Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Friday, September 26th, 2014

S.C. Cop in Trouble for Shooting Unarmed Man: ‘Sir, why Was I Shot?’

Author:     PATRIK JONSSON
Source:     The Christian Science Monitor
Publication Date:     September 25, 2014
 Link: S.C. Cop in Trouble for Shooting Unarmed Man: ‘Sir, why Was I Shot?’
Stephan:   I don't think most people realize how many police shootings there are each year. It works out to be about three per day. And there is no question some are called for and justified. There are angry, crazy, and dishonest people in the world. But there has been a disquieting increase, occurring in more places, of questionable shootings. I read about one almost every morning when I begin to search media for the next days's SR. The citizen outrage of Ferguson, Missouri arises from one. Corporate media doesn't cover the trend, nor the citizen response. But you can learn this for yourself. Read the comments under anyone of these stories and see the growing hatred and fear Americans feel about their police departments. It reminds me a great deal of the conversations I remember from my time spent in the old Soviet Union. This is incredibly corrosive in a democracy. Click through to see the latest video.

Atlanta – Amid a number of US inquiries into worrisome police behavior, some critics are asking a difficult question: Have American police officers’ trigger fingers gotten too itchy?

South Carolina authorities on Wednesday released a dashcam video showing former Highway Patrol officer Sean Groubert asking motorist Levar Jones, who is black, to get his license and then shooting him in the hip as he reaches into his car for the license.

“Sir, why was I shot?” Mr. Jones, who is recovering from the shooting, can be heard saying.

The Sept. 4 incident led to the Highway Patrol firing Mr. Groubert, who was charged Wednesday with armed aggravated assault, which could lead to a 20-year prison sentence, if he’s convicted.

In other police shooting news, inquiries into the death of Michael Brown continue in St. Louis; the Department of Justice is reviewing a Ohio case where officers killed 22-year-old John Crawford, who is black, as he talked on a cell phone while holding, but not aiming, a BB gun at Walmart; and police in Savannah, Ga., last week shot and killed a handcuffed black man after he allegedly pulled out a hidden gun.

Over the past few years, certain cities have been hotspots for higher than […]

Read the Full Article