Dashcam footage of a black male being shot dead by two police officers in December last year has been recently released.

 

The two officers pulled over the vehicle for running a stop sign and upon approaching the vehicle one of the officers spotted a firearm in the passenger side glove compartment where Jerame Reid (the man gunned down) was sitting. The officers warned Jerame several times not to reach for the firearm and to sit still before Jerame exited the vehicle, forcing the officers to shoot him several times. Before Jerame exited the vehicle, it looked as if the black officer retrieved the fire-arm from the glove compartment however this is not yet confirmed. The two officers are currently on paid leave while the state attorney investigates.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30928110

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0OzmH_EPg

Warning: Video contains graphic content.

 

With the influx of recent police related shootings and racial protests, do you think this too will spark something? One of the officers was black however a white officer was involved.

I say great shot to the officers. Did their job and did it well.

I think the night factor played a very important role. Officer panicked (as shown), but: Weapons are not visible. Life officer threatened. I think they did the right thing.

I developed a simple criteria for myself to decide on such situations.

 

Were there danger in any form? Yes: a weapon. Were any warning given? Yes: several. Did the suspect comply? No: although he didn't pull out a gun or tried to attack the cops, he clearly was disobeying the orders. Could the suspect save his life? Yes: he simply had to do what the driver did, i.e. hands up don't move. So yes, it is justified. 

I have to agree with Hastings here. I've seen alot of this lately on the media. I always think why don't people think about how the police officers experience this. 

 

I have to agree with Hastings here. I've seen alot of this lately on the media. I always think why don't people think about how the police officers experience this.

Because people are closed minded and retarded. They see that someone was shot by the Police and immediately assume racism and Police abuse. The media craves in it though. They love the hate, the anger, the segregation, the violence and people continue to immediately believe in what they see on TV.

I dunno, seems somewhat irregular what's happening here.

• He obviously instantly recognises the passenger
• He seems to only be really dealing with the passenger (approaching from that side and more concerned with him)
• There's some conflicting verbal commands issued
• The gun is seemingly retrieved, and the guy's hands are clearly empty

I suspect that if something like this happened in the UK or in similar countries, the outcome would be termination and possible criminal charges.  He's obviously not the smartest guy in the world by showing the gun and making a scene, but in terms of him actually pointing a weapon at the officer or anything like that, you can't see it from the video.  Just because he could have perhaps saved himself doesn't mean the shooting is justified, an officer should be able to control uncooperative suspects without using lethal force.  I think he simply panicked because of knowing who the passenger was and that he had shot at police before - that probably isn't a valid justification for employing lethal force though.  It'll be interesting to see how this goes, and you'd think it'd be a good opportunity for Christie ahead of 2016 to show some leadership and setup a proper investigation.

I dunno, seems somewhat irregular what's happening here.

• He obviously instantly recognises the passenger
• He seems to only be really dealing with the passenger (approaching from that side and more concerned with him)
• There's some conflicting verbal commands issued
• The gun is seemingly retrieved, and the guy's hands are clearly empty

I suspect that if something like this happened in the UK or in similar countries, the outcome would be termination and possible criminal charges. He's obviously not the smartest guy in the world by showing the gun and making a scene, but in terms of him actually pointing a weapon at the officer or anything like that, you can't see it from the video. Just because he could have perhaps saved himself doesn't mean the shooting is justified, an officer should be able to control uncooperative suspects without using lethal force. I think he simply panicked because of knowing who the passenger was and that he had shot at police before - that probably isn't a valid justification for employing lethal force though. It'll be interesting to see how this goes, and you'd think it'd be a good opportunity for Christie ahead of 2016 to show some leadership and setup a proper investigation.

Maybe, we'll see what happens. The officer has my full support though.

I dunno, seems somewhat irregular what's happening here.

• He obviously instantly recognises the passenger
• He seems to only be really dealing with the passenger (approaching from that side and more concerned with him)
• There's some conflicting verbal commands issued
• The gun is seemingly retrieved, and the guy's hands are clearly empty

I suspect that if something like this happened in the UK or in similar countries, the outcome would be termination and possible criminal charges.  He's obviously not the smartest guy in the world by showing the gun and making a scene, but in terms of him actually pointing a weapon at the officer or anything like that, you can't see it from the video.  Just because he could have perhaps saved himself doesn't mean the shooting is justified, an officer should be able to control uncooperative suspects without using lethal force.  I think he simply panicked because of knowing who the passenger was and that he had shot at police before - that probably isn't a valid justification for employing lethal force though.  It'll be interesting to see how this goes, and you'd think it'd be a good opportunity for Christie ahead of 2016 to show some leadership and setup a proper investigation.

 

It is common for officers to conduct traffic stops from the passenger's side door (so they can't get hit by traffic). Plus, the suspect got out of the car towards the officer. The only direct command that the officer gave to the two guys he pulled was "Don't move," which the guy that got shot disobeyed. This combined with a live weapon in the car can be viewed as extremely aggressive behavior towards the officers and can lead to death.

 

Just for reference on how quickly things can go south:

 

http://americanpatriotpost.us/anti-cop-protestor-has-dramatic-change-of-heart-after-use-of-force-training-with-police-video/

I dunno, seems somewhat irregular what's happening here.

• He obviously instantly recognises the passenger
• He seems to only be really dealing with the passenger (approaching from that side and more concerned with him)
• There's some conflicting verbal commands issued
• The gun is seemingly retrieved, and the guy's hands are clearly empty

I suspect that if something like this happened in the UK or in similar countries, the outcome would be termination and possible criminal charges.  He's obviously not the smartest guy in the world by showing the gun and making a scene, but in terms of him actually pointing a weapon at the officer or anything like that, you can't see it from the video.  Just because he could have perhaps saved himself doesn't mean the shooting is justified, an officer should be able to control uncooperative suspects without using lethal force.  I think he simply panicked because of knowing who the passenger was and that he had shot at police before - that probably isn't a valid justification for employing lethal force though.  It'll be interesting to see how this goes, and you'd think it'd be a good opportunity for Christie ahead of 2016 to show some leadership and setup a proper investigation.

 

He recognizes the passenger because he has previously arrested the passenger, and was aware that the passenger was a convicted felon with a history of shooting police officers.

 

He's more concerned with the passenger because he knows that the passenger is a convicted felon with a history of shooting police officers and he knew there was a firearm in the passengers possession. The driver was also instantly compliant, putting his hands out the window, and complying with the lawful orders he was being given. The passenger wasn't.

 

I didn't hear any conflicting verbal commands. The commands I heard were very clear, don't move, don't reach for anything, show me your hands. At one point the suspect says, "I'm getting out of the car" and the officer commands, "No you're not, don't ... move!" Simple commands that were apparently ignored.

 

The gun does appear to be retrieved at the start of the conflict, however, that's not really relevant to the officer's line of thinking. The suspect is a convicted felon and shouldn't have a firearm in his possession in the first place. The suspect has a violent history including shooting police officers. It's not unreasonable to believe that if he's failing to comply with lawful orders, he intends to use violence against these officers in his attempt to avoid arrest and returning to prison. Maybe he has a firearm on his person and the one in the glove box belonged to the driver. Maybe he has a knife. Maybe he intends to use physical force to overpower the officer and take the officer's firearm. There are several scenarios that could leave the officer with a reasonable belief that this suspect intends to harm him.

 

His hands may appear empty in the video after he's raised them, but at that point it is too late. In the split second the officer had to make that decision, in the dark, with an adrenaline rush, with disorienting flashing lights in his peripheral vision, knowing that this suspect has shot at police officers in the past, has a history of using violence against other people, and is not complying with his orders, the officer believed the suspect had a weapon, possibly another firearm, and was getting out of the car and raising his hands at the officer in order to kill him. That's not an unreasonable belief, taking all of the known facts into account.

 

I'm not familiar with UK law, but in the US, the law does not require someone to point a weapon at you, or even to have a weapon at all, in order to justify the use of deadly force. US law does not even require that someone pose a lethal threat to you in order to justify deadly force. US law only requires that you "reasonably believe" the person poses an "imminent threat of great bodily harm." Based on the circumstances, I think it's reasonable to believe that the officer believed this man intended to harm him.

 

As I've said with all of the other incidents that have happened lately, did this man deserve to die? No. Did the officer commit a crime by his actions? No.

 

It's simply a tragedy that could have been avoided if the suspect had complied with the law. That's my opinion based on my knowledge of the law and the facts of this incident.

Edited January 22, 201511 yr by johnclark1102

This is ridiculous. From  what I see, the guy stepped out with his hands up and they fucking shot him. If he had stepped out hands in the air and then quickly reached into his coat or pants, then the officer would be justified in shooting. But for fucks sake, this guy had his hands up and the cop was a few feet from him!

Edited January 22, 201511 yr by Exo 401

This is ridiculous. From  what I see, the guy stepped out with his hands up and they fucking shot him. If he had stepped out hands in the air and then quickly reached into his coat or pants, then the officer would be justified in shooting. But for fucks sake, this guy had his hands up and the cop was a few feet from him!

....Did you read anything johnclark1102 just wrote? 

This is ridiculous. From  what I see, the guy stepped out with his hands up and they fucking shot him. If he had stepped out hands in the air and then quickly reached into his coat or pants, then the officer would be justified in shooting. But for fucks sake, this guy had his hands up and the cop was a few feet from him!

the officer said that he needed to stay in the car...

the officer said that he needed to stay in the car...

 

He still had his hands up.

Dashcam footage of a black male being shot dead by two police officers in December last year has been recently released.

 

The two officers pulled over the vehicle for running a stop sign and upon approaching the vehicle one of the officers spotted a firearm in the passenger side glove compartment where Jerame Reid (the man gunned down) was sitting. The officers warned Jerame several times not to reach for the firearm and to sit still before Jerame exited the vehicle, forcing the officers to shoot him several times. Before Jerame exited the vehicle, it looked as if the black officer retrieved the fire-arm from the glove compartment however this is not yet confirmed. The two officers are currently on paid leave while the state attorney investigates.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30928110

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys0OzmH_EPg

Warning: Video contains graphic content.

 

With the influx of recent police related shootings and racial protests, do you think this too will spark something? One of the officers was black however a white officer was involved.

 

I saw it. He did retrieve his gun. The cop had two guns in his hand.

Also, I highly doubt that this will spark racial protests. The Black community is more concerned with the Michael Brown case right now.

He still had his hands up.

 

I saw it. He did retrieve his gun. The cop had two guns in his hand.

but still... if a cop has a gun pointed at you and says that you need to stay in the car, would you get out?

but still... if a cop has a gun pointed at you and says that you need to stay in the car, would you get out?

 

Look I get where you're going with this, and no I wouldn't get out. How I see this and how you see it are completely different. The cop had the guys gun already. The guy got out with his hands up even though he was told not to, but I believe he should not have shot him so quick, especially 6 times. The adrenaline rush got to him

Edited January 22, 201511 yr by Exo 401

Look I get where you're going with this, and no I wouldn't get out. How I see this and how you see it are completely different. The cop had the guys gun already. The guy got out with his hands up even though he was told not to, but I believe he should not have shot him so quick, especially 6 times. The adrenaline rush got to him

I agree with that one 

I hate everything about this news article. "Officer shoots black man" "but the officer is black" OH SHIT BOYY IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOOWWWNNNN. [insert dramatic gopher, or surprised hamster here]

Why in this day and age do we put so much on a person's ethnicity, race, religious beliefs etc? An officer, shot another person. Not "black cop shoots black man".

 

Regardless, I agree with those saying that the officer was acting in a very difficult situation, yes he did give clear orders, yes he did have a split second to decide. But I also agree with those that he made the wrong choice.

For those saying "he could have been ready to attack the officer" yes, could have been. But open the video in full screen and keep pausing the video every second, paying VERY close attention to the movement.

He gets out of the car, hands already up before he's even out. Hands still up when he gets shot at least 5 or 6 times. THAT is unjustified. Ok so he disobeyed an order, you give him a new one to turn around with his hands up not shoot him. This officer has a nasty trigger finger, not a well thought out response.

 

Now for those of you who immediately jump on the "if a cop points a gun at you and says don't move, would you move?" well you can't assume the answer would be no, otherwise you're countering your own argument.

This situation is panicked for both the officers and the suspects, this isn't one sided.

If someone starts shouting "stay there, don't move or I will shoot you" you're not going to remain calm and collected and go "ok officer sure" your heart will be racing just as much as the officer's is. In that time he made a decision to get out of the car (maybe to attack the officer, maybe to turn and face the car, maybe to get on the ground, stop assuming he was going for a kill).

 

Interesting food for thought here....if you have to resort to shouting, you've already lost control of the situation.

 

 

EDIT: I just watched the video on the BBC website (audio quality is better)

Quote: "I'm gonna open the door and get on the ground"

The guy got out with his hands up even though he was told not to, but I believe he should not have shot him so quick, especially 6 times. The adrenaline rush got to him

He doesn't put his hands up immediately though. If you watch the video back it looks as if he points something at the officer and then puts his hands up.