearm and is desperate to escape, there was a reasonable belief that they were going to be shot at. If they had been truthfully told that the men were unarmed, they might have instead had a taser drawn.

If another cop had said these guys were armed, okay. A caller to 911? A lot of people could be getting a lot of other people killed by cops by calling with lies.

Don't run and keep your hands in view! I chased a few shoplifters back when that was still allowed and quite a few dropped the loot trying to hold up their drawers!

Obviously people shouldn't be running from the police, but it seems like there have been a few too many unwarranted officer involved shootings of unarmed suspects in recent years to not say that policies and training need to be revisited.

The guy made a motion towards his waistband, but the cops never saw a weapon or a gun in his possession. Even with a caller lying about them having a gun, this seems like its a bit of a shaky case. Im sure the high national tension about the Florida case has them scrambling to arrest the caller, too.

When one became cornered he made a motion reaching for his waistband, a typical location for a handgun

Maybe it's a typical location for a handgun, but reaching for your waistband when surrounded by cops not more than 10 feet away with guns drawn is not a typical reaction unless you have a death wish.

I'm sure we'll hear in the reports that this young man was 'suicidal'.

I don't usually like to quickly take the side of the cops on such an issue. But in the end a lot of these cops are just trying to make it through the day and home to their families. He was informed the suspect was armed and made a motion to his waistband. Maybe that last part is true maybe it's not, but how would I know. if the suspect did make that action the cop's actions could be justified.

However about being too harsh on the caller, that's up for debate. I believe in seeing a crises, a person could see something that wasn't quite right, maybe the suspect made motion that made the caller to believe there was a weapon.

I agree with cullerco, a charge of false police report would seem right move and nothing more. but none of use know all the details. I for one will not make too strong an opinion

Made a move toward the waistband. What is right below the waistband? Pockets, where many people keep ID. Maybe? Doesn't matter now. I'm pretty sure if I was in the same situation I'd soil myself before reaching for anything.

no gun no reason to shoot him. shoot the caller. but remember it is illegal to steal.

This really isn't that hard, why are people trying to find just 1 party to blame?

yes blame caller! don't tell police that 2 suspects are ARMED. Police don't want to lose their lives either, and if they are told a suspect has a gun they will be mentally prepared to use theirs.

yes blame McDade. don't run from the cops, and never reach down toward your pocket area if you don't wan to be shot. One time a cop pulled up to my car in a parking lot at night and i stupidly got out and walked toward the cop car with my hands in my pockets (out of nervousness) and his immediate reaction was drop his clipboard and reach for his holster. My initial thought was anger: wtf I'm not going to do anything, I just wanted to show that i wasn't doing anything mischievous, like hiding drugs or something. but now i understand why he did that. just watch some videos of cops getting killed during routine traffic stops and you will understand what I am saying.

Perhaps the cops could have waited until they saw a weapon produced. Too many variables to argue this. Adrenaline is high (i dont' care how much "proper" training you have, when your life is in danger you will just react.) Also if you sit around and wait for a gun to show up it might be too late. Imagine if you were a cop, chasing down what you believed to be an armed suspect with a gun, and it looked like he was reaching for something that might end up killing you. so yeah, none of this nonsense about "oh the cops have ego issues and bad training" and more "don't look like you're reaching for a weapon when cops are chasing you"

I feel bad for that guy being shot but any wrong move and you're going to get shot, never make any quick moves and keep your hands where the officers can clearly see them, if you follow those simple rules you will survive, if you don't chances are you will end-up in a body bag .....

The information from a caller should not set the tone for the responder. If that was the case than police would be shooting people all the time. Oh wait lol...

If the police tell you to stop....STOP...they will make sure you do one way or the other.

You say they are trigger happy but you would have shot a lot quicker in the same situation than they did as would I. Do you think it's easy always being on edge of whether someone is going to shoot you and not react to it?

let me get thie straight. The officer made a mistake and shot and killed an unarmed man so they blame the caller?

Granted the call should never have said the thieves had a gun but it seems a bit extreme.

You all are assuming the cops are telling the truth (suspect reached "toward his waistband"). Don't assume. Cops will do/say anything to cover their butts. Lots of mistakes made here.

I did not see anywhere in this article if the laptop was recovered by the police. If the caller made one lie, who is to say he told the truth about the stolen goods. You can shoot the messenger if you want to,but the police is totally responsible for this boys death. How many young people have to die before changes are made. We as Americans should stand up for our kids. I wonder if a taser could have worked 10 feet away. Its unfortunate this happened but police are scared for their lives. That's why we need gun control in this country. Also people need to be educated on how they are suppose to respond when approached by the police. A class should be mandatory in the schools. The boy was nervous I'm sure . Who is to say that the officers were telling the truth about him running or even reaching for something. This all sounds fishy.

First of all, running form LA cops when you are Black makes perfect sense given what Black people know about encounters with the LA cops. The "reaching for his waistband" statement is merely what the cops said, that's no proof it actually occurred...what do you think they would say?

"Young Unarmed Black Male" might as well be a T-Shirt sold at Target. It could be worn under a matching hoodie.

Too many cops are being killed because they were hesitate to use their weapons. Here the "supposedly Victim" reported they were armed, I would have drawn on him to (former cop), especially when he reached to his waist. THe caller should be charged with vlountary manslaughter, because of his falsely reporting the kid was armed, causing the police to go to the next level of response which was to shoot.

Too many cops are being killed because they were hesitate to use their weapons.

I'll will bet you that more unarmed citizens are being killed because the cops are too quick to shoot than what you said. Racial profiling isn't just ignorant and nasty, it's all too frequently lethal.

Why to you people is it okay for the cop to mistake a gun and kill someone but not the caller ? The caller didn't shoot this man the cops did...And they get written up for it...And they are gonna put this guy in jail for calling for help ? This is a twisted world we live in and you people accept it...How would you feel if it was your kid ? What if your child has disabilities like hearing impaired or other things that make it hard for him to follow directions like put your hands up ? I guess he needs to be shot? Why do they have tasers isn't that what they are for ? No they use them when they don't need any force like on old ladys and children...Bottom line we have to many cops and they need to evaluate and get rid of all the bad ones...And the nieghborhood watch captains in FL..

Also until any of you are in this situation don't be so quick to think you are going to do the right thing. It is so easy to say if the Police say stop stop. Then we are talking about kids. Todays kids don't think outside the box. This is really sad. Another young life taken to soon.

Ok this smells to high heaven. A guy is running from police and gets stopped and reaches to pull up his pants and is shot because sme yahoo told them the guys were armed? Tell me how you can run with a gun in your waistband then stop with police ahead of you and behind you then pull a gun out of your waistband.

(I did not see anywhere in this article if the laptop was recovered by the police)

Think that was an oversite because it says the guy they caught was charged

Why do people run from cops? Probably trying to not get shot!

Cheese, I'm going out on a limb here and assume the dead person is black and the shooters are white or at least white/hispanic. Seems like this ought to be part of the story instead of making me guess.

Ever heard of "Fog of War"? Military personnel, and especially special forces, are highly trained not to experience the Fog of War. But no matter how highly trained, many still experience it when in a life and death situation of war.

So many think Cops should be always respond better than Green Berets and Navy Seals?

Wow this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You don't arrest a family member for telling a doctor how to do his job. These "officers" are trained professionals and they do not receive telepathic messages from people telling them to pull trigger. This is just another situation where police are not doing thier jobs. Why shoot this guy if he did not have a gun?? Did they see a bag of M&M's this time or are they going to use the Stand Your Ground defense?? Bottom line it should be the officers that are investigated. The 911 caller did not cause these officers to pull their triggers on an unarmed man. (or should I say Teen....Seems when it's a sad story about someone who is 18-19 the press says"Teen" but if it's an 18-19 year old committing a crime they call him a "Man")

Cops have been trained to claim self defense also in all shootings. Unless they're witnesses to disclaim their story, dead men don't talk, they will always get away with the killing. I agree it could be a dangerous situation confronting someone but shooting first and asking later is going to produce a lot of dead suspects. If they can't perform their job without killing first it's time for them to move on to a neighborhood watch.

The military are in war and expect everyone to have a gun and trying to kill them, not so with the police.

Good Kids don't run. The call was for an ARMED INDIVIDUAL, the kid refused to put his hands up in plain site and instead chose to hide his hands, fearing that the ARMED SUSPECT may have a weapon and fearing for his life, shot the individual. The individual ran and did not follow the commands of arresting officers.

Was he wearing a hoodie?

Culheath wrote: "Racial profiling isn't just ignorant and nasty, it's all too frequently lethal."

So when an APB goes out what should be said??? Be on the look out for a man, 6' tall, weighing 200 lbs , wearing a blue shirt and jeans and EXPECT the police to be able to find the RIGHT person????? I just described probably half of the adult men in any state out there. See you have to profile to an extent if you plan on catching any of the bad guys/girls.

I am totally amazed at the number of people who cannot read, yet post long, worthless diatribes.

1: the "victim" of the robbery admitted he made up the "armed" crooks to get faster police response.

2: Two officers had the same reaction. So, I would bet money that the crook made a move that was threatening. One jumpy cop - possible. Two at the same scene? Not likely.

3: If you have never shot another human being, you have no idea. I would bet the cop's reaction was that they would like to have shot the caller for lying.

4: When 80% of all violent crime is committed by Blacks, you are damn right there is going to be profiling. When 100% of all terrorist activities are committed by Muslims- profiling is a necessity.

So perhaps you can shoot someone without killing them. Damn

Rocky Road...In this day and age, it is anything BUT extreme for kids to have guns. And sad, but true, it is very common amongst young blacks. What do you think they are killing each other with?

So, Dick, then the cops should have waited to see if the kid shot them FIRST? And, NO, cops are not "trained" to claim self defense....anytime a cop fires his weapon, whether he shoots a person or not, or kills a person or not, simply firing it he will immediately be relieved of his gun, put on leave and probation and the situation is investigated.

Charging the 911 caller (with anything but false reporting) is wrong, and more importantly, stupid. Cops shoot unarmed people 'reaching for their waist' far more than they should, indicating that professionals can mistakenly believe that a suspect is armed. How can you send the message that if a citizen makes the same mistake (and only calls 911, instead of shooting suspect to death) you will arrest him?

This guy may, or may not have intentionally lied, but charging him for the blatant mistake of the cops is scary. Zimmerman could have avoided all the drama in the Trayvon shooting if he had learned from the professionals and just said 'He was reaching for his waist', as apparently seeing a weapon is not at all necessary to shoot someone dead. Good to know.

Mark Stephens...

"100% of all terrorist activities are committed by Muslims"

I'm pretty sure the second worst terrorist attack on American soil was committed by a Christian - Tim McVeigh. Could you site your source for the 80% stat.

Imagine if YOU had shot an unarmed person and then claimed to the police, "but they were reaching for their waistband". You'd be in jail right now, facing murder charges.

2Sense, my father is a cop and I'm in the army. You are trained that when you shoot, you shoot to neutralize the threat period. Center of mass and not just once. When people are actively moving where would you like the cop to shoot? Try for the arm and easily miss, allowing the person drawing a gun to finish drawing and shoot? Hitting the arm and have the suspect grab it with the other hand and just blindly shoot in pain? Maybe a leg where the shooter still has both hands available? Taser is also a bad move as the twitch from the shock while the suspect may already have their finger on the trigger, shooting in whatever direction the gun was pointed in their pants, if their finger was nowhere near the trigger yet is fine, but your told the suspect has a gun, and their hand goes into their pants. We don't have x-ray vision, we don't see if there is a wallet or a gun, of if the suspect already has their hand on the gun. We have families we would like to go home to also, and I hope that when I have a child I can instill the common god damned sense that when a cop with a gun tells you to stop, you stop. We can always fix a wrongful arrest, mistaken identity, given false information, theft, actually breaking the law, etc later on. We can't take back having to kill someone.

For those posting about the ego of cops and trigger happy, yea a lot of cops have egos. If you think about the job, that's the kind of people you mostly attract, not everyone though. You do your best to weed these people out, but in the end of the day you have to have a large enough force to safely police the area under your control. Trigger happy people, I can tell you that very very few cops get into the field because they want to shoot someone. The stress of the job day in and day out, it's nearly impossible to handle having homicidal tendencies without them coming out quickly and drastically to stay on the force long. They weed themselves out.

Overall it's a sad situation, and a human being doesn't want to shoot a teenager. The anguish the two cops are feeling is exponentially expanded knowing the suspect wasn't armed, the caller made sure of that. If there was no comment about the gun it would have likely ended differently. The cop would have likely drawn the gun, aimed, and given the kid a chance to very quickly stop moving, and finished pulling the trigger at the first sight of a gun. The cops though had no real reason to believe he wasn't armed, there is a big difference when being told 'hey I was robbed at gun point' which not only gets them prepared for an armed suspect, but a suspect already shown to be willing to point that gun at another human being, than being told 'two guys wrestled my laptop away from me and went running'

There was a story a few months back showing the difference in response. Mother called on her son, who was being violent and destroying things, etc. Mother failed to mention son had enough guns to storm a small island because she would never believe he would actually shoot someone. Cops came to the door normally, no guns drawn, not prepared to be shot at, killed both cops. Tell me how that's fair? Society as a whole is at blame for this crap, not just the cops.

Imagine if YOU had shot an unarmed person and then claimed to the police, "but they were reaching for their waistband". You'd be in jail right now, facing murder charges.

Not to mention, why would an unarmed suspect reach for his waist band in the first place?

Jason-2757505,

Society as a whole is at blame for this crap, not just the cops.

True.

All those who feel they should not have shot him, or that they should have waited to make sure he had a gun before firing at him, I have only one question: Have you ever been in the position that the cops were in? As far as they knew they were chasing an ARMED person. When they found this ARMED person, should they have waited to actually see the gun before they fired? Well let me tell you, there is a split second to make a decision as to whether or not to fire. If you wait until the person removes his hand from his waistband, and check to see if it is in fact a gun, then you are a dead man. You do not have enough time to fire before he gets a shot off and possibly kills you first. Most cops are people with a job to do, just like you and me. Nobody enjoys taking another life, but if it comes down to it, any cop would rather have to explain why he shot someone rather than having a fellow officer explain to his widow why he didnt shoot. Anyone else put in the same position would do the same, and whoever says otherwise is either lying or dead.

This is a tricky one. Yes, he said they were armed. However, even without him saying that, the boy ran from the cops and then when cornered he made a move for his waistband....there is a good chance the cops would have reacted the same anyways.

But let's also try not to make this kid an innocent victim. If you associate with gangs, if your dress and act like a punk, if you then break into a place and steal something and then you run from the cops.....you are setting your own self up for a unhappy ending.

Everyone assumes that because the cop stated that the kid reached for his waistband, that the cop is telling the truth. You are all naive.

You can't just shoot someone for no reason. The kid never reached for anything. The cop shot him, realized he wasn't armed, and now has to make up a reason to save his job. It's his word against a dead kid, so why not report that the kid was reaching?

Why would the kid reach if he had no weapon? There's just no way. Cop is lying, just like the 911 caller lied, and he should be held just as responsible for drawing his weapon. Based on what a civilian who just had his s%*t stolen said?

These reports are not uncommon at all. I've been on many police ride alongs in Oakland and Sacramento, and other departments and people all the time claim a suspect in a robbery was armed to speed up officer response. This made news because it ended in the death of a robber. What a loss to society! *rolls eyes*

sw philly insinuates that the caller made a mistake by saying he saw a gun when, according to the article, "In an interview Monday with detectives, Sanchez said Carrillo admitted that he made up the story about the gun to speed up the officers' response".

SW's comment is just one that shows how biased people are.

The information from a caller should not set the tone for the responder

What an idiotic statement. So mom isn't "really" having a heart attack so go slow.

As far as waiting until you actually see a gun, it's too late. Amazing how many clueless can think they are knowledgeable on the subject.

First of all, running form LA cops when you are Black makes perfect sense given what Black people know about encounters with the LA cops.

It doesn't make perfect sense. No matter what your skin color is, running from the cops is a bad idea. If the police want to talk to you, they are going to talk to you. If you run, then, like most rational people, they will think you have something to hide--especially if you are black.

I know how black people, specifically men, are scrutinized by the police, but consider this: if you are falsely accused of a crime and you run from authorities, the first questions they will ask you when you are caught is "if you are innocent, why did you run? If you aren't the person we are looking for, what are you doing that you don't want the police to catch you doing?" It's the first question(s) that jurors will think about as well.

Given the history between LA cops and the black community, passivity by the person being sought during an encounter would save a few innocent lives, and the cops would have no reason to search the suspect looking for an excuse to make an arrest.

All you bigoted arm chair quarterbacks that don't know wtf you're talking about. OF COURSE information given by the 911 caller sets the tone and force of the response. OF COURSE an officer feels a higher threat if he has reason to believe the suspect is armed. That's why the rookie schools teach officers how to make a regular traffic stop, a "felony" traffic stop, and a "high-risk" traffic stop. Different situations require different responses. That's called Life 101 for you people who haven't left your ivory towers yet.

The caller admitted he raised the stakes to get a quicker reaction from the police. A reasonable person (not a self-centered SOB like the caller) should know that escalating the simple robbery to an aggravated (armed) status would heighten the cautionary actions taken by the officers (think HIGH RISK STOP). He should be made to pay for his actions, and if his actions unreasonably placed someone at risk of death, then that's what Manslaughter charges were created for.

If I was to use some of you peoples' bigoted remarks about police officers and say it about black people or illegal immigrants, you would hang me to high heaven as a racist. Why can't you people understand that you are also saying that about human beings, not Robocop?

I've watched lots of people with cell phones on their belts and it seems as if every time they move or do anything physical they grab at their phone to make sure its still there they don't even think about it. cops do the same thing with their guns and other accessories they get out of their cars and they reach for their belts and feel around to make sure every things in place.Anyone who's ever worn a tool belt does the same thing. Its a natural subconscious motion that should not come with a death penalty. No matter what the cops say if they can't hold their fire till they see the gun than they are cowards and should get a different job. This whole idea that a cops life is worth more than everyone else's is unamerican.

The cops did nothing wrong. Chances are very good the thief would have been shot even if the caller had NOT lied about him being armed, Why you ask. One, the suspect was not cooperative and attempted to evade capture. Two, once the thief made the move toward his waist line, the usual place to conceal a heater, the cops will not hesitate to use deadly force, and rightfully so. In regard to the 911 caller, no way will this charge stick. What he did was wrong but he is not responsible for the guy getting shot, he (the thief) could have cooperated with police. Filing a false report is the proper charge.

@simple one and others

THe caller should be charged with vlountary manslaughter, because of his falsely reporting the kid was armed, causing the police to go to the next level of response which was to shoot.

This kid should face charges for a false police report, nothing more. Do you really think the cops would have reacted any differently after the perp ran from them, then reached for his waistband when cornered? I don't. They would have shot him anyway. It doesn't matter how the crime was reported to the police, the reaction of the officer would have been the same. This, from the article, is important:

The other suspect, a juvenile, has been charged with two counts of commercial burglary, one count of grand theft and one count of failure to register as a gang member as a condition of his probation.

So, the police were chasing a known gang member and a presumed gang member, almost assuredly wearing the colors of their crew, and you think the officer wouldn't have fired after a threatening movement? You're delusional.

So did this "good kid who was never in trouble" actually steal a laptop? I guess there's a first time for everything...

"McDade allegedly made a motion at his waistband and the officer opened fire"

Is this a quote that police use every time they kill someone for NO reason? Cut and paste just like I did.

"Good student that never got in trouble"...but he just finished stealing a laptop. He ran from the police and his friend was "charged with failing to register as a gang member as part of his probation."...You don't run if your not guilty. Running is a crime and, as exampled by this incident and many others, can quickly escalate to a really bad situation. It is not "cool" to run. It is not "ok" to run. More and More people these days seem to be doing it, almost like their parents are teaching them that it is expected of them. What the hell is wrong with people. The guy who made the call should be charged with filing a false police report, which should ALSO have stiffer penalties but not manslaughter.

This is clearly another poorly written article by the MSNBC staff writers. The question is was the omission that McDade actually did steal the laptop omitted on purpose for political reasons of simple incompetence on the part of the MSNBC staff writers? For a better read see below.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pasadena-shooting-20120329,0,116227.story

Atheist: "Why would the kid reach if he had no weapon? There's just no way. Cop is lying,"

I AGREE! Initially, I was thinking, yea right--"reaching for his waistband"--All cops say this same thing to justify shooting a citizen. I instinctively felt something was fishy and how does anyone know this is true?

But your comment made me realize WHY it felt so fishy. The teen was unarmed. There was NO REASON for him to be "reaching for his waistband" because he had NO weapon. In fact, that would be a very good reason NOT to be "reaching for his waistband."

Your comment helped me realize why I felt uneasy regarding this cop's excuse for killing unarmed kid.

@Mark Stephens - I wasn't gonna post but the racsim in your post was just too much to bear. Please provide a link that shows that 80% of violent crime is commited by Blacks. Oh wait, you can't cause you just made that up? If you check the FBI website it clearly shows that only about 6% of all terrorist acts are commited by Muslims, so where did that stat come from? Oh let me guess, from the delusional mind of a racist. I got a stat for you. Surveys show that you are 100% jacka$$!!

@WMG - How did the cops know the other suspect was a gang member when they were chasing him? The article says he failed to register as a known gang member, which wouldn't have beeen determined until at the station. Was he wearing a shirt that said "Known gang member?" The article never even hints that the two suspects were together at the time and only appears to support the fact that the one who was shot was the only one being chased, so how would they assume he was a gang member? Maybe all Black males are presumed gang members I guess

"...he made a motion reaching for his waistband", the money defense for every cop killing.

Culheath (and others of your ilk)--since you clearly hold the police in such disdain and suspicion, I suggest you stay very far away from them and NEVER use their services. So should you be the victim of a mugging or robbery or one of your loved ones (if you have any) is the victim of a brutal crime or you're home is being invaded or you're carjacked at gunpoint, don't call the cops. Call a plumber. I'm sure he'll take great care of you.

The officers were in hot pursuit of someone who was fleeing the scene of a robbery; they had been falsely informed he was armed; he ignored demands to stop; when cornered, he made a suspicious move that made them believe he was reaching for the alleged weapon; instead of waiting to let him secure said weapon and open fire on them, they used deadly force to avoid being shot themselves. Lesson learned for all of us survivors? When the cops tell you to stop, STOP. Keep your hands in plain view, follow instructions, don't resist, and, as one poster pointed out, all problems resulting from the incident can then be resolved one way or another peacefully and without loss of life. The only downside? Pompous jerks like you won't have a forum for cop-bashing. So sad.

Agdoc: I have several friends who are currently police officers, participated in the boy scout police program when I was much younger, and have nothing but respect for law enforcement. Still, when you have so many cases of officer involved shootings and beatings of unarmed suspects, something needs to be done. This year alone, there have been 3 in the Las Vegas area. One of the men was a former Iraq veteran who was unarmed, pinned in his vehicle, and suffering from PTSD. Another incident, completely caught on tape, had a man who was in diabetic shock, hadn't done anything wrong other than erratic driving, and was pulled from his car and beaten in the middle of the street. Literally kicked in the face.

Point being, I understand police have a tough job and cases like this are generally rare, but it is a lot like when most police departments finally revisited the protocol of high speed chases through populated areas because of so many people getting hurt. These shootings are happening enough for rightful public outrage.....and something needs to be done.

For everyone's FYI: I just read the LA times article re: this incident which said (and I quote):

The police searched for 2 days but found NO weapon AND NO LAPTOP EITHER!

OOPS!

The cops need to take responsibility for THEIR actions and I really doubt if the caller hadn't said they were armed it would have gone down any differently. The 911 caller did not force the police to shoot an unarmed man. The police are way too quick to shoot. This led to the death of that young man and many others including innocent bystanders.

So many "why did they shoot if he didn't have a gun?" In your minds, should the police wait until bullets are flying towards them before drawing? Just how much time do you think an officer would have to defend himself if they waited until the gun is visible?

Bottom line is: Don't run from the police and follow instructions. In the mind of any rational person, if you run from the police, you are guilty of something.

Don't mean to make light of this, but where can I get my hands on the most recent copy of the gang member's registry?

As long as law enforcement is allowed to overuse the "he reached for his wasteband" defense, police killings will never be questioned and the killing of unarmed suspects will continue with impunity while granting them the powers of judge, jury and executioner.

atheist::: Oh, you were there? Were you in Florida and saw the Travon Martin killing also? You said the kid never reached for anything. You know that he never reached for anything? If the kid didn't have anything, he never should have reached for his waistband. I guess you never watch COPS. You'd learn how quickly someone can pull a gun from their waistband.

When cops are going to question you or arrest you and you are in a car, they tell you to put your hands up-- or on the steering wheel or on the dashboard. You make a move toward the seat or beside the seat and you will hear the "click" of the cop's weapon. That is one sound that noone wants to hear. Just watch COPS and you people who know so much might learn something.

I've been a fan of COPS for years.

Youtube "Texas State Trooper shooting." It'll show you that once the gun is in the persons hand from the waistband, it'll take less than a split-second to aim and shoot. Reaching for the waistband after running from the cops and refusing orders SHOULD be taken very seriously. The statistics of officer deaths is staggering, and it's protocols like this that keep many of them alive. In the heat of the moment, you don't have the option of waiting to observe a belligerent person making a common threatening move when you can be dead in an instant. That being said, it is sad that this young man ended up dead.

For everyone's FYI: I just read the LA times article re: this incident which said (and I quote):

The police searched for 2 days but found NO weapon AND NO LAPTOP EITHER!

OOPS!

ErinsFire 42, then why was the suspect running away at all? If he didn't take it, why would you run? If he is/was innocent, he was stupid. Fully cooperating with the police may cause some short term hassle, but by not cooperating, the sky is the limit, they'll push it just as far as you push it, further actually.

Here we go! The cops F-up big time qnd it is somebody else's fault. If the cops had already drawn a bead on the runner, he already had the drop on the "suspect". Or was this cop thinking he was on the set for a western movie and they were in a gunfight at high noon?

If the caller made a false claim that there were armed people then the caller should be charged with making a false report. But to try to foist the trigger-happy response of Barney Fife on the caller is ludicrous. That is like saying that when a cop runs down a pedestrian during a high speed chase the motorist should be charged with vehicular manslaughter.

If it is okay for the cop to say he thought the suspect had a weapon then why is not okay for a citizen to say he also thought the suspect had a gun?

Anybody notice that every time an unarmed civilian gets shot the police say he made a motion that led the cop to believe he had a gun. Granted, any chase of a suspect is a dangerous situation and it's understandable that the police are on edge, but just because the report says he reached for something, as if for a gun, doesn't mean it actually happened. I've heard cops admit that they know that 99 % of judges will believe anything they say, even if it is contradicted, so there is absolutely no counter to them creating a story.

in this particular situation, based on what we know, everybody who says "the caller didn't cause the police to shoot the man" -- are you bleeping stupid? the CALLER said the suspect had a GUN. so the police chasing him THINK HE HAS A GUN, because the caller said so. so the police know they have a chance of getting killed themselves. suspect reaches towards pockets, cops think he's going for gun, game over. HAd the caller not said anything, the cops would have most likely not shot him. But they thought he had a gun, and so they are thinking "this man could shoot me if I am not careful". the caller may not have pulled the trigger, but he IS the reason the cops were on a heightened defense mode.

Agdoc

Culheath (and others of your ilk)--since you clearly hold the police in such disdain and suspicion

You couldn't be more wrong - I totally admire and respect LEOs who act responsibly and bravely in an amazingly tough job...what I hold in disdain and suspicion is unprofessional bullies and racist thugs hiding behind badges and using their authority to beat up and murder people of color and anyone else they stereotypically profile or even just those who might have the audacity to challenge them in any way.

The officers were in hot pursuit of someone who was fleeing the scene of a robbery; they had been falsely informed he was armed; he ignored demands to stop; when cornered, he made a suspicious move that made them believe he was reaching for the alleged weapon; instead of waiting to let him secure said weapon and open fire on them, they used deadly force to avoid being shot themselves.

You don't know any of that as fact, you're just parroting the police version of what went down and spreading it as hearsay.

. .so the police know they have a chance of getting killed themselves. suspect reaches towards pockets, cops think he's going for gun, game over. HAd the caller not said anything, the cops would have most likely not shot him. But they thought he had a gun, and so they are thinking "this man could shoot me if I am not careful". the caller may not have pulled the trigger, but he IS the reason the cops were on a heightened defense mode.

Of course the officers were likely in a heightened stress mode ...that doesn't mean they suddenly throw professionalism or caution to the wind. You are basically saying that cops have no professional training nor reason for restraint once they think they themselves are in danger. People who would be so freaked out by the stress in that situation have no need to be armed with lethal weapons in a police role because they are as dangerous to the general public as any criminal might be. Proof of hat of course being the unarmed black guy who was racially profiled and killed.

Racial profiling is not the mere mention in the description that a suspect is Black along with weight, height and clothing, but rather with the added automatic stereotype baggage of "thug","thief", "pimp", "gangbanger", "druggie", "pimp"...etc. that gets put into the equation and colors the perspective and resulting actions of the cops.

Your comment itself was loaded with assumptions that the murdered kid was guilty of something and responsible for his own death. You need to stop giving the incompetents and thugs wearing badges such constant benefit of the doubt and maybe even start checking your own racial profiling tendencies.

Ultra Peach: Police are trained to always assume you have a weapon. Obviously they have to protect themselves, but a line is crossed when they just shoot first and ask questions later. The officer should have had a visual on a weapon before firing his.

If cops just shot everyone who didn't cooperate or acted suspicious, we'd have a whole lot of dead suspects.

the police are armed for a reason, and if they feel that a fleeing, armed suspect might reach for a gun and hurt the cops or other people, then they are trained to use their weapons. unless you want to give the suspect a chance to shoot a few people first.

example: i see a guy walking alone outside, suspiciously. I can call the cops and say there's a man outside walking suspiciously, can you check him out. the cops might drive by him and talk to him and see what he's doing. ok, version #2. i call and say there's a suspicious man outside with a machine gun. you think the cops are just gonna drive by and risk getting killed? no they'll probably stop far away from him and tell him to get on the ground and all that stuff. if this man was an idiot and ran away and reached toward his waistband or inside his jacket, where the cops THINK a machine gun is, they are more likely to open fire. now who made police believe he had a machine gun? the CALLER.

bottom line is: it's just a fact in the world that if a cop thinks you have a gun, he will probably be ready to use his. so how do we avoid getting shot in a situation like this? let's see.. oh yeah! don't run from the cops! reach for the skies as much as you can and cooperate. also i'm sure it helps tremendously when the cops don't already think you have a gun (ahem, CALLER to blame for that). or better yet, don't go around stealing things! WOW how's that for a concept. so don't steal, don't run from cops, basically just act like a normal civilized human being. It's really not that hard. he got himself killed and the caller helped.

Ultra Peach,

I love how you people make up a movie of how you think things went down and then project it as certain truth. He was unarmed, no gun found, no laptop found after two days of searching but you are certain he was a thief and brought on his own death. That's just idiotic.

@ErinsFire42

For everyone's FYI: I just read the LA times article re: this incident which said (and I quote):

The police searched for 2 days but found NO weapon AND NO LAPTOP EITHER!

OOPS!

You obviously didn't read the LA times article very closely, so let me select the relevant quote for you:

But Sanchez said a security camera video shows that the two young men were involved in the theft of a backpack from Carrillo's car.

So... you were saying?

@Stewgotts

How did the cops know the other suspect was a gang member when they were chasing him?

Colors. All police officers are trained in recognizing gangs by their colors and tattoos/symbols. It's not that difficult-- the thug lifestyle is very flamboyant with respect to "representing" their crew. Ever watch that show "Gangland"? Or "Cops"? Both of those shows frequently show police officers and detectives identifying gang members from a distance on the basis of their location, their colors and their behavior. In this instance, two thugs ripped off a backpack from the victims car (verified by security feed) and ran from police, one of whom was in violation of his parole for failing to register his gang affiliation-- all available evidence supports the conclusion that these were gang bangers and it's likely that it was imminently obvious to the responding officers what they were dealing with as soon as they arrived on scene. These are people trained to recognize gang members as part of their job. Frankly, I don't think it could be anymore obvious.

Yes one more issue: A nation armed to the teeth with handguns.

you think taking away guns will keep criminals from guns? do you not realize the biggest reason we have never been invaded is because of citizens with guns?

You are soooooooo sick to make up lies that were not listed in the article. Sickie!

Rick.... Where in this article was there ANYBODY but the cops with guns? So you want our cops to not have guns now too?

That's what I thought.

While this kid didn't deserve to die, he still was a thief, and he still ran from the cops. He sure had a bright future ahead of him.... He was not a good kid and as mean as it sounds, I say good riddance, one less gang member on the street. I have no remorse for people who commit crimes then have bad things happen to them. With where his life was heading already, I'm sure he would have been shot further down the road anyway.

Rado, come back and talk to us when someone in your family gets shot by the police.

I'm sorry, my family aren't a bunch of criminals, so it won't be happening.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

Rado...YOU don't know that this kid was a gang member...they arrested another guy and say HE was a gang member. From the information very carefully fed out in this article...they don't even say if this kid was involved in anyway with the theft. He was running....dumb move...but the article NEVER claims he was involved....he may have been involved or he may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time doing a really dumb thing like running from a cop. Did you EVER take reading comprehension in school? Did you read a different article that I did?

Celmira,

If someone in my family was shot by police because the 911 caller lied and said he was armed, I would be more mad at the caller. He lied and raised the stakes at the scene. The police had no reason to believe the caller lied, so they already assumed he had a gun.

And I do have a nephew who is constantly in trouble with the law. Fortunately, he has not yet run from the police, nor has any 911 caller lied to get a quicker response, putting my nephew in imminent danger.

I read it differently. I read that the perp was CORNERED by the cop car and reached for his waistband. The perp was asking for trouble and it found him.

I saw one on COPS where the perp was running, and a second cop got the car at an angle in front of the perp. He was so busy watching the cop running after him that he didn't see the cop car sitting in front of him. He knocked himself out running into the car.

Youtube "Texas State Trooper shooting" and you'll see how fast someone can aim and shoot once they have their hand on the gun hidden in their waistband.

Susie: You've been watching too much Cops. It is only slightly forgiving that the caller had told them he had a gun. Past that, cops are trained to assume everyone has a weapon. They should have had a visual before firing on him. They already had their guns drawn on him, making it that 1 second they shot too soon that has the cops wrong in this case.

Could be, but I doubt it. But since he rarely drinks and never drinke and drives, it doesn't matter. I totally support road blocks to check for drunks. We have both lost friends who were killed by drunk drivers. It was just a minor inconvenience, as long as he cooperated.

I totally support road blocks to check for drunks. We have both lost friends who were killed by drunk drivers. It was just a minor inconvenience, as long as he cooperated.

My, you do make such a compliant slave. Get off your knees and trying living like a free citizen, you may actually begin to enjoy the taste of freedom.

The only people to confirm the "suspicious movements" are the murderous cops.

I realize I am biased after being poorly treated by so many police overseers officers.

I had a cop try to plant a gun in my car after pulling me over because he said there was a shooting nearby (there wasn't) but his partner recognized me from high school (we went to different schools me public him private but my best friend went to the private school) The dirty cop comes up from pretending to look around in my car with a gun he was holding it with a pencil through trigger housing. He looked at his partner for support, his partner shook his head like "no, not this one"

WTF

every parent should buy their kid a gun and get them a carry permit as young as legally allowed so that they at least have a fighting chance and since not having a gun doesn't stop you from getting shot by police.

deb-After all, all it takes is one bad guy and the cop would be dead. These people often cause their own deaths.

yes, the cops sure do.

Jacques--I totally agree. You should live free and independent of unfair restraints from police. So the next time you're stopped by them, shoot them the finger, take a swing at the nearest one, then run like hell while shouting that you have a weapon. Better yet, actually carry one. There will one less pompous dick in society, and we'll all cry at your funeral. NOT.

Texana Deb: " The "good kid" stealing a laptop, running, making suspicious movements."

Except the LA Times reports that the cops searched for days and found NO weapon AND NO LAPTOP. They never found the "stolen laptop." So where is it?

Obviously someone else took it.

Jacques::: You bellyache about a checkpoint to catch drunks? Bet you's bich if some drunk ran into some relative of yours and killed them. Then youd bich because the drunk wasn't stopped.

There's been many a drunk caught at a stop like that and another drunk taken off the street-- even for the night. Some jails are crowded with drunk drivers.

Watch LOCKUP RAW and learn something.

The latter sounds better, the former saves lives.

Hunter Gabel, in a perfect world, police are always friendly, alert, and honest and would NEVER shoot anyone for anything, except maybe to save a victims life. THOSE deserve respect because of the job. But not all police are honest, and obviously all do not make the community safer. But, for your own safety, and theirs, cooperate. If they are in the wrong, get their badge number and report it to the police department and the media.

'...tend to do so without proper evidence of threat?'

Running away from a police officer makes you look guilty. Reaching for the waistband is evidence of a threat.

In light of the media and the Martin/Zimmerman case...if there were no witnesses, we're left with the police version.

I can see why the police get irate when the public captures them on camera...

"Dead men tell no tales...but Panasonic will"

You don't have to respect cops. But it is the law to obey a lawful order. If they challenge you and tell you to stop, put your hands in the air, or drop to the ground, you must comply. They shouldn't have to tell you to stop in the first place, don't you agree? Take care.

Ah, jeez. We "respect" and admire police officers because they do a difficult and often dangerous job very few of us could do nearly as well. We also "respect" the fact that they carry weapons and are empowered to use deadly force when someone threatens the lives or safety of other citizens or the police themselves--or do something as stupid as this jackass did. I'm sure in this same situation you would have sat there calmly to see if the suspect actually DID have a gun, waited for him to brandish it, called for him to drop it, and only shot to return fire. I'm sure he would have missed you.

I just love Monday morning quarterbacks. They never make a mistake and have divine insight on what everyone else should have done.

Every one of you should have been around when the 16 year old innocent white knight in shining armor killed the two police officers in West Memphis Ark then you would not defend all these fine upstanding pillars of the community as you do The fist thing a police officer tells you to do is put your hands where I can see them If this guy has gone to 12 years of education and started to college surely along the way even though our gov has dumbed down our education he knew what this meant

htypsi - assuming that's what happened.

it's only part of what happened. the 16 year old's dad was also in the vehicle and got out to shoot the cops. the most screwed up part of it is they still haven't said why the van got stopped in the first place.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/may/20/west-memphis-police-officer-killed-another-injured/

Just to be clear, we're talking about the same "young college student" who snatched a laptop, ran from the police, ignored demands that he stop, made a move that made the two cops on the scene believe he was reaching for the weapon they had been told he had and got shot as a result? THAT "young college student"? Right. What "responsibility", exactly, should the cops have to take here? Doing their job? In that case, I agree with you. Anything else, and you've GOT to be kidding.

Agdoc: "Just to be clear, we're talking about the same "young college student" who snatched a laptop,"

Wrong. Cops searched for days (reported in LA Times). Never found the alleged stolen laptop. And if they killed the stealer, obviously they'd have found the missing laptop, wouldn't they?

No laptop. No gun. Just one dead "young college student." Another day in USA.

Yeah, 'he's a good kid', at what? Going out and robbing people then running from the police! And, within 10 feet of the police reach for your waistband....Yes, as they always say, 'he's a good kid'.

Apparently, he didn't win that foot race. Wonder if he was a Wide receiver or just a blocking dummy. I assume the the latter because he is now a dead dummy.

I missed where it said he actually stole the laptop.

Of course he didn't. He was running from the cops because he was training for the cross-country track team.

That's Crazy: "He's a good kid....who goes out and robs people of their laptops. Well, not anymore"

Wrong. Read the LA Times article re: this incident:

The cops searched for days. Never found the alleged stolen laptop. And if they killed the "robber," obviously they'd have found the missing laptop, wouldn't they?

No laptop. No gun. One dead kid.

Kids run from the police cause even if the didn't do anything - they are still subject to beatings, curses and being taken to jail - "just because". The difference from going home in a 5 or 10 minutes or being held up by the police, questioned for hours for no good reason or anything that has to do with you or your actions?

Makes for a good reason to just avoid the ordeal all together.

Its been reported that LA police have resorted to dropping off "suspects" - really people who were non-gang members who chose not to get involved (for safety reasons) or who do not want be recruited as coincidental informants... Officers have driven them to rival gang territory or half way across the city then kicked them out of the car to make it home ... best way they can. It caught - they would be lucky if they were only beaten up. The consequences have been permanent to some!

Why run from the Police? Are you sure you are ready for the answer??

Well, I guess until you're caught, you're not in trouble.

why don't you read the link in the article to the la times that says after killing this kid they still haven't found the laptop that he supposedly had.

Looks like these cops are taking the blame for all previous shootings involving cops. Instead of generalizing, it would be more proper to look at each individual cops' shooting history. Chances are this was their first time to actually shoot a suspect. Thus, they are not eager to kill people.

Cops suck? Same feelings towards the military too I presume. But you are clueless to the fact that without either you couldnt do or say what you want.Sounds to me like you are someone who was raised in an area of crime riddled communities or with a silver spoon in your mouth used to getting your own way all the time. Being a cop sucks having to pull over stupid people who cant read speed limit signs or having enough disdain for authority that they create situations of danger for themselves and others. I have uncles who were police and a son who is active police now and i will tell you there are some idiots out there. I could not be a cop too many stupid people out there and YOU CANT FIX STUPID so ......... . We need more respect for police officers because when a lot of you people got mad at police for doing your drugs and speeding and trespassing and all the things you wanted to then the cops were wrong for catching you. We need tougher sentences to keep order no more slapping the hand CUT IT OFF.

asian, every criminal is treated based on what past criminals have done. hell every suspect is too so it's only fair to judge them based off the same thing.

Cops suck? Same feelings towards the military too I presume

Nope... the military are held accountable for mistakes and prosecutedfor them. Soldiers are trained to understand that at some point they will be civilians again. The power of the battlefield will eventually be removed. So here you have an 18 - 25 year old kid who is personally carrying enough firepower to clear an entire city block by himself and if necessary... can call in assistance to decimate a city. But, through accountability, command and control protocols - they seldom make the kind of mistakes your city police officers routinely abuse and ignore.

naive is too subtle a characterization... for someone who willingly sticks his head in the sand and finds excuses to justitfy why its a good thing. Police would get more cooperation from the public if they treat the public with more respect. the keep forgetting the reason Policing works ... its meant to be a cooperative arrangement between the population and the police. You can't get all the glory then ask for help at the same time. Stop hating on the public... We DO pay your salaries!

Even in a war zone, soldiers are held accountable for killing civilians, abusing prisoners... cops aren't. At least the are given chance after chance to go back and do the same thing, in the same way to others under the same conditions which were found at fault previously.

Have you seen the video of your so called 'de-facto cop" being led into the police station with his broken nose, the back of his head busted out and wearing his grass stained clothes? Most people do know that community watch is just neighbors getting together and hopefully helping each other. But there are some neighbors who would use this as a chance to get the neighbore they don't care for. Why are they living here... I did'nt see them when I was moving in, how did they buy that car, who are those kids in that driveway, they could'nt have been married that long........... Haters take many forms, they even come as old hateful vietnam vets. trolling forums, playing the race card and trying to spread race baiting innuento. Noone in thier right mind or even you would allow a neighborhood watch person to order them around as if they were the local law inforcment. I hope you are not wearing your pointed head hoodie and going out at night.

No Zimmerman, was racially profiling the kid and killed him. He should be tried for 1st degree murder. He used his position to kill someone and carried a gun hoping to use it.

I hate to confuse you with facts, Simple, but the full transcript of the original call between Zimmerman and the police dispatcher has been released. Zimmerman said he saw someone acting suspiciously. When asked his race, he said he couldn't tell because his hoodie concealed his face. When questioned specifically BY THE DISPATCHER if the suspect was black, Zimmerman said he guessed he could be. As for the shooting, there are still a lot of contradictory evidence on what led to that, who was actually the aggressor, etc. How nice that you've got it all wrapped up in a neat package. Someone call the DOJ and FBI and tell them not to waste their time--it's been solved by.......Simple.

agdoc, bull****. when asked, zimmerman said specifically "he looks black". either know the facts or stop correcting people.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/guns/911-tapes-george-zimmerman-killing-trayvon-martin-released

BS...

Looks like these cops are taking the blame for all previous shootings involving cops. Instead of generalizing, it would be more proper to look at each individual cops' shooting history. Chances are this was their first time to actually shoot a suspect.

Individual cops, cheifs of police - may come and go - but the culture continues, unchastised actually gathering stram and further restictins the rigts of the public to complain generation after generation.

Segregation was Sanctioned by the United States Government... it was national policy - you must have missed the Great Parade held by the Klan down Pennsylvania avenue... from Congress to the White house. Its in all the history books - not difficult to find.

The civilian police have morphed into a para military force which is under the command of no one, they only answer to the Cheif of police, their is no oversight on their budget. they have taken over 9by stealth) the legtimate role of our USA militia who were under the watch of elected officials. Metro Police do not have restrictions or contorl by elected officials. The Cheif is appointed by City council or possibly by the Mayor - but once in place, its difficult to get him put out.

Now lynching was "de facto" acceptable... it was in a minor way one of the few equal opportunity civil rights violations which predated President Johnson.

does it matter if hes black?

NamVet asked.

There IS no reason to run from the police unless you are guilty of the crime. Yeah, 'he was a good kid' and he was out committing a crime with a gang member?

Unfortunately innocent people are arrested everyday and actually convicted based on stereotypes, like the ones imposed in this article.

I don't know at this point I am more afraid of cops than I am of some wiley crackhead. Chances are I can trick the crackhead and get away but the cops would probably just shot me in the back. fyi have never been to jail and don't steal, murder, ect. ect. ........

Neko--the "wiley crackhead" will likely just knife or shoot you out of hand to take whatever he/she wants from you. And the only way the police will "shoot you in the back" is if you're collosally stupid enough to run from them and make them think their lives are being threatened. You wouldn't be that stupid, would you? Would you?? You WOULD? Well, R.I.P., dumbass.

if he committed a crime why wasn't the laptop recovered from the dead body?

Did you not read. He admitted that he made it up so the cops would come quicker. get out of fantasy land.

It is never an " Appropriate Action " to shoot an un-armed kid....What are you people turning into ? Godless Cretins calling themselves Christian...

"It is never an " Appropriate Action " to shoot an un-armed kid"

And how were the cops supposed to know he was unarmed?

Because they didn't see a weapon.

Taziar, you know what happens when you assume.

Taziar,

They were informed that he was armed.

sw Philly--sooooo, the cops should have ignored the report that a fleeing suspect was armed, waited for him to actually SHOW them the weapon, hope he didn't actually decide to prove it was a working firearm by discharging it in their direction, then ask him politely to turn it over, and, if he didn't, then and only then should they have shot him--in the foot, presumably. Does mental illness run in your family?

hambone, anyone can lie. i could tell the cops you have a weapon and just threatened my life. does that mean they can shoot you? it's so easy to be dismissive when it's not you or someone you love it's happening to. well, it's easy for you, it wouldn't be for me cause i'm a decent human being and you.......

So, HATR, suddenly I'm not a decent human being because I think that the lie that the caller told (and that you might consider telling) heightened the stress on the police officers and they should have known he wasn't armed?

They are human. They may be decent. They may be disgusting human beings. I don't know. I'm merely discussing the fact that they were lied to and therefore had reason to feel heightened anxiety when the kid reached, or even moved his arm toward his waist.

I've recently read information that suggests the kid had nothing to do with the theft and my opinion is changing with the new information.

I'm just trying not to jump on the police bashing bandwagon and try to consider their position... like any decent human being might.

Cops protecting us? HAH! Oh wait, is your name Bloomberg? They sure protect him and his corporate thugs but they shoot at the rest of us. Get real.

caps LOCKS IS FOR EMPHASIS right?

Good kids don't steal computers. What this kid did was stupid, fatally stupid. As a tax payer I'm thankful that now I don't have to pay to prosecute and also pay to defend him because he's poor. As a human being I'm thankful that the shallow end of the gene pool is slightly less shallow.

My question. Was the guy killed white? If so, it will be swept under the rug by the media. If black or Mexican, all hell will break loose as in Florida.

Ghost--and there's a lot less algae in it. A "college student" should have known better than to run from the police in the first place. What "college" did he go to? I'm afraid to even ask what his major was.

ghost, if he stole the computer why wasn't it recovered off his dead body. why has it still not been found?

Trollololol

Spoken like true evil cop...the world isn't safe with you in it.

put this evil POS in jail and let ALL the inmates know what he did for a living before he was there. the over/under on his life is one week.

coming in with the mindset that this person was definitely armed is stupid based on the idea that if this isn't the right suspect he is most likely unarmed.

They are not shooting out of fear. They are shooting out of hate.

let's see, the guy was a thief running from the cops, he reached for his waist band, which is where he would have a gun. The cop shot him, death by stupid

They were shooting to save their lifes

There is a difference. The cops, being 'professionals', knew to claim the victim was 'reaching towards his waist'. Zimmerman, apparently, should have done the same. It seems actually seeing a weapon isn't necessary.

matthew, you're ignorant since there was no gun. what was the threat to their life? and learn to spell the plural of life.

I don't understand your position here. How is the kid to blame? He was unarmed, they did not find any weapons on him or the laptop in question. According to this article, there was nothing in here that even connected him to the crime. As far as running, I'm sure the kid was scared to death, as most young African-American kids are when it comes to police; police officers routinely profile young African-American men as "thugs" and "up to no good". Running from police does not excuse them to use deadly force, and I SERIOUSLY question the allegations by police that he was reaching for his waistband. Even if he was, maybe to pull up his pants or something, officers should be trained to handle this without the use of deadly force. One officer shot him from his police cruiser...the kid was only 10 feet away! He (officer) could've seen that far to realize he didn't have a gun. I agree, more training is needed for these kinds of situations. But to put some of the blame on the 19 year-old victim is absurd! I am glad they decided to charge the 911 caller with involuntary manslaughter; you do not falsify reports to police because it does have serious consequences.

This was a poorly written article and never plainly said whether McDade had anything to do with the theft or not. But this phrase "The other suspect..." leads me to believe that he had something to do with the crime. Also if he was just an innocent bystander that would be the lead in the story.

@khslepler - one of the kids was in a gang and was charged with the burglary so no matter his race, sounds like a thug to me (I'm assuming there was evidence of the crime - if not...)

My town has some upsetting police shootings, but that doesn't mean we lean the other way and question a shooting of robbery suspects on the run.

So in your world khshelper, its ok to run from the cops and have the expectations not to be shot when making a sudden movement in front said cops? Now let's see how this plays out... What time of day was this? I mean that makes a big difference in how well we can see. Was it high noon or after dark? This story doesn't say. So let's say for the sake of making the officers in question look bad, just to keep you happy, it's daytime. You have been driving your patrol car at a high rate of speed trying to get this suspect into custody and you see him running at you. You pull you side arm and maybe you yell out something maybe you don't. The suspect makes a sudden reach for his waistband when he is "about 10 feet" from you. You have already been informed he "could be armed with a handgun". Can you see a gun at 10 feet while the suspect is running toward you? No you can't, not even in daylight. What would you do sir/ma'am? According to your post, you wouldn't shoot. Good For You! But in the real world, said shooting took place on a Saturday NIGHT. Ever been around a police car with its emergency lights going at night? No? Its not the best lighting conditions. Now here is where it gets hinky, at 10 feet in the dark with only the light of your emergency beacons flashing, you expect the officer to have the same vision he would have at high noon? WRONG. Unless you have been in this situation do not judge the officer's response. True enough, they have failed to to produce the gun the youth was reported to have used to steal the laptop but in that situation the officer was right to defend himself, after all he was informed the suspect was possiblely armed. But lets rewind, had the youth stopped and obeyed the orders of the officers, chances are he would still be alive. Why did he run? No one knows but the kid. To assume he was scared of the police is just hating toward cops. According to the Pasadena Star-News, Mr Carrilo began the the deadly chase in attempt to get his property when he called police and informed the 911 dispatcher that the two young men stole his laptop at gun point. The two suspects split up and we sorta know the rest of the story. So let's conclude at fault, the initial victim: Carrillo - at fault for lying to the police about the gun in order to get a faster response to the theft; at fault: the two officers for not waiting to see in this suspect who they thought was armed according to info provided wrongly by Carrillo to either "pull up his pants" or come out with a pistol and firing a shot at them and possibly hitting an innocent 10 year old girl playing in her back yard(after all if you can assume this person was having a pants issue, i can assume he did have a gun and popped off a wild round). Lastly the youth: at fault- he first of all was reportedly involved with another youth(who just so happen to be a "thug" after all he was gang member of some sort) committing a crime (the alleged theft of a laptop) then running from the police and lasting making the unwise move for his waistband. It is a very tragic string of events that cost a young man his life but with hine sight from the sidelines its easy to call foul on the individuals we have a bias against. I have nothing against young black men, nor do i have issues with police officers. I have issues with people who will jump up on the band wagon and cry foul whenever they think the smell a rat without finding out all the facts.... Lastly your cry for more training to prevent things like this from happening. There is no training that can prevent this sort of situations from happening, its up to us, the public, to obey the commands of law enforcement. Even if they are wrong and sometimes they are, if we don't put them in the position to use deadly force, chances are things like this don't happen.