In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Options
If you were there...
Warbirds
Member Posts: 16,851 ✭✭✭✭
Lets say you were personally a witness to the events leading to the death of George Floyd.
Lets say you are there, you are legally armed based upon the video what, of any action is appropriate?
I will share my thoughts soon- but want to hear from some of ya’ll first.
Comments
Call dispatch and request a supervisor to respond
Call next level up of LEO. I.E. County,highway patrol.
I feel drawing on the cop would just add to the list of dead innocent men.
I also feel, had I called dispatch or another agency, backup still probably would not arrive. The officer(s) on scene would tell dispatch they are Code 4 (ok) no need for further assist. I don't know. I hope I would have tried to get involved.
As for myself, I'd do what everyone else on scene did: tell the officer to stop.
In Michigan I have the legal right to defend myself and others. No one has mentioned what a citizen can do if witnessing the actions of a rogue cop.
A more pressing question is why some of you hate the police when doing their job and all the facts are not presented?
But chances are I would leave the area. Don't need to be caught up in other peoples battles.
The whole video. Lol. And you have a copy of the toxicology findings?
What I heard was he was claustrophobic and didn't want to get in the car. He was 6' 200lbs, I am 6'4" 190 and the back seat of most cars don't work for me. I can not see me sitting halfway comfortable cuffed in the back seat of a cruiser. I can understand his issue.
Pretty much supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Show me the proof .
unless another LEO had got involved joe citizen would not have fared well
Mark-
I guess none of us know exactly as we were not there, but I think I probably would have stood right there on the sidelines, or maybe even kept going about my day and only moved away from the situation.
Hindsight being 20/20 I think the most appropriate thing to have done is probably what others have said- request some form of intervention, call for a supervisor l, etc.
The reason that answer bothers me, is if a police officer was in trouble, being assaulted or life in immediate danger I know I would intervene and do my best to assist him when it is needed most. But if it appears a cop is taking things too far, just like everyone else, I would go on about my day.
It doesn’t seem like the right thing.
I agree with bpost. If anyone had gotten physically involved in that situation, it would have ended very badly for that individual, as well as charges being levied. Obstruction of Justice, Assaulting an Officer, and anything else they could think to throw at you. Not to mention the beat down (er, I mean) the aggressive subduing you would receive, while they yelled "stop resisting" a few dozen times.
That was a lose/lose situation for those witnessing it. Except for the fact they will be called as witnesses in the trials.
In short, the police held the man in a compromising position for an extended period and killed him.