The best way not to get shot by a cop? Do what they ask, when they ask you to do it.
Yesterday in Houston, a police officer (Officer R. Gardiner) was forced to shoot a man (John Barnes) to death during a scuffle.
Of course, the man’s fiancée (Karen Bennett) doesn’t think her thug boyfriend should have been shot. Yet in her own words, she pretty much makes the officer’s case.
From today’s follow up story in the Houston Chronicle (who can always find the anti-police officer voice in any story):
“The officer only asked, ‘Who lives here?’ and I said, ‘I do’ and then he ordered my fiance to lie on the ground,” she said Monday.
Barnes asked why and refused to do it.
OK, right away, we have determined that her boyfriend refused to follow orders from a police officer. Rule number one when dealing with the police: do exactly as they ask of you as soon as you are asked.
Had Barnes simply complied with the officer’s order, he would be alive today. Period.
But there’s much more:
Bennett said after Barnes refused to lie on the ground, Gardiner tried to pull him down with a neck hold and got into a wrestling match.
Barnes pushed the smaller officer off, she said, and then the officer pulled his Taser and pointed it at Barnes.
Being Tasered would have been dangerous for Barnes, she said, because he has a metal plate embedded in his skull, the result of an accident several years ago.
“So (Barnes) slapped the Taser from the officer’s hand, and it flew about 5 feet under the back of his car,” she said.
So, after refusing the cops orders, he fights with the officer while resisting arrest. And then he attacks the officer and disarms him of his Taser.
Again, if Barnes does none of these things, he is still alive today.
In his statement, Gardiner said Barnes grabbed his Taser, threatened to shoot him with it and said, “You’re dead now,” before Gardiner fired.
Should Officer Gardiner have taken this threat seriously? You bet your ass:
Records show Barnes had a previous conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer in Harris County in 1998.
Much thanks to Officer Gardiner for taking another violent and dangerous thug off of our streets.
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What people forget is from the cop’s perspective their contact with you could be the last thing they ever do in their life. Yes, they have to assume everyone is a bad guy. Sorry, that’s life. It’s their job. You can very quickly put their mind at ease by cooperating, doing as they ask, and being, I know it’s a shock, polite. Once you’ve gotten past the first 15 seconds or so, the rest should be a breeze.
And you know what? This isn’t exclusive to law enforcement. Try being polite, attentive, and cooperative with everyone you meet and you’ll find the world really is a pretty nice place. The problem is you.
Oh, another tip. Law enforcement types prefer when you refer to them by their proper title. Call police officers “officer”, sheriff’s and constable’s deputies “deputy”, and state troopers “trooper”. Exception, in California, CHP are officers, not troopers. Just calling them cops or referring to a deputy as “officer” won’t get you tased, but you’re aiming for goodwill here. Show them a little respect and they’ll show you a lot.
I don’t believe any LE is going to hold it against anyone if they are addressed by the wrong title or merely by sir.
Oh, yes. I once had a cop in Orange, Texas go off on me because I addressed him as “officer”. He pointed to the stripes on his uniform and informed me he was a “Captain”. Can’t win for losing.
Then I would have to believe you were doing something to antagonize him.
I support the police and wish them all the best in upholding the law and keeping us all safe.
I can’t believe the officer needed five shots to take care of this situation. You also failed to mention the neighbors statement which seems to be somewhere in the middle of the other two statements.
The media (blogs included) can write stories to be slanted in whatever way they want. I’ll be watching this story for future updates of the outcome of the investigation.
On a side note, I lived in those same apartments about 15 years ago. It was a pretty peaceful place back then and there wasn’t an armed security guard patrolling the place.
1)Cops are now imbued with the power of kings, gotcha.
2)People who are about to be seriously injured or killed by police should not defend themselves if threatened by cops.
3)Apparently this officer also had a metal plate in his head, because he thought Barnes actually could have killed him with a taser.
Disgusting.
John, you’re level of hatred for LEOs in well noted. As is your level of honest intellectual discourse. As is your understanding of the thugs who would assault officers.
I doubt the cop was worried about being tased by his own taser as much as what would have happened to him afterward. Would you be willing to bet your life that the thug wouldn’t have take the officer’s gun after tasing him? That the thug wouldn’t have used that gun to kill the cop and possibly others?
It would appear the only cop you would support would have to be a homosexual muslim.
I knew I could count on you two to bring it back to classy ad hominem attacks.
You got me, I hate cops. And I’m advancing the gay muslim agenda. Jesus Christ, put the kool-aid down for a second, willya?
You drank it all already.
wow N2l, you stay up all night thinking of that retort?
You can’t even read a time stamp?
OTH, it appears it took you almost fifteen hours to come up with your reply.
You are rapidly becoming as irrelevant, passe, and predictable a leftie poster, like Pat.
It’s know nothing, been nowhere, done nothing kids like you that show disrespect for the police, but the first one’s to go crying for one if someone door dings the car daddy bought for you.
Yeah, you see I was actually working and moving, thus I had no time to sit on my ass in front of the computer to be snotty to my betters.
You don’t know anything about me, but I stand by my comments. The tone of this posting is that you guys think police officers have carte blanche when it comes to dealing with suspects. “Don’t want to get shot by police? Do what they say.” is a fucking ridiculous phrase to stick by.
The police are public servants, and are there to serve US, the taxpayers. God bless ‘em for what they do, it’s heroes work to be sure. That doesn’t excuse them from being held accountable and it doesn’t mean that there aren’t cops out there who are power-tripping dickheads. I’ve run into plenty of officers who run the gamut from reasonable to irrational.
I still think there was probably more options at the officer’s disposal than lethal force, but my post was primarily directed toward Robbie’s attitude than the actions of the officer in question.
So in conclusion: allahu akbar, death to bush, save the whales, 9/11 was an inside job, meat is murder, long live hybrids, and any other “standard liberal trope” you all want to put in my mouth.
Dumb comment and shows how little you know about being a police officer and what it is like out there. As already brought to your attention, it is what would happen if the officer was made helpless by the being tased. Maybe, you should stick to film?
John Jarzemsky,
Your sir are an idiot. LEO’s have one of the most dangerous yet thankless jobs. This thug got exactly what was called for. You don’t point a weapon at a LEO and expect to walk away from the situation unharmed. I personaly have my CHL, and the few times I have been pulled over for speeding I immediatelly let the officer know that it is in my glove box, at which point I am 99% of the time asked to step out of the card and detained just as a precaution. I don’t flip out and tell the officer, ” Hell no, it is my legal right to have it and as such I am not being temporarily detained for something legal.” No, I politely get out of the car while the officer checks my glove box and checks my CHL permit. I do this for their safety an mine. By showing this type of respect, I get the same respect back every time. This thug showed no respect to that officer and then fought with him and pointed a weapon at him. After being wrestled with do you think that POS was not going to use the taser on the officer. Please, he would have tasered him then proceded to either beat or kill that officer. I say another POS off the streets. That officer saved us some taxes by not putting him though the legal system where we all would pay for imprisonment.