Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
Yeah, sorry if a vehicle with a couple gun wielding rednecks tells me to stop because they want to talk to me I would be running too. I honestly don't care if he was robbing houses. There needs to be punishment for vigilante justice that ends with someone dead. I see people saying wait for the facts, but my imagination isn't creative enough to imagine some facts that would change my opinion on this. I'm glad there is an investigation going on now at least.
I'm not necessarily saying "wait for the facts" as if I expect them to be exonerated. My personal opinion is that they are in the wrong and ought to be charged for murder.
But I'm not on the jury. All I have is a pretty incriminating video. And I remember a lot of these types of cases where it seems to be pretty clear at first but more comes out later that complicates the issue (Michael Brown comes especially to mind).
So that's all I'm saying. I hope justice is done. But I don't have a team.
New video released showing Ahmaud running from a house that is under construction. Doesn't mean he was trying to steal something from it. My wife and I, when we go for walks, enjoy looking at houses under construction, and sometimes on the weekend, no one is there. It's during framing and there are no doors or windows yet. Truthfully, modern floorplans are predictable and boring. They are all cookie-cutter. Oh, but I digress.
Apparently it was reported....don't know by who...that some "black guy" had been seen entering houses. The video clearly shows Ahmaud exiting a house and then running. Again!!! it does NOT mean he was guilty of anything. Maybe he was planning to buy a house and was just checking out what new construction looked like. Nothing wrong with that.
In the bigger picture....well, if we had "police" who were allowed and who would do their jobs then vigilantes like the two idiots wouldn't be needed. Problem is the police have been hamstrung by the left and are now afraid to perform their duties, unless it's a VERY obvious crime situation. For instance, what if a concerned neighbor had called the police and reported Ahmaud entering houses and a police cruiser stopped and spoke with him. Surely, he being in a jogging clothing and obviously not carrying anything that belonged to someone else would have cleared him, and he would be sent on his merry way. Now, one might say, well! maybe he was just scouting what was inside those houses, under the guise of being a jogger, and planned to return during the night, with a truck, and steal stuff? If so, then the watchful neighbors and the police would have to deal with that situation. I have had stuff stolen from properties. Once I had FOUR a/c units taken, still in the boxes and all costing over $600 each. Bam! gone! Police said, sorry...and that was it.
As for this incident, clearly this should not have happened. If, and I say IF, Ahmaud was indeed guilty of stealing stuff then the ONLY thing those two morons in the truck needed to do was call the police and keep him in sight, allowing the police to handle it. Period. They introduced weapons into the situation...in the one video you can see Ahmaud struggling with one of the idiots grabbing the gun, and then shots are fired. It never should have gotten to that point.
Some posts are just too stupid to respond to...
I see Goosey deleted the post I was referring to.
Now there are reports that he charged at a person conducting a lawful citizens arrest and tried to take his firearm. Self defense?
....Well, I've been reading all these posts above, and I found it curious that not one single person (until you) mentioned the fact that the person that was killed literally charged (or ran into ) the guy with the shotgun, and initiated body contact. In fact, "the jogger" ran from one side of the truck all the way to the other side of the truck just to initiate this contact. Sorry, but that was a really stupid thing to do, and NO DOUBT contributed to the shooting that took place. I'm telling ya, that one thing is going to seriously hinder the prosecutor in court.
I'm not saying the two rednecks are innocent. Not by a long shot. But the story was first reported in the news as a "white guys shoot innocent jogger" race baiting article. And the first time I watched the video, I was as angry as I've ever been at any "criminal". I would have gladly flipped the execution switch myself. But shortly thereafter, other news --again, not sure if all true-- started trickling in. For instance, I heard the victim was a burglar. Well, that was conveniently left out of the initial story. Then, I heard they were following him because he was fleeing the seen of a crime, and they were just trying to hold him until the police arrived. I don't know if any of this is true, but it certainly makes more sense than simply pulling a shotgun out to "shoot a jogger".
Then I went back and watched the video again. This time I watched it with a more critical eye. This time, I saw two redneck idiots with guns in a truck (no change there) trying to apprehend --or at least stop-- the "jogger", followed by a 3rd guy taking video who obviously wanted to have something to show police in case this "burglar" got away. But this time, I saw the interaction differently. This time I saw one of the two rednecks -- the one with the shotgun-- standing on the left side of his truck, and I watched the jogger pass by on the right side of the truck. At the closest point, the two guys would have been approximately 10 or 12 feet (just a guesstimate) apart. No shots had been fired yet. THEN IT HAPPENED! The "jogger" suddenly made a sharp 90-degree turn, darted very quickly towards the guy with the shotgun and no doubt initiated the body contact. At that point the two men struggle, go off screen for a couple of seconds and the first shots start firing. They continue firing as both come back into video focus on-screen, and you hear a 3rd shot. I think I counted 3 shots in all.
Wow. How differently things looked the 2nd time for me. I just don't think it will be a slam dunk to convict the shooter of murder. Manslaughter most likely. But, as more facts roll in, who knows what to expect. I'm sure there will be enormous political pressure to throw these 2 guys in jail forever.
You should watch the video. It was not a lawful citizens arrest because the two men had no first hand knowledge of any crime. The only person who could claim self defense is the victim. These men ran him down in their vehicles while brandishing (not just possessing) firearms. Yes, once they blocked his path, he initiated contact...after having a loaded shotgun pointed at him.
There is NO defense for their behavior. The charges they’ve been brought up on are appropriate.
Not so fast.......they probably will get convicted because, 1) I really do think they were redneck dumbasses with guns, and 2) everything is so racially charged, whoever sits on the jury is going to be under enormous pressure to convict.
That said, the "jogger" was already around the truck when he decided to attack the redneck who was holding the shotgun trying to scare him. So, it will be interesting to see how they handle that. Despite what Johnny said, I don't think (but I don't recall for sure) the redneck was pointing the gun at the "jogger" until after they made physical contact with each other. Johnny likes to exaggerate the circumstances just like the journalists did, which doesn't serve any purpose other than to inflame one side or the other. In my opinion (and that's all it is), had the "jogger" just continued jogging on down the road, he might still be alive today. Not saying for sure. But attacking the gun holder was just a bad idea, and it limited his chance of survival. If the "jogger" doesn't attack him, I don't think anybody shoots him. I think this one will be tougher than people think to convict. But the politics could change everything.
I mentioned the struggle in post #19. That does not mean that it was just an accident, or it was Ahmaud's fault he got shot. But there is a measure of some doubt. Of course Ahmaud can't explain his thought process now, and the idiot with the gun can say, Hey! he grabbed it and it went off by accident...etc...
What you missed is that they perused him (he passed their house, they followed). They said they pulled up and told him to stop because they wanted to talk to him, but he kept running. In the video, they are way out in front of him. Either they passed him or took a back road to cut him off.
He tried to do what you suggest and keep running. What is on video is not the first interaction.