Great. Just didn’t want you to hurt yourself… accidentally.
4 Likes
With this helmet I would be only negligently fat. 
3 Likes
Something to consider. It is not common practice to criminally charge our professionals for making a mistake, unless other factors are involved such as being impaired by drugs or alcohol. This is a somewhat dangerous course to follow. Do we start criminally charging a doctor or other professionals for mistakes that result in death? Holding someone accountable is one thing, but criminal I’m not so sure. It’s going to be hard to find people to do these jobs if we get too far down the road. Heck, we may already be there.
6 Likes
Kim shot a POS, she should not go to jail.
2 Likes
If the doctor takes a scalpel and cuts me into the pieces, instead of removing pimple… YES, I would like him to be criminally charged for my death.
We have to differentiate “mistake”, “accident” , “negligence”.
No profession should allow “negligence”.
4 Likes
Well, maybe this should form a new topic, but how would you differentiate any of those from “error resulting in undesired outcome” from a volitional act or omission?
I think they are all objectively the same thing — to which judge-y people assign different subjective levels of blaminess, based on consequence or other factors.
Certainly, forgetting to pick up the mail and forgetting to not kill someone have very different levels of consequence. But they are all essentially unintended consequences of insufficient knowledge, insufficient training, insufficient skill, insufficient attention, insufficient tools, insufficient care, or insufficient supervision. As opposed to intending a harmful outcome by ill motive.
4 Likes
If you or I ‘made a mistake, accident or other’ and shot and killed someone, would there not be jail time? I will say nothing about the sentence, that is best left to those that hear all of the evidence, circumstances ECT. If the police are not above the law, she should go to jail.
IMO
Also not an attorney
2 Likes
The guy was trying to run over two cops with his car while resisting. I think that the outcome is ridiculous.
4 Likes
Let’s say you’re on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, “I forgot armed robbery was illegal.” Let’s suppose he says back to you, “You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, ‘I forgot’ ?” Two simple words: Ex cuuuuuse me!! “
-Steve Martin, ca. 1978
2 Likes
If we look at the dynamic of the situation we can easily find a difference.
If you know what are you doing and you do it wrong - it’s an mistake
If something happens and you don’t have control on this - it’s an accident
If you don’t know what are you doing and your action is wrong - it’s a negligence
All of these can be forgivable if every action has been done properly, safely and accordingly to the protocol.
These can be also not justifiable if done because of lack of knowledge, thinking or training.
3 Likes
As apposed to a “crime.”
It seems all are focused on the actions of the Police Officer yet ignoring the actions of the deceased. How can we ignore the position of the police officer, thoughts, fears, stress, etc. and make a criminal charge stick for this incident?
I think it can be boiled down to one reason: we fear the riots that will take place if we don’t punish the police officer.
6 Likes
No, he wasn’t. They were on the side of his car. He was trying to get away - which is certainly a dumb idea when LEO is trying to arrest you - but certainly not deserving of being shot and killed.
Kim Potter screwed up, plain and simple.
1 Like
You are missing the point entirely. Officer Potter was reacting in an appropriate way given the situation. She grabbed the wrong weapon. That’s grossly negligent.
And she knew it! All one has to do it review the video of her shortly after the incident. She admits to grabbing the wrong weapon and says she’s going to jail. She knew what the jury knew before she was even arrested.
3 Likes
Our laws allow people to be a “POS”. It does not allow anyone to be grossly negligent and shoot and kill someone by accident without doing time.
2 Likes
Negligence - failure to exercise the degree of care expected of a person of ordinary prudence in like circumstances in protecting others from a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm in a particular situation
Accident - an unexpected, usually sudden, event that occurs without intent or volition although sometimes through carelessness, unawareness, ignorance, or a combination of causes and that produces an unfortunate result (as an injury) for which the affected party may be entitled to relief under the law
Mistake - an unintentional error.
Call it a mistake, negligence or accident. Accidents are typically caused by negligence or mistakes. I cannot say whether she intentionally or mistakenly drew her firearm. Firing the firearm, under the circumstances, as she believed them to be (assuming she believed the taser was in her hand, was undoubtedly negligent and I would go as far to say grossly negligent. Her calling Taser taser taser would lead me to believe that she did believe she had her taser out but was mistaken.
Regardless, 2 lives have been ruined.
11 Likes
I thought there was going to be a “the gov’t does that all of the time” joke in there.
2 Likes
(Unfortunately) this reminds me of a joke.
If you put a priest and a rabbi in a room alone, at no point, no matter how long they are in there, will one stand up, throw their arms over their heads, and yell, “I convert!”
1 Like
We don’t ignore it.
Her unfortunate action was caused by dynamic and stressful situation.
She would probably do everything differently without the stress put on her.
But this is not excuse…
3 Likes
This would not be a situation in which I’d find myself inasmuch as I would be compliant and not wrestle away from a cop attempting to take me into custody for a previous warrant.
Just saying.
7 Likes
Why does nobody bring up the fact that he would still be alive if he would have followed her orders?
8 Likes