17 shots? 17 shots AFTER you were fired on? 17 shots? In one magazine? 17 shots? Without reloading? While you were running? 17 shots? Is that a standard issue sidearm?
The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of Shaw Boulevard in south St. Louis when the officer attempted a "pedestrian check," St. Louis police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said in an email. Police did not elaborate on what a pedestrian check is or why it is done.
Ok - so what sounds like a warrantless "stop and frisk" type activity occurred. After all, white people -- raise your hands if you ever had to endure a "pedestrian check" while out on the street at 7:30 in the evening. But let's pretend this is all above board. How did the cop get in this situation?
Jackson said the officer was working a department-approved security job and wearing his uniform when he confronted the pedestrian.
OK. Let's accept this at face value. The cop
in uniform working a
department-approved security job. This is interesting to me. What exactly was he doing? Here's why I ask.
At a news conference early Thursday, St. Louis police Chief Sam Dotson told reporters that the officer fired 17 times after the suspect had fired three shots at him. Dotson said he did not know how many times the suspect had been hit. He said that a 9-millimeter Ruger had been recovered,
So I repeat the questions:
17 shots? 17 shots AFTER you were fired on? 17 shots? In one magazine? 17 shots? Without reloading? 17 shots? Is that a standard issue sidearm?
I got a few questions.... actually more than a few.... but less than the number of shots this cop fired.
This is a series of 9mm Rugers. You see how they, like the Glock 19 shown above the fold, also can support large capacity magazines. In both cases, you see how the large capacity magazines dramatically change the profile of the handgun.
I would be real interested to know the following:
1) Why was the police officer carrying a high capacity magazine in his handgun?
2) How many bullets were recovered from the body? Were they shot from the police officer's gun?
3) Were bullets recovered from the Ruger? Was there evidence the 18-year old Myers had shot the weapon?
4) Was the Ruger fitted with a high capacity magazine?
5) Does the police officer have a license for a Ruger?
6) If so, does he still have that gun?
7) And what about the serial number on the Ruger? Is that traceable?
I presume the officer had a 9mm as well and was using a 20 bullet capacity magazine. Did his magazine have three bullets left in it?
The weirdness doesn't stop with the ballistics.
additional reporting on this story claims:
The officer pursued one man, lost him, and then found him again after he jumped out from behind some bushes.
So a guy who
could shoot you from a concealed location, chooses to
jump out at you even though you are armed and in hot pursuit? Really?
I ask because another recounting of what the police chief says
At one point the officer got out of his car and followed the suspect through a gangway. "When the officer went through the gangway, he saw the three gentlemen had come back together," Dotson said. "One of the gentleman started to approach the officer in an aggressive manner. The officer was giving verbal commands, telling them to stop, telling them how to surrender, telling them that they were under arrest. The suspect continued to come towards the officer until they got into a physical altercation. The suspect and the officer were hands on with each other. At that time, the suspect's gray hooded sweatshirt comes off and the suspect starts to run up a hill at the address on Shaw."
The officer clearly saw the suspect had a gun, Dotson said.
The officer said he "wanted to be certain that it was a gun and did not fire at that point. The suspect pointed the gun at the officer and fired at least three rounds at the police officer. We believe this to be true because there are three projectiles that we recovered with trajectories going towards the officer, down the hill, and one piece of ballistic evidence located behind the officer. At that point, the officer returned fire. As the officer moved towards the suspect, the suspect continued to pull the trigger on his gun."
Oh and why if "the officer clearly saw the suspect had a gun" did he decide he "wanted to be certain that t was a gun" and wait until the kid started shooting at him? Wasn't this the person who had just finished assaulting the police officer? Seems like incredible restraint --especially when it is followed with 17 shots.
Oh... and another thing..What happened to the bush? I thought the kid jumped the cop from a bush.
1:48 PM PT: Reading through the comments I have a couple of additional thoughts:
1) Apparently, 17 shots is not totally out of line.
However, I am still concerned that the cops -- even going through Dotson alone -- can't keep the story straight. The circumstances of the "pedestrian stop" the circumstances of the altercation, and the flight following the altercation are inconsistently reported.
Maybe Dotson thinks he is helping by saying things like "he saw a gun but wanted to be sure before he fired" but "he saw it was clearly a gun" is all the justification you need. Too much sounds like gilding the lily.
If he bought a turkey sandwich ten minutes before, and they don't find one in the area, it better be in his stomach. If they don't find it in his stomach, they better find it at the crime scene.
I would be interested to know if the kid has a history with this cop. He didn't say he was stopping the kid because he was violating parole or anything.
I agree with those who say if the kid had a gun and if he shot at the cop then tough luck. But I have known too many cases in Philly where cops drop a weapon at a crime scene to simply believe it just because someone claims that is so. Dotson's mangled narrative doesn't help my confidence level.
I am also interested in the cop's history. We saw this in Beaver Creek where the cop who shot the guy in WalMart was also the cop who had killed a guy previously. That is a recurring pattern. A small minority of cops accounting for the majority of excessive/deadly force complaints.
We'll see what happens.
Fri Oct 10, 2014 at 12:30 AM PT: Now that camera footage has come from the store where the kid bought the sandwich, something else clearly doesn't add up. He isn't wearing a gray hoodie. Dotson said he was wearing a gray hoodie and that it came off in the grappling with the cop. Seems like an odd thing to get wrong.