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Subscribe to RSSA University of South Alabama student who was found naked by campus police was killed by a single shot fired from an officer's weapon. WPMI's Darwin Singleton reports.
A day after a naked student at the University of South Alabama was fatally shot in the chest by a campus security guard, his mother and friends are asking why no other means were used to subdue the 18-year-old.
According to a statement released by the university, an officer heard loud banging on the police station window early Saturday and left his post to investigate. The man banging on the window was Gilbert Thomas Collar, an 18-year-old freshman who had graduated high school the previous spring. He was naked.
Collar was a wrestler whose favorite quotation, according to his Facebook profile, was “Be easy.” His profile photo is of himself, sporting a skinny black tie and light facial hair, his arm wrapped around his mother.
According to the university statement, the officer “was confronted by a muscular, nude man who was acting erratically. The man repeatedly rushed and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance.”
The officer allegedly asked Collar to stop, but the young student chased him “in a threatening manner and ignored the officer’s repeated commands.”
That’s when the officer drew his police sidearm and shot Collar once, striking him in the chest.
Collar “got up once more and continued to challenge the officer further before collapsing and expiring,” the report said. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Collar’s mother told CNN she doesn’t understand why the officer had to shoot her son. Her son, she said, was 5-foot-7 and weighed 135 pounds.
“He was wearing no clothes and he was obviously not in his right mind,” Bonnie Collar said. “Obviously he was not armed. He was completely naked.”
Sophomore Tyler Kendrick was also dissatisfied.
"Really, it just upsets me that there's no other way to apprehend an unarmed student rather than shooting him. I don't understand that," Kendrick told The Associated Press.
Campus officials said the confrontation was recorded by security cameras. The video and other information has been turned over to the district attorney and the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, which will review the shooting.
A university spokesman declined to say Saturday whether Collar was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The University of South Alabama is in Mobile and serves 15,000 students.
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Cops, Cops, Cops; many vines are ranting and raving about Cops. The shooter was a Security Guard (Key Shaker) not a policeman (Cop). I will go out on a limb, and assume, he probably had no weapons training, barely knowing which end the bullet cames out.
Sorry Tinto he was a Police Officer.
and
There was one line where the reporter made a bad choice in wording.
ASA has a full fledged police force on campus.
http://www.southalabama.edu/police/generalinfo.html
I stand corrected.
Don't blame the guard. Blame the drugs. Simple, easy and right.
dude was high on bath salts. a good taser would have taken care of him. no need to shoot him.
Or PCP in which case the officer could have been ripped apart and the criminal would have felt no pain
Given those 2 choices its an easy decision for the officer, better safe than sorry I always say.
At what point in time do you think we are all responsible for our own actions? Druggies want to take drugs and be crazy - that's their problem. Quit bothering the rest of society with their stupidity! Cops aren't our "daddies". Not their job! You want a mommy and daddy, move back home. Otherwise, grow up and take accountability!
There is NO EXCUSE for shooting down a naked, unarmed kid who was oviously going nuts! Cop kill far too many people when they dont have to!! No clothes, No weapon--- NO EXCUSE!
Tom, with the rise in MMA fighting, how could the cop know whether this guy was or wasn't some kind of martial artist who could strangle him with his hands? The kid was most likely on drugs and maybe would have ripped out his eyes. He did the right thing by shooting him. I hope someday you are the better man and get your fingers eaten off by a stranger so that you can say you did the right thing but other people don't want to be the martyr.
At what point in time do you think we are all responsible for our own actions? Druggies want to take drugs and be crazy - that's their problem. Quit bothering the rest of society with their stupidity! Cops aren't our "daddies". Not their job! You want a mommy and daddy, move back home. Otherwise, grow up and take accountability!
Why? Even naked being a wrestler he could have killed the cop with his bare hands.
With all the nut jobs doing killings on campuses, maybe the guy panic, but when you have a crazy man after you one tends to do that.
What I don't understand is why the cop didn't use the stun gun first. Maybe he didn't have one, but he should have had one. Something maybe the college security should have their officers use.
Obviously most of you are close to 80 and think cops actually do their job. He was 18. I was naked 90% of that time of my life. Why? Because I was 18. Acting erractic. That's cop speak for "Give me a reason to kill you.". You have a gun, a taser, a baton, pepperspray and a radio for backup but you feel threatened by a naked 18 year old. To find fault in an 18 year old kid is stupid. Finding fault in a system that allows people who were bullied their entire life to carry guns and bullet proof vest, that makes sense. Get off your high horses and pretend for ten seconds you were 18, except now you don't have to pick cotton or fight off dinosaurs going uphill in 6 feet of snow to school.
To NOT find fault in an 18 year old MAN is stupid. Why are you calling him a kid? He was a trained wrestler and could easily kill you with his bare hands. Why should the security guard have to risk wrestling with ANYONE??? DO NOT PICK A FIGHT WITH A MAN WITH A GUN! Teach your kids that. That is the lesson here. If you pick a fight with a person carrying a firearm YOU COULD GET SHOT!!!!!
It is all fun and games but when the cop pulls out the gun it is time to say, "sorry my mistake."
I wonder how effective pepper spray or a taser really might have been on someone like this? I'm no expert here but I do know from what I've seen and read certain drugs can give a person super human strength allowing them to overpower anyone trying to physically stop them. A very tragic end indeed.
When it said he shot a wrestler acting this way, at first I reserved judgement ... but, 135 lbs? 135 lbs?
A 135 pound person who is trained can kill you just as easily as anyone. He was only 5'7 which means he was fairly muscular, little fat. You are a fool to judge people by their size. A 135 pound person who gets his hand around your neck can squeeze with enough force to crush your trachea.
A 135 lb college kid can't do ish to me. You are the fool if you let a 135 lb college kid squeeze your throat.
Michael - You are such a "tough guy", you should probably join the police department. You can show them all how to handle a crazy out of control guy. LOL.
Drugs are making people crazy - their problem - not the rest of society. Cops aren't mommies and daddies. You want mommy and daddy, move back home! Otherwise, take responsibility for your actions. Bunch of idiots in this world and they try to make the police responsible for them. Grow up!
[Insert sarcasm] That must have been some "concealed weapon" that student was carrying. Perhaps the officer was just jealous. [end sarcasm]
I work with police officers in the course of my job. I know what a tough job they have and I'm usually willing to give them the benefit of doubt. But there's no excuse for this one, none. The kid is naked, you can't even claim fear of a concealed weapon. He's clearly not in his right mind and while he does need to be brought under control for the protection of himself and others, this is what tasers, batons and handcuffs were made for. If an officer can't overpower a 135lb college student he's in the wrong line of work. Nothing in the situation justifies deadly force, nothing. This particular officer should be dismissed and be brought to trial for for the student's murder.
Why what? Why was he naked and threatening cops? My guess would be drugs.
This guy got what he had comin to him. He deserved to get shot for being aggressive towards a stranger with a gun. The security guard did the right thing. People should be taught by their parents to respect police officers and security guards. This man's mother failed him in that respect and he paid with his life.
Why? Because he had a gun and that's what people with guns do: kill people. Any gun nut will tell you, "Always shoot to kill. Makes for less questions later". Don't know how many times I've seen that post before.
Some of you people drive me nuts! University of Arizona has their own police dept (separate from Tucson Police Dept.) w/commissioned officers that are trained in law enforcement just as the City of Tucson's policemen are. This POLICE OFFICER was also NOT a security guard!!!!!
135 lbs or not he was high on drugs we all know it. This gives a person #1: insanity & #2 superhuman strength.
"Oh please dear sir stop stop! oh please would you stop!" YEAH THAT WOULD'VE WORKED!
Cowboys1: you are dead wrong. Minimum standards of peace officers does qualify you!
Oops. Replied to the wron reply(collapsed comment). Repeating it here:
The writer of this article leaves out a few facts and also states the timeline incorrectly. According to the police report filed by the Univ. of S. Ala. police:
" At 1:23 a.m., on Saturday, Oct. 6, University of South Alabama Police responded to a loud banging noise on the west side window of the police station. When an officer exited the station to investigate, he was confronted by a muscular, nude man who was acting erratically. The man repeatedly rushed and verbally challenged the officer in a fighting stance. The officer with weapon drawn ordered the individual to halt. The officer retreated numerous times in an attempt to calm the situation. The individual continued to press toward the officer in a threatening manner. The assailant kneeled for a moment, and then he rose again, rushing and chasing the officer, who continued to retreat away from the building. When the individual continued to rush toward the officer in a threatening manner and ignored the officer’s repeated commands to stop, the officer fired one shot with his police sidearm, which struck the chest of the assailant. The individual fell to the ground, but he got up once more and continued to challenge the officer further before collapsing and expiring. "
The first thing you'll notice is that, unlike the timeline the article suggests, the police officer drew his gun before he retreated and "tried to calm the situation." In my experience, escalation of threat doesn't typically calm the situation when the person seems to be behaving "erratically". Having worked with dual diagnosed clients( developmentally disabled and mental illness), I can tell you that you can deescalate without use of acute force,let alone deadly force. Btw, I worked with adult men most of whom were bigger than myself...by alot AND they could be very violent and destructive. Take-down techniques are standard training when working with these guys.
Secondly, you'll notice that there was a pause in the action that this article also fails to mention. "The assailant kneeled for a moment, and then he rose again, rushing and chasing the officer, who continued to retreat away from the building." I can't help but wonder why the officer didn't take advantage of this time to get inside the station or, alternatively, rush the assailant and overpower him while he was kneeling. It could be split-second decision-making which is always hard to question but I just wonder if a different outcome could have occurred.
Third, the police report seems to be inherently inconsistent in the following sentence:"The assailant kneeled for a moment, and then he rose again, rushing and chasing the officer, who continued to retreat away from the building." I don't think I've ever heard of such a circumstance described as the officer being chased while also retreating. Every usage of the word "retreat" in these kinds of instances has described backing up in a measured way, not being "chased" especially when earlier in the report the "assailant" is described as "pressing forward".
Finally, I'm not sure if it means anything but the retreat was AWAY from the building. It seems unusual to me that an officer would retreat away from the building when, presumably, the door into the building is behind him though we don't know how close. The only reason I bring this up is because the article doesn't mention if there were other officers IN the building that could have helped. I don't know how campus police stations work but it seems to me that there might have been at least ONE other officer in the building. After all they call it a "police station" in the report. Does only one officer typically run a station? Anybody know?
I'm having doubts that this was a clean shooting. It feels more like a panic shooting. As an aside, anybody know if hazing occurs at that university? Maybe some hazers doped him, stripped him, and were chasing him when he freaked out? Just askin.
When the person is acting aggressive and erratically you DO want your weapon drawn and at the ready.
The last thing you want to happen is to try and pull your weapon when he has his hands on your body.
The officer showed restraint by backing up and demanding the man stop,
You work with people that you know to be mentally disabled or mentally ill. He was dealing with someone most likely under the influence of drugs. Some drugs like PCP make the person impervious to pain and almost superhuman in strength.
PCP puts the person in a psychotic state.
We don't have any reported hazing incidences. The station is big enough where I believe there would be more than one cop. I always see several cars there whenever I drive by, no matter what day or time it is. If not in the station, there was DEFINITELY more cops on the campus driving around patrolling. It's not a huge campus, so it would have taken literally 2-3 minutes for backup to arrive.
How about we all wait for the tapes to be viewed and an investigation before we start condemning anyone? Sounds like a plan to me.
Wrong Scotty, that's not how we do it here in the US of A. It's all about being the first to post your opinion and make a snap judgement. You must be new here.
Why was the kid shot? becaue the cop/security guard was a dumb*ss.
...Pretty sure you weren't there to watch it unfold.
I live in Mobile and went to USA and have friends who go there now. The kid was on some kind of drug, and there is a rumor that this was part of a fraternity joke. He was not a bad kid however, lots of college kids do drugs and stupid stuff like this. The point is the police officer used excessive force when he had other options. Cops are trained to handle these types of situations in responsible ways, that's why we trust them to protect us. He couldn't have tased him because they don't carry tasers on our campus, but he could have either shot him in the legs or other non life threatening body part, or called for backup. The kid was not a huge "muscular" man- we've seen pictures of him, he was a regular, if not even a smaller, sized guy. 5'7, 135lbs, and 18 does not qualify as a big muscular man. And the cop didn't know this kid was a wrestler, so to use this as an excuse is stupid. This isn't even the first incident in this city where the cops are being questioned, and there seems to be a cover up/sketchy story coming from the police dept to cover their butts either.
He was a freshman. Why would a Fraternity be pulling a joke? Not questioning you, just curious.
Actually shooting for the lower legs is nearly impossible, the upper legs are just as deadly. Major arteries and such. Also much more difficult to hit than the chest.
Also - You WANT the kid to give up. By pointing the weapon and demanding he stops the officer is more intimidating. As soon as you lower your weapon to aim for the legs it shows weakness.
Yes he was a very muscular man. He had been wrestling for 6 years and was one of the best wrestlers in the state. He was a naked Athlete.
He was not huge, but huge really doesn't mean that much if you have training.
Even though the cop didn't know he was a wrestler he got into a fighting stance and he was muscular both signals that there was more to this man than the Clark Kent image. He gave off the perception he was a capable fighter.
Let me just add...if he had been tasered and had a heart attack as a result the end question would be why? When death is the result for young people the question is always why?
The guy was clearly wicked hammered, but most likely high on something. Clearly he wasn't in the correct state of mind. If he's repeatedly charging at an officer as stated, I have no problem with the officer firing a single shot to defend himself. This isn't like in Detroit where 6 officers unloaded 40+ something rounds on one person....
He must be a better shot than those guys in Detroit.
I'll tell you WHY he killed him: BECAUSE HE HAD A GUN. IT WAS A SIMPLE REMEDY.
Anyone see the problem here?
NOTE TO SELF - dont act like a an erratic nutcase and threaten to fight someone carrying a gun.
Why does it make such a difference that the person is carrying a gun, as opposed to anything else? Just curious...
jcaron, to answer your question: because one shot and you're dead. Pretty simple.
It doesn't matter what the kid was on, if anything, there is no justifiable reason to kill a clearly unarmed person. The charge must be murder. The cop is trained and knows exactly what is supposed to happen when he fires, that satisfies the premeditation requirement.
You pretty much lost me at "It doesn't matter".
You were not there, you have no idea what happened, but you are an expert on what "should" have happened? Many people have killed with nothing more than their hands.
I suggest you do not enter into law enforcement if it's not already too late. Mostly because you will not have the luxury of saying what "should" have happened after the fact. You use the "premeditation requirement" as if every scenario is known.
I'm not saying all cops do the right thing all the time. But you ARE saying all cops do the wrong thing all the time.
I did not say "all cops do the wrong thing all the time", Kenny, you did.
@kennyboys
It doesn't matter what the kid may or may not have been on. Deadly force should only be used to meet deadly force. If the cop didn't have any other means to defend himself, deadly force was his only option. He should be carrying a stick or pepper spray as well. That death was totally avoidable.
I think the guy who ate the homeless man's face off was naked too. Didn't make him less dangerous. What's wrong with you people?
Take drugs, act crazy, and attack people, and you will get shot! Cops aren't mommies and daddies.
Go home to your mommy and daddy or GROW UP and take accountability for your actions!
Obviously this kid is white or it would be all over the media. There's no outrage when a white kid gets mowed over by an overzealous campus cop.
Obviously. After all, if he was black then he would automatically be eligible for the president of the United States of America and would be perfect in all ways.
Oh. I just realized that "Obviously this kid is white or it would be all over the media" is ALL OVER THE MEDIA..
Idiot...
It sounds like bath salts, but i didn't realize campus police carried guns. But, a naked, angry, incomprehensible man, Who continued, or tried to even after being shot in the chest. Drugs were most definitely involved.
U have to understand that is the statement from the university which was probably gotten from security which makes the story one-sided. Since there were no other witnesses, no one can ascertain what exactly went down cause dead men don't tell.
There's a video to back it up.
With recent events in the middle east, as well as Florida and other parts of the south, I can't but wonder how long it will take the truth to come out - these instances of strange behavior and psychotic cannibalism (fortunately missing from this account) are the symptoms of some Department of Defense biological or chemical agent.
Personally, I'd love to read news tales of jihadists stripping off their robes and eating the faces off of each other - I'd consider it a form of poetic justice, especially if it were tens or hundreds of thousands of cases.
And this certainly wouldn't be the first time our government has experimented on its own people - and will hardly be the last (barring unintentional zombie apocalypse*) time they do such things - but please, for our sanity, test this stuff out on Gitmo detainees, or middle eastern civilians instead. We've got enough problems of our own.
My sympathies to the victim's family - karma will get those responsible in the end.
Do you have any evidence for your government experiment accusation? If you're serious you need to furnish some proof otherwise we will all dismiss you as a whacko.
As much as I hate to use it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States
And without reading through the whole thing myself...
Project: Artichoke
MKUltra
QKHilltop
We can even go a little conspiracy-theorist here and bring up the LSD distribution of the 60's, countless tails of Chem-Trails over decades, and on and on the list goes.
Yes, some of this stuff is just weird enough and just well-documented enough to make normal people more than a little whacko.