Why Did A Raleigh Police Officer Fire A Gun At A Moving Vehicle In A Busy Intersection?
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 2 months ago
I don’t know. That’s a damn good question.
RALEIGH – A police officer stopped an SUV, which had been reported stolen, at a busy Southeast Raleigh intersection after 4 p.m. Monday.
As the officer approached the GMC Terrain, the driver backed up, made his way into traffic and turned left from Merrywood Drive onto Rock Quarry Road, according to Ronald Bullock, who saw the encounter.
That’s when another Raleigh police officer, who had arrived during the traffic stop and got out of the patrol car, fired a gun at the fleeing SUV, Bullock said.
“I heard, ‘Pop! Pop! Pop!’” said Bullock, 63, who manages a strip of retail outlets near the intersection. “There was no warning or anything.”
No one was shot, but Bullock and other witnesses and Southeast Raleigh residents are questioning the officer’s decision to fire at a moving vehicle in the middle of the afternoon when bystanders were around.The retail area managed by Bullock includes an auto-sales lot, a barber shop and a convenience store, and nearby is the Daniel Center for Math and Science, a nonprofit that serves at-risk children.
“You are going to jeopardize people’s lives because of a piece of metal,” Bullock said, referring to the SUV. “It could have been a lot, lot worse. It was a stolen car versus several lives that could have been lost.”
Raleigh police have released few details about the incident, which began with a report of a stolen vehicle and ended with a chase on Western Boulevard near the campus of N.C. State University.
Police say the driver of the SUV was Ronie Demitri Hyman, 22, of Addison Street in Raleigh. Hyman was charged with vehicle theft, felony fleeing to elude police, reckless driving and failing to stop after a property-damage accident.
A report about the shooting will be released within five days, police said, which is standard practice.
“RPD does not comment on ongoing investigations or litigation,” police spokeswoman Donna-maria Harris wrote in an email to The News & Observer on Tuesday. “A Five-Day report will be forthcoming.”
The Raleigh Police Department’s policy says officers should not shoot at a moving vehicle, “due to the risks, and considering that firearms are not generally effective in bringing a moving vehicle to a rapid halt.”
The Supreme Court decision in Tennessee versus Garner was handed down for situations just such as this, where there is a presumed crime, but no trial and no conviction.
Under these circumstances, the SCOTUS said that shooting and killing someone – even a fleeing inmate – bypasses the right of due process, and so LEOs cannot discharge weapons unless their life is in danger (just like you and me).
Of course, no district attorney is going to bring charges against a LEO since they are all on the same side, rendering the SCOTUS decision meaningless. So LEOs are just like you and me, only better.
On August 16, 2018 at 5:51 am, ragman said:
“Some pigs are more equal than others”. George Orwell “Animal Farm”.
On August 16, 2018 at 6:58 am, Mark Matis said:
You ask an inane question. The answer: He did it because he COULD. And he knew there would be no consequences for doing so.
Do you know where they live in your neighborhood?
Do you know their schedules?
Do you know their spouses’ schedules?
Do you have a plan to deal with them appropriately?
Or do you instead intend to wait until they show up at your home at 2 AM and roll out of their MRAP wearing full Cat IV body armor, carrying full auto weapons, and firing tear gas and flash bangs through YOUR windows? Because they “can”…
On August 16, 2018 at 7:22 am, J said:
Radio’s are faster then a speeding bullet, but….
Then again, The Dirt People won’t see that.
Now he’s cool, he went pew pew pew.
Dumbass!!
On August 16, 2018 at 11:37 am, Longbow said:
And, what was the Vast Majority doing while this “one bad apple” was shooting at the moving vehicle? Another good question would be, What has the Vast Majority done since, about this “one bad apple” within their ranks?
Nothing? Thought so.
Still believe in Dudley DoRight?
On August 17, 2018 at 11:15 am, DAN III said:
I say again:
There are no good cops.
Or district attorneys.
On August 17, 2018 at 2:52 pm, Adam Baum said:
“A report about the shooting will be released within five days, police said, which is standard practice.” Also, the standard practice is to declare all shootings by police as justified. Heroes; every one!
On August 17, 2018 at 5:32 pm, Gryphon said:
Shooting at the Driver of a Car, at Very Close Range, might be Justifiable IF the Driver had already Run someone over while shouting ‘Allans Snackbar’ or something. This little piggie was/is a F’kk’n Idiot, but of course, as Ragman said, “some Pigs are More Equal than Others”