Thats the problem with todays world. Nobody wants to take responsiblity for their actions. We have a court system. They guy should have accepted being arrested and go through court procedures. Two wrongs don't make a right. I don't have a constitutional right to break free from my arrest if I FEEL like I shouldn't be arrested and attempt to kill him.
I agree with your point. That's exactly what he should've done. The arrest was bogus (though in Dallas, they still convict people of failure to ID and will go so far as to illegally plead the case out without your permission or knowledge if you try to take it to trial. Not sure what they do in Amarillo), but resisting was certainly not the right course of action (obviously, since it ended up with a shooting and death that would've been unnecessary had the suspect not done what he allegedly did). My question, though, was trying to tie it to Texas law in relation to illegal acts. For instance, if someone robs a convenience store, and the police respond and accidentally shoot and kill the store owner, the guy who held up the store is still legally responsible for that death even though he didn't kill anyone. He set the events in motion that led to the death. In this case, the officer committed the original illegal act (the bogus arrest). That escalated into the death directly because of the actions of the suspect, but like in the convenience store robbery example, the person who committed the first illegal act is the one who set the events in motion that led to the death. Had there been no bogus arrest, there may not have been the shooting. That's what I was getting at. Personally, I don't think this shooting by the officer should be considered for charges. This officer should be reprimanded for violating the suspect's civil rights, but nothing beyond that is necessary. But since Texas law does have provisions that allow for charging people for things they didn't do just because they committed the original illegal act that set events into motion that led to a death (or whatever), one could make a case that charges should be brought against this officer because he committed the original illegal act that set the events into motion that led to the death.
One point, though. It's not a matter of FEELING like he shouldn't be arrested. It is actually illegal to arrest someone for failure to ID. But yeah, I would say that the suspect's actions were not justified even though the officer committed an illegal act against him. I would ask, based on this, whether you will be upset if the officer involved doesn't come out and take responsibility for his illegal act. Will he then be contributing to the problem with today's world because he won't be willing to take responsibility for his illegal act?
Question is. . . how much are you willing to give them? Right to assualt random people? Unwarrented Searche? speeding may sound like a little deal . . .but where does it end. Rocket River
It ends there. They can speed, I'm okay with that. But thats all. There is no problem with "Where does it end!?!!?!??" Because thats all I think they should be allowed to do.
Quantum leap of logic. You don't eventually get to brazen Constitutional violations by letting a cop speed. Also they must speed safely. Liability can be found on a negligent cop. If a kid is assaulting a cop...he DOES have a right to pop the kid in the face...sorry that's the way it is. What we see on the news are snippets from a videotape that JUST show the cop hitting the kid. It does not show what happened right before.
I wouldn't call it quantum, but it is a leap. How exactly do you speed safely? I thought speeding was illegal because it was unsafe. Can I take a class to learn how to speed safe? Would it be legal for me to speed then? I'm not going to get into this with you.
Speeding is illegal for many reasons. One reason is that the average Joe has demonstrted an inability to control a vehicle while going at high speeds. Cops can...and do. The point of what I was saying is that if a cop causes a traffic accident he should be liable for it. The whole idea behind our system of civil law is that you must pay because you did something in an unsafe manner and harmed another person. I am willing to let the cop speed...but not willing to absolve the cop of civil liability.
