2 bystanders hit as SF cops open fire on Broadway

[alp227]

A violent night in San Francisco left one man dead in the Sunset District and several more wounded in separate incidents, including two bystanders who were hit by stray bullets after police opened fire on a suspect in North Beach.

Police officials said officers noticed a suspect in the 400 block of Broadway at 2:06 a.m. Saturday. The man ran away and pulled out a semi-automatic pistol, and police fire multiple shots in his direction, according to San Francisco police Lt. Troy Dangerfield.

"In the process, the suspect was not hit," Dangerfield said. "There were two other people who were hit, one in the lower leg and one in the thigh."

The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Jesus Paredes Rodriguez. Dangerfield said one of the two bystanders, whose names were not released, left the hospital this afternoon. The other was still in San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/17/BAJI1L5VP2.DTL

At least the police DID capture Rodriguez...at the risk of some innocent bystanders though. Should Rodriguez be charged with causing the injuries to the shooting victims?

[TheWraith]

1. The cops should be charged.

I might be inclined to forgive them if they had actually HIT THE GUY WITH THE GUN. But no, they missed him completely, and hit the bystanders.

[Supply Side Jesus]

3. LoL so it's criminal to miss a target

ok....makes sense :silly:

[rhett o rick]

13. They were shooting at him because they thought he was dangerous and mite shoot someone.

So they didnt actually protect anyone, but did shoot someone themselves. They are trigger happy.

[Supply Side Jesus]

19. Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy

you can shoot if you have all three. The suspect need not shoot first.

[rhett o rick]

30. As I said elsewhere, the cops have carte blanche to shoot whenever they want. nm

[Supply Side Jesus]

33. What you "say" and what the reality is

could not be further apart. Thank you for your rational thoughtful responses.

[rhett o rick]

34. The son of a lady I know was shot by a policeman not far from where I live.

The boy had lots of problems but had never been violent. The officer said he pulled the boy over because he was driving erratically. Witnesses said that the officer approached the car with is pistol drawn and shot the boy eight times at point blank range. He claims the boy was "going for a gun". There was a gun found in the car but not in the hands of the victim. The officer found it necessary to fire eight rounds into the head of this boy at point blank range. I am sorry, but I can not understand how a human can do that.

This happened in a small community and the officer is well know for pulling over young people late at night and harassing them.

I am not saying that all police are trigger happy, but some are and they dont get punished.

[Marnie]

16. It is criminal to use a deadly weapon in the presence of the public

in a manner that is so reckless that their safety is imperiled or that they are actually injured.

[oneshooter]

17. Cite to relevent laws please. n/t

[Supply Side Jesus]

18. meh..., but I responded to a

"if they got him then I would not have wanted criminal charges" comment. which seems insane, shoot bystanders all you want but at least get the mark.

[alp227]

11. so should Rodriguez for inciting injuries to others n/t

[rhett o rick]

14. It was the cops decision to shoot. If you shoplift and a cop decides to shoot at you, are you

responsible? Good grief, we must force the police to be accountable for their actions.

[SteveM]

23. Question pending, and not answered. nt

[alp227]

26. in this case the suspect had a weapon, and this isn't comparable to shoplifting

I think firing back was completely justified because Rodriguez had a gun.

[rhett o rick]

28. Doesnt make sense. He had a gun and might have endangered others. The cops did

endanger others.

[SteveM]

22. Disagree. They were returning fire after a thug fired on them. nt

[rhett o rick]

29. Funny the article doesnt say that. Do you have an agenda?

"The man ran away and pulled out - but did not fire - a loaded semiautomatic pistol,"

[SteveM]

31. My error. And we all have an agenda. nt

[NV Whino]

2. Good god!

Among other things, sentence them to 200 hours on the firing range.

[ileus]

4. On their own tab...

[mitchtv]

5. ask the victims

they might have an opinion

[gravity556]

6. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

If a CCW holder drilled two bystanders while completely missing the threat, I have a feeling that the cops would have him in jail and the anti-rights crowd would be screaming for his head on a plate and the blood of his first born. Definitely demonstrative as to why only the police and should have guns...

[GreenStormCloud]

7. And they would want all CCWs cancelled.

But they assure us that cops should be the only ones with guns.

[RandySF]

8. I'm not familiar with police protocol BUT

I would think that officers are not to fire if there is a risk of hitting bystanders. There may not be criminal charges, but they might be disciplined.

[CreekDog]

9. There's a strange sentiment by some in this thread that it's more acceptable to hit bystanders...

...if you hit the bad guy.

that's crazy.

if your gun is making things less safe (and no, hitting a bad guy doesn't cancel out hitting a good guy), you shouldn't be able to have or use your gun.

but if your logic is that it is okay or a lot better to hit a bystander if you also hit the bad guy --you have terrible judgment and all your posts should be seen in that context.

[SteveM]

25. There may be that sentiment, along with the one not to answer the OP's question...

See #24.

The OP, if I may speculate, was probing another sentiment: Is there support for holding the thug to account not only for the crime he allegedly initiated, but also for subsequently INITIATING the severe felony of shooting his gun at others, esp. LEO. So far, few have proffered an answer.

[Kennah]

10. I'll hazard a guess ...

... the officers will NOT face any criminal charges, they might get the equivalent of a pants-up spanking in terms of departmental discipline, and the bystanders hit will receive a settlement check.

Over the years, I recall reading a number of accounts of cops who shot the wrong person, but I'm struggling to remember even one of the cops getting prosecuted or fired.

Yeah, if it was a concealed carrier, it would be Heads On Pikes time for some here in the Gungeon.

[melm00se]

12. one of the rules of gun use

Know your target and what is beyond.
Be absolutely sure you have identified your target beyond any doubt. Equally important, be aware of the area beyond your target. This means observing your prospective area of fire before you shoot. Never fire in a direction in which there are people or any other potential for mishap. Think first. Shoot second.

[rhett o rick]

15. Today cops seem to have carte blanche to shoot indiscriminately. nm

[Supply Side Jesus]

20. we do actually....

and i randomly pull people aside and play Russian Roulette with them also. :silly:

[rhett o rick]

27. You can shoot someone if you think they have a gun. You can shoot someone that drives away from a

stop. You can shoot dogs if you want and kill children that are in the wrong houses. These things happen every day. Near to here a cop shot a mentally ill man that was in a tree and wouldnt come down. He was not a threat to anyone. IN Seattle a cop drove up and shot a man for carrying a carving knife. Didnt even give the man a chance. He got fired but only after a huge public outcry. The list goes on and on.

[Katya Mullethov]

32. It's all fun and games

'Til one of 'em goes full "Deer Hunter" on ya .

[SteveM]

24. Agreed, but you can surely tack on caveats to muddy the picture...

If some spittle-slinging FU was shooting at others in a crowd (with success and good prospects of more success), would LEO be justified -- even obligated -- to shoot and kill the FU, even if by-standers were in harm's way? I would think so.

[SteveM]

21. Should Rodriguez be charged? Yes. He punked-out, and now must pay. nt