
California Deputies Shoot Man Recording Them with Phone - cryoshon
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/09/california-deputies-shoot-man-recording-them-with-phone-after-fearing-for-their-lives/
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kw71
Yeah, a cellphone being held with the lens facing a person looks just like a
gun from the eyes of the person being video-recorded. This is flatly
ridiculous, but probably accepted by the police supervisors and district
attorney when the claim comes from the cops. If I shot someone holding a
telephone, claiming that it was a gun, I'd be indicted for malicious wounding
or murder along with using the firearm to commit that crime.

I wonder what it's like to be able to live life without worrying about being
liable to all the laws that govern behavior of society, and what it would be
like to have a bunch of buddies at work, who are responsible for enforcing
these laws, but who would do whatever they had to do to defend me if a
worthless civilian challenged my behavior.

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brador
A window can obscure what's on the other side. Glare, reflections, lighting
conditions, trees.

And sometimes people stretch out their arms to record video, just like you'd
hold a handgun.

Now mix that with a tense situation and potential for life and death and I can
understand they took the shot "by accident". Mistakes happen.

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ryanlol
A person holding a cellphone looks nothing like a person holding a gun,
especially to someone trained to spot people holding guns.

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brador
They're not magically trained with super eyesight after training. They're
human, just like you.

Hold your cellphone up like you're recording, in portrait. See where your
fingers are? Now imagine that behind a reflective window with flashing lights
and you have a split second to decide if it's a weapon. If you're wrong, you
die.

Try this, sit in the driving seat of a vehicle, hold your cellphone up and ask
a friend to stand 20 feet away and with the sunlight at their back, look
through the front glass and see if it looks like a weapon.

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ryanlol
So it's ok to shoot people based on guesses? Did the cops even have any reason
to believe there would be another shooter?

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ryanlol
Cops should be facing significantly harsher sentencing for incidents like this
than private citizens, they're trained and definitely know what they're doing.

The current policy of not prosecuting police officers for mindlessly
slaughtering people is rather absurd.

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Simulacra
Wow the cops shot another innocent, unarmed civilian? Don't see that happening
every day... It's just not safe to violate peoples rights anymore. Might get
photographed or something. Dangerous world we live in.

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Zigurd
Why do we know the name of the victim, and not the shooters?

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Mithaldu
Likely because the victim talked to the press and volunteered his name, which
the others didn't and until proven guilty will not have to.

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Zigurd
There is no right to stay out of the news.

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ryanlol
Sure there is. It's very easy to avoid getting on the news.

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Pyxl101
For those of us who do not have the option to get on the news: what should one
do to stay off of it? Let's assume that you believe you're _about_ to be on
the news for something you don't want to be.

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paulddraper
"Man shoots video; police shoot back bullets"

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yitchelle
and police apologies later, and continue on their merry way.

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lmilcin
Seems like US Police forces found a new way to prevent being recorded on duty.

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Pinatubo
So there's an armed standoff next door, and this guy decided it's a good idea
to open his garage door and point something at the cops from their peripheral
vision? And we're supposed to feel sorry for him?

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cryoshon
Yeah, recording the police is a right that has been supported in court a
million times.

The cops are also supposed to be disciplined about shooting people, but
whatever, that's out the window already.

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Pinatubo
It's not the recording that's the issue ...

