Many servicemembers leave the armed forces and begin a second career track in law enforcement. A helmet-cam in Albuquerque captured the take down of a homeless camper after a brief confrontation.
According to The Nation,
“Police shot James Boyd, 38, on March 16, after they tried to detain him for sleeping in an unauthorized area. Helmet camera footage shows Boyd finally cooperating after three hours of confrontation, picking up his belongings and approaching the officers, when one of the officers lobs a flashbang at his feet. Disoriented, Boyd appears to pull out two knives, makes a threatening gesture and then briefly turns his back to the officers. At that moment, two officers fire multiple live rounds at Boyd, hitting him at least once.
Boyd falls the ground. Blood can be seen on the rock above his head. He died at a hospital the next day.”
See the exchange for yourself and weigh in with your expertise in military training. Was this a justified shooting? WARNING: Disturbing Content.
No this was not a justified shooting. A) He had 2 small knives, no firearms. B) The distance between him and the officers was sufficient posing no immediate threat C) They had non lethal weapons on them and even used them after he was down that should have been deployed prior to the use of lethal force.
I have always been pro law enforcement but the rash of killings by law enforcement is out of control. And multiple unarmed civilians have been killed by police. The most recent video that I saw was an elderly man grabbing his cane to stand The cop shot him. My belief is that this is fueled as much by prosecutors that do not want to prosecute police because they need to police to help them get convictions. Next you have police thinking that they are above the law and can shoot people and get away with it. Violent crime in this country has been around for decades. Why the sudden increase in police brutality and killings??
They didn’t have to shoot him. He only pulled the knife after the dog was going to attack him. They were too trigger happy. They didn’t need to throw a flashbang either…TRIGGER HAPPY COPS here…
is this the police? they are killer not a police the ops over kill shooting a man arm with pocket knife more than one while already hurt down on the ground…get those guys out of the police force they will hurt innocent civilians in future..
OUT OF THE POLICE FORCE AND INTO JAIL FOR LIFE
this man was murdered all the law had to do was set the dog loose when he went to pic up his backpack, these cops are not officers of the law no longer i hope they should be behind bars.
if you’ve ever seen overkill, and non professionalism, then this tops it all.these are ROGUE cops, that are too uneducated icould have been the use of deadly force/versus justifiable force.scene scenario analysis should have considered if the person was a 5150/ mental patient. if so, why wasn’t taser used?second, what about a projectile/block gun, and pepperspray/oc spray?third, why did they permit dog to engage and bite a down-unconscious victim?fourth,the body ratio, at least 5 cops to one perp, he could have been disarmed by them.usually, prior military veterans join law enforcement and they have more professionalism and restraint.we follow procedures and rules of engagement.the other percents of police are those who were and still are civilians, and are overzealous and timid wen the shit hits the fan.the film is self explanatory.these cops had firepower, numerous officers, and a canine, and were still unsure of theirselves so they overdid it. its sad. im a veteran, a combat marine, and even did a stint in the homeless realm.these police all need to be brought up on charges of improper use of deadly force, they need review by the board of professional standards, and also need a person from the coalition for the homeless or from the ACLU to file by proxy, or as guardian ad litem on behalf of this dead homeless guy.this needs to be brought to light, and these cops need to do some prison time. its a clear use of overkill, and various violations of the penal code as well.
Fucking retarted pigs. They should be prosecuted and sent to prison and hopefully theyll end up shanked. By all means they deserve it
This was not a Justified shooting. the Suspect was turning away from the officers and was not making a hostile advancement towards the officers. This was an Illegal shooting.
OUT OF THE POLICE FORCE AND INTO JAIL FOR LIFE
Sad, just really sad. Five against one, just an overkill. So sorry for the homeless man that was killed, may his soul now rest in peace. Review of their procedures really need to be done. Re-training for all officers involved for sure. Why didn’t they just leave him alone, he wasn’t hurting anyone, just trying to find a place to sleep. At least help him find another place. So many different things could have been done with a positive outcome before killing him. Shame on the police and community for not helping him out, isn’t it what the police are always saying, we are here to help protect and serve the community. They surely failed here for sure.
Are you sure these are not Seattle Police ? To many wanna be Military rent a Police, this was not in any way justified..
I highly doubt He had a bomb vest,
This was Murder on Cam..
Not a justified kill. Just a killing. Cowards every one!
not justified
NOT JUSTIFIED…ABUSE OF POWER
First of all, I am pro law enforcement, and work at a police department, so this isn’t coming from a cop hater. You are taught continuum of force…. They had the flash bangs, dog, and obviously bean bag ammunition at their disposal. I can see that they should of stepped up to using the bean bag ammo after he pulled the knife on the dog, but to just shoot the guy like that, I think is overkill. Definitely should be a big investigation into this, because I think this is totally wrong
I lose more and more respect for law enforcement every single day. No,noy this shooting was not justified and these officers, well, these guys were quick to pull the trigger. They receive so-called training for situations like this and I think law enforcement agencies need to train or focus on learning trigger discipline. Sooo quick to pull the trigger, my god guys!, he had a knife!! You FUCKIN’IDIOTS!! NO RESPECT….. so angry
A senseless shooting. Our government can shoot our own people, but someone who crosses the border illegally they detain them, ship them back, and they still keep coming. Why not have used a tazer gun to subdue the guy and then cuff him ? Perfect example why our government wants to disarm us so they can control us.
Sorry sacks of @#$$!!!! These guys have no professionalism, no integrity, no regard for life, and no excuse for killing this poor man. There many ways this could’ve ended. This man loosing his life is definitely not one of those! Why did not use the canine? Why did they not use a taser? The man was clearly cooperating towards the end, why the use of the concussion grenade? Why send the canine AFTER the guys was already unconscious? These fools dont know jack squat about proper take downs or self defense! Bastards!
as a firefighter i get along great with police and most do an outstanding job, but this was absolutly unjustified and murder, the flash bang did not need to be used at all, and them little pocket knives could have easily been taken out of his hand with hand to hand manuvers with next to a zero chance of the officer recieving a fatal blow. me being a marine with close to the same fighting and disarming training as law enforcment this was an easy takedown with no weapons, even if they were afraid of hand to hand, why not use the bean bag gun, taser, pepper spray or even an ASP, there needs to be justice for this man and the people that were victims of these officers in the past, as calm as they were and easy to pull the trigger, i think its safe to say its not the first time..
They deserve to be shot in the back of the head pos
These coward sons of bitches should all go to prison for life!! There was absolutely no reason to shoot this man. If their skills are so poor that they felt they were in danger then they do not deserve to be in law enforcement.
They are totally out of line, law enforcement should be trained as the one’s that can handle the situation the right way not the brutal way, they should have used more diplomacy if it takes 5 days to do it not quick and decisive war mentality.
THAT MESSED UP THEY KILLED THAT MAN FOR NOTHING THEY SHOULD UP BE PUT AWAY NOW THEY ARE GOING TO KILL AGAIN …………….LATER IN THE WIND …………….
[…] James’ death was a widely discussed topic here at USMC Life because of the tactics involved by police. Read more here. […]
Highly Trained Police Officers.Yet they felt the need to use deadly force.Seriously? Your SWAT teams even do more to protect life being it a wanted felon or not.Armed with Non Lethal Fire Arms and a Police Dog,yet they felt the need to use deadly force.Shoot a man who had his back facing turned to them.I suggest they read the law.He was not a wanted felon nor a direct threat to any person or property.I would suggest instant dismissal, no wages and stand trial for manslaughter.Poor Policing,coming from what is meant to be the Top Country for the Most Highly Trained and Skilled Law Agencies.