Tookie dies, killer cop walks--California justice in action

Narcotics Officer Not Guilty

A jury this morning found state narcotics officer Mike Walker not guilty of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting Rodolfo ``Rudy'' Cardenas -- touching off a brief, but raucous scuffle outside the San Jose courtroom...

...Walker, 34, was the first state agent to be put on trial for killing someone in the line of duty.
On Feb. 17, 2004, state agents were asked to assist a parole agent in doing surveillance on David Gonzales, a parolee with gang ties who had failed to report a change of address. As they staked out Gonzales' 14th Street location, Cardenas drove by and caught Walker's attention. Walker followed Cardenas, believing he was the target, and a wild vehicle pursuit ensued.

Walker caught up with the father of five at a North Fourth Street retirement home, where Cardenas ditched his van, fled down an alleyway and scaled a chain-link fence. Walker followed and, stopping at the fence, shot the 43-year-old San Jose man in the back.

The agent claimed self-defense. He insisted he saw a gun in Cardenas' hands and that the man appeared ready to engage in a gun battle. Cardenas was unarmed. Although police said they found a small folding knife in his front pants pocket, the discovery came a day after the killing and led some to speculated whether the evidence was planted.

The case drew outrage from a cross-section of the community, particularly because Cardenas' killing came on the heels of another controversial police shooting.


More at link:
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/1339...

for wrongful death for shooting an unarmed man.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/national/index.ssf?/base/national-56/1134379748292950.xml&storylist=tookie

they wear a badge.

I hear time and time again where a cop will admit they were after the wrong person but they never pay for those actions.

Recently, I had a friend who's work truck was stolen, not from his house but from a bar cuz he left it there overnight since he didn't want to get a DUI. Responsible behavior, right? Well, the cops came to his house after he reported it stolen with all his tools (livelihood) in it. Guess what the cops did? Never wrote down any of the information he gave them but did run a background check on him. Insinuated he ditched the truck in the desert somewhere and no stolen vehicle report was ever written. It's now 2 weeks later and his insurance company is denying his stolen vehicle claim because the cops never filed it! WTF???

Cops don't give a shit about anyone except themselves and how they can beat the 'system' if they're ever caught.