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man face down in snow shot twice by police.
a female officer shot a man twice laying face down in the snow after being tazed in hummelstown pa. with out the stun gun pictures she may have gotten away with it. moral of the story is please have a weapon so the officer who shots you will not be charged. according to T.S. uncle albert, i don,t hate the police, but that mans familey does.
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C&P
A Pennsylvania police officer was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide after investigators concluded she shot an unarmed motorist in the back as he lay facedown after a traffic stop over an expired inspection sticker.
Authorities accused Hummelstown police Officer Lisa J. Mearkle of shooting 59-year-old David Kassick twice on Feb. 2 without legal justification. She was released on $250,000 bail.
she was charged with murder.
Is there a different result of her actions you seek???????
Her attorney, Brian Perry, said Mearkle acted in self-defense, and he warned the case could cause police officers to hesitate in high-pressure situations.
"She felt like she had to do what she did," Perry said. "This person was being commanded, begged, 'show me your hands,' and he kept going to his waist."
Authorities said Mearkle had attempted to pull over Kassick for expired inspection and emissions stickers before he sped away. She caught up to Kassick near his sister's home where he had been living for a short time.
He got out and ran before Mearkle incapacitated him with a stun gun, held in her left hand. He was on the ground when she shot him twice in the back with the gun in her right hand, police said.
Mearkle, 36, told investigators she fired because he would not show her his hands and she thought he was reaching into his jacket for a gun. Perry said she did not know Kassick before the shooting.
The offense of criminal homicide encompasses a range of charges, from misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter to felony first-degree murder. Prosecutors often narrow the charge later in the process, about the time when defendants are formally arraigned.
The stun gun contained a camera that recorded audio and video from portions of the encounter, and District Attorney Ed Marsico called it the strongest evidence in the case.
He said it appeared Kassick had been trying to remove the stun-gun probe from his back.
"At the time Officer Mearkle fires both rounds from her pistol, the video clearly depicts Kassick lying on the snow covered lawn with his face toward the ground," according to the arrest affidavit. "Furthermore, at the time the rounds are fired nothing can be seen in either of Kassick's hands, nor does he point or direct anything toward Officer Mearkle."
Marsico said Mearkle waited 4 seconds between the first and second shots, and afterward performed CPR. He called the shooting "a tragedy for all involved."
The district attorney said a syringe was found near Kassick's body, and alcohol and unspecified drugs were found in his system.
Lawyers for Kassick's family and estate issued a statement calling the charges "a substantial step toward closure" after what they described as a horrifying tragedy. They said he had worked as a Teamsters union laborer and struggled with addiction.
"Mr. Kassick is now dead as a result of a traffic stop, a routine traffic stop," said one of the family's attorneys, Christopher Slusser. "He should not be dead. He should not have died as a result of that traffic stop. And the manner in which he was shot - you can infer from that what you will."
eastbank,
she was charged with murder.
Is there a different result of her actions you seek???????
Convicted of murder - perhaps?
eastbank,
she was charged with murder.
Is there a different result of her actions you seek???????
Convicted of murder - perhaps?
Yes, perhaps she will be convicted, just not today. Life is not a TV show, where a crime is discovered, investigated, and the suspect is identified, questioned, arrested, booked, and convicted, all in the space of 46 minutes.
Let the system work.
OTOH, why in the world don't people simply do as they're told in that situation? This seems to be becoming a trend, not following instructions or obeying commands, given by a police officer who has his gun out and pointed in one's direction. Seems to me that is the best time to do exactly as requested. It is not time to reach into one's pants, or charge the officer, or otherwise behave in a non-compliant manner.
Give ol' eastbank a bit of a break here. It's a topic on which he is very myopic. (I made a rhyme!)
One of my friends was stopped(for a burnt out light bulb) and pulling onto the shoulder caused his bag of groceries to upset on the seat. He reached to right the bag and when he turned back, the cop chick had her pistol pointed at his face. I tried to convince him to call her supervisor but friend was afraid he'd get put on the "hit list".
Too old to live...too young to die...
Cops worry me more than any citizen thug ever will. Thank god they're making them wear body cameras now.
She looks like Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. People take their lives into their own hands traveling on the roads of America. They're haunted by the Highwaymen in blue, and as it now seems, the highwaywomen in blue too.
Cops worry me more than any citizen thug ever will. Thank god they're making them wear body cameras now.
+1000 man you're right on the money with that one
Reasons for non compliance? Just a few.
Deafness
mental illness
conflicting orders from cops
involuntary movement while being tazed
having a seizure
under influence of drugs or alcohol
orders which result in pain
fear of police
embarrassment
Dan
So, you "feared for your life"? That's justification for use of whatever level of self defense you have available.
nunn,i agree. no sense relying on a officer not to shoot you in the back no matter what. and your damn right i,m myopic. if not for the film from the stun gun she would be believed and it would go away. the job comes with risks,you know it when you take the job and i think she shot to quickly. two shots with four second between them,did she think she missed the first shot? must be the double tap training. so now all the mans relitives will hate the police and maybe down the road an other officer will pay a price for her actions. according to mr. myopic
+1000000
"I've only had the cops dance the red light on mt chest once. You better believe, I did exactly as I was told. The most offensive thing I said to him was a long string of "Yessirs" and Nosirs" I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for all the right reasons. He didn't know that, though, and I knew he didn't. Long story short, I'm still here.
So, you "feared for your life"? That's justification for use of whatever level of self defense you have available.
I won't say that I feared for my life, exactly. BUT, I believed then, and I still believe, that in that case, my best line of defense was to comply. If that makes me a wuss, then I guess I am.
"I've only had the cops dance the red light on mt chest once. You better believe, I did exactly as I was told. The most offensive thing I said to him was a long string of "Yessirs" and Nosirs" I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for all the right reasons. He didn't know that, though, and I knew he didn't. Long story short, I'm still here.
So, you "feared for your life"? That's justification for use of whatever level of self defense you have available.
And had he done so, or attempted to do so, dear old Dan would not be with us here today. When the red light is already on you, it's a damn bad time to make a play for a weapon. Complying with the orders you're given will go a long ways towards keeping yourself alive in that situation.
Don't get me wrong, the officer the OP wrote about was (given what little information I have about it) dead wrong and should not have shot the guy.
I'm not saying he should have resisted, I'm saying he was justified in defending himself considering he wasn't doing anything illegal.
When cops are held PERSONALLY responsible for illegal actions we(the citizens) win.
a female officer shot a man twice laying face down in the snow after being tazed in hummelstown pa. with out the stun gun pictures she may have gotten away with it. moral of the story is please have a weapon so the officer who shots you will not be charged. according to T.S. uncle albert, i don,t hate the police, but that mans familey does.
I guess it's safe to assume the man was white since there's no looting taking place and Jessie and Al are not spewing their BS?
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HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania police officer was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide after investigators concluded she shot an unarmed motorist in the back as he lay facedown after a traffic stop over an expired inspection sticker.
Authorities accused Hummelstown police Officer Lisa J. Mearkle of shooting 59-year-old David Kassick twice on Feb. 2 without legal justification. She was released on $250,000 bail.
Her attorney, Brian Perry, said Mearkle acted in self-defense, and he warned the case could cause police officers to hesitate in high-pressure situations.
"She felt like she had to do what she did," Perry said. "This person was being commanded, begged, `show me your hands,' and he kept going to his waist."
Authorities said Mearkle had attempted to pull over Kassick for expired inspection and emissions stickers before he sped away. She caught up to Kassick near his sister's home where he had been living for a short time.
He got out and ran before Mearkle incapacitated him with a stun gun, held in her left hand. He was on the ground when she shot him twice in the back with the gun in her right hand, police said.
Mearkle, 36, told investigators she fired because he would not show her his hands and she thought he was reaching into his jacket for a gun. Perry said she did not know Kassick before the shooting.
The offense of criminal homicide encompasses a range of charges, from misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter to felony first-degree murder. Prosecutors often narrow the charge later in the process, about the time when defendants are formally arraigned.
The stun gun contained a camera that recorded audio and video from portions of the encounter, and District Attorney Ed Marsico called it the strongest evidence in the case.
He said it appeared Kassick had been trying to remove the stun-gun probe from his back.
"At the time Officer Mearkle fires both rounds from her pistol, the video clearly depicts Kassick lying on the snow covered lawn with his face toward the ground," according to the arrest affidavit. "Furthermore, at the time the rounds are fired nothing can be seen in either of Kassick's hands, nor does he point or direct anything toward Officer Mearkle."
Marsico said Mearkle waited 4 seconds between the first and second shots, and afterward performed CPR. He called the shooting "a tragedy for all involved."
The district attorney said a syringe was found near Kassick's body, and alcohol and unspecified drugs were found in his system.
Lawyers for Kassick's family and estate issued a statement calling the charges "a substantial step toward closure" after what they described as a horrifying tragedy. They said he had worked as a Teamsters union laborer and struggled with addiction.
"Mr. Kassick is now dead as a result of a traffic stop, a routine traffic stop," said one of the family's attorneys, Christopher Slusser. "He should not be dead. He should not have died as a result of that traffic stop. And the manner in which he was shot - you can infer from that what you will."
Hummelstown Police Chief Charles M. Dowell did not respond to a message seeking comment, but his department issued a news release that said it had cooperated fully, calling the matter "an extremely difficult case for all involved."
"We are servants of justice and must now allow the judicial process to conduct a fair and impartial review of the allegations that have been presented," the news release stated.
Perry said Mearkle has been on the force for 15 years. She is married to a state trooper and has young children at home, he said. She was expected to be under electronic monitoring.
Hummelstown police Officer Lisa Mearkle walks into District Judge Lowell A. Witmer's office in West Hanover Township Tuesday for her preliminary arraignment in connection with the shooting death of David Kassick during a traffic stop in February.
Advertisement
HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania police officer was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide after investigators concluded she shot an unarmed motorist in the back as he lay facedown after a traffic stop over an expired inspection sticker.
Authorities accused Hummelstown police Officer Lisa J. Mearkle of shooting 59-year-old David Kassick twice on Feb. 2 without legal justification. She was released on $250,000 bail.
Her attorney, Brian Perry, said Mearkle acted in self-defense, and he warned the case could cause police officers to hesitate in high-pressure situations.
"She felt like she had to do what she did," Perry said. "This person was being commanded, begged, `show me your hands,' and he kept going to his waist."
Authorities said Mearkle had attempted to pull over Kassick for expired inspection and emissions stickers before he sped away. She caught up to Kassick near his sister's home where he had been living for a short time.
He got out and ran before Mearkle incapacitated him with a stun gun, held in her left hand. He was on the ground when she shot him twice in the back with the gun in her right hand, police said.
Mearkle, 36, told investigators she fired because he would not show her his hands and she thought he was reaching into his jacket for a gun. Perry said she did not know Kassick before the shooting.
The offense of criminal homicide encompasses a range of charges, from misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter to felony first-degree murder. Prosecutors often narrow the charge later in the process, about the time when defendants are formally arraigned.
The stun gun contained a camera that recorded audio and video from portions of the encounter, and District Attorney Ed Marsico called it the strongest evidence in the case.
He said it appeared Kassick had been trying to remove the stun-gun probe from his back.
"At the time Officer Mearkle fires both rounds from her pistol, the video clearly depicts Kassick lying on the snow covered lawn with his face toward the ground," according to the arrest affidavit. "Furthermore, at the time the rounds are fired nothing can be seen in either of Kassick's hands, nor does he point or direct anything toward Officer Mearkle."
Marsico said Mearkle waited 4 seconds between the first and second shots, and afterward performed CPR. He called the shooting "a tragedy for all involved."
The district attorney said a syringe was found near Kassick's body, and alcohol and unspecified drugs were found in his system.
Lawyers for Kassick's family and estate issued a statement calling the charges "a substantial step toward closure" after what they described as a horrifying tragedy. They said he had worked as a Teamsters union laborer and struggled with addiction.
"Mr. Kassick is now dead as a result of a traffic stop, a routine traffic stop," said one of the family's attorneys, Christopher Slusser. "He should not be dead. He should not have died as a result of that traffic stop. And the manner in which he was shot - you can infer from that what you will."
Hummelstown Police Chief Charles M. Dowell did not respond to a message seeking comment, but his department issued a news release that said it had cooperated fully, calling the matter "an extremely difficult case for all involved."
"We are servants of justice and must now allow the judicial process to conduct a fair and impartial review of the allegations that have been presented," the news release stated.
Perry said Mearkle has been on the force for 15 years. She is married to a state trooper and has young children at home, he said. She was expected to be under electronic monitoring.
lets see , she had all ready nailed him with the tazer which was still in her left had , he's on the ground and still moving, hmmmm lets see -- taze him again or just shoot him with the real gun , guess you choose the real gun [;)][xx(]
The Al Gore crowd would find that to be a justifiable killing.[}:)]
bet he won't drive that death dealing machine anymore.
I feel bad for the working man (if he was) in the draconian car inspection states. its a racket with the mechanics who hold your car hostage for anything and everything.
what do you do on a hand to mouth salery or not much better if you know your car won't pass and you don't have hundreds of dollars to fix it and you still have to get to work?
Once in a while a terrible accident occurs (the deaf guy, etc).
The overwhelming vast majority of the time the person getting shot did something to cause an anxiety laced response by police. Maybe the response was an overreaction, but something happened to trigger a violent reaction.
I do not believe nor will I ever believe cops are driving around looking to hurt and kill people. That is utter nonsense. Such thinking is beyond reason.
The haters will go on hating.
Too old to live...too young to die...
A very few are just bad. I've met one or two.
Once in a while a terrible accident occurs (the deaf guy, etc).
The overwhelming vast majority of the time the person getting shot did something to cause an anxiety laced response by police. Maybe the response was an overreaction, but something happened to trigger a violent reaction.
I do not believe nor will I ever believe cops are driving around looking to hurt and kill people. That is utter nonsense. Such thinking is beyond reason.
The haters will go on hating.
None? ok...I suspect that is why some took the job IMHO
He was on the ground....wriggling around trying to get the Tazer out of his *, put there because after he led the police on a chase, he got out of his car and ran.
Could it have looked like he was reaching for something? Sure sounds like it....because he was. And the Wiser-than-Thou crowd wants the cop to see what he was reaching for as the events happen in real time. Want to bet the DA was watching the stun gun video in slow motion?
As to whether some cops sign up so they can hurt people....I suppose some might. Just as some doctors might, dentists....who knows. But any significant number? Nope. Not. A. Chance.
It seems like now a lot of people are using firearms as compliance tools.
Thank you, officer, for keeping us safe.
(1) what color was the dead guy?
(2) Where is Al Sharpton, Jessee Jackson, Holder and Obama on this?
(3) why on earth did he run?
(4) were there wants and warrants out for him?
(5) Did he have a weapon?
(6) was it that "time of the month" for her?
(7) did she shoot him with a gun lacking a real safety, the Glock?
(8) was it his car?
I have a severe hearing loss and have considerable apprehension of the results of some scared spitless fuzzy screaming unintelligible demands at me with all sorts of distractions and noise interfering with what little hearing definition I have left. Combine that with mobility issues that absolutely prevent complying with certain movement demands and I (and thousands of other senior citizens) could become innocent victims at any moment.
twice in my life I've had a police officer pulled a gun on me. both times the cop thought I might have been a felon committing a crime. of course I wasn't but the circumstances were understandable. The first time I was sitting in my car parked on the street and an armed robbery had just occurred around the corner and a responding officer thought I might possibly be the criminal so he stopped to question me. The second time I went to work at a warehouse and accidentally tripped the burglar alarm going in. The responding officer of course had me covered until he found out who I was. Note that in neither instance was I shot by the police. This is because I did exactly what the cops told me to do at the moment. Both situations were quickly and peaceably resolved. Bottom line is if you don't want to get shot by the police don't argue with the police or fight with the police or disobey commands they give you in a tense situation.
So because that worked for you it will work for anyone? Is that what you are trying to sell Doc?