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cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:14 PM Jan 2012

Cops kill cop in California

he officer was manning a DUI checkpoint when the shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. He was declared dead after emergency surgery at Marian Medical Center, Santa Maria police Chief Danny Macagni said in a statement.

The officer, a four-year Santa Maria department veteran, had just learned of the internal investigation of an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and it became necessary to arrest him immediately, Macagni said.

“We had no choice,” Macagni said in video of an afternoon news conference posted by KCOY-TV. He said investigators had evidence “that demanded that we go out and take this officer off the street immediately.”

Supervising officers were sent to make a felony arrest, but he struggled with them when they arrived, first putting up a physical fight, then firing his gun but hitting no one, Macagni said.

“He chose to resist, he drew his weapon, a fight ensued, he fired his weapon,” the chief said.

Several officers came to help the police making the arrest, and one of them shot the suspected officer in the chest once, Macagni said.

Detectives had begun investigating the alleged relationship on Thursday night, and minutes before the shooting had confirmed that an “inappropriate” and “very explicit” relationship had been going on, Macagni said.

http://madmikesamerica.com/2012/01/cops-kill-cop-in-california/



Wow.
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TheWraith

(24,331 posts)
3. How else could they have handled it?
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:20 PM
Jan 2012

The guy pulled out his weapon and started shooting. Even if the people around him had been entirely civilians, that is more than enough legal justification to act in self defense.

BootinUp

(47,165 posts)
6. It doesn't sound like an armed confrontation
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:25 PM
Jan 2012

was necessary. Perhaps there was more to the story than what is in that report, but it would have been better if they just tried to call him in.

TheWraith

(24,331 posts)
8. It depends I suppose on what they found out.
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:31 PM
Jan 2012

They don't specify, but apparently they found it pretty urgent.

That said, most police officers are armed at all times, even "off duty." Primarily because they're never COMPLETELY "off duty," but can get called in or respond to an emergency. So unless they basically ambushed this guy, held him at gunpoint, and disarmed him, it might still have gone this way. The irony is, they tried to be more respectful than that, and he's dead as a result.

ret5hd

(20,499 posts)
11. i've never seen them make any effort to be respectful to anyone else?
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:40 PM
Jan 2012

why this guy?

oh, oh, i forgot.

jeff47

(26,549 posts)
14. Arrest him at the end of his shift, call him back to the station without telling him why...
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 02:45 PM
Jan 2012

They didn't have to put themselves in a situation where an armed conflict would arise.

TheWraith

(24,331 posts)
2. Sad. But not much of a choice once the guy drew his weapon.
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:19 PM
Jan 2012

Although it kind of rocks you back to realize that here in New York--or in 37 other states, for that matter--17 is above the age of consent. But being in California, it got this guy killed.

tawadi

(2,110 posts)
4. If you fire a weapon during an arrest, you can expect to be killed
Sun Jan 29, 2012, 01:22 PM
Jan 2012

Police officers don't wait until someone is hit, before they fire.

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