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Jan 12
Controversy over man shot by police at Carl’s Jr. continues; Candle light vigil today
To remind you, here’s the video we posted on Facebook Monday from YouTube user CaptainSanjeezy (it’s age restricted)
As reported by EGP News, Monterey Park Police arrived on the scene at 9:30am after 22-year old Steven Rodriguez had blown out several windows with a metal bar. The rest can be seen on the video– Rodriguez swings the metal bar and cops fire multiple times.
There’s no need to explain why the video has riled up so much controversy. Witnesses and viewers have raised questions on YouTube and discussion forums on whether police action was justified, why the guys in the video are laughing, and why it seemed to take so long to get an ambulance at the scene. I myself have a few questions, but I’ll share one: Did the cops need to fire so many times, especially after the man was down?
Today, Carl’s Jr. has boarded windows but is now open, the outside decorated with flowers, candles and photos of Steven. A candle light vigil has been organized for 5:30 pm today outside Carls Jr. in honor of Steven and to spread the word on other cases like this.
Some have deemed it police brutality, others say force was justified. What do you think?
Photos and H/T by Erick Huerta.
HI Jessica,
The shooting was completely justified. He was about to take a swing at that cop and had he landed that hit, it would have done some serious damage to the cop or even killed him. The reason he was shot so many times was because even though he was shot around 5 times, he was still standing. He turned around and was shot 5 more times to put him down to protect the public. I’m assuming he was high as f*** to take those first shots and stay on his feet and also because he was about to take that swing while the cops had their guns drawn on him. and if you’re wondering, the reason cops aim for the chest is to stop the criminal. it’s the biggest target on a person. if you aim for the limbs, you’ll more than likely miss and now you have a stray bullet that could hit an innocent bystander. Hope that clears things up for you.
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure he was standing after 5 shots, and if he was, I bet he was going down.
Also, that many shots with so many bystanders? Dangerous.
-Jessica
So why shoot 10 times ? I wondering why they need target practice to begin with , if theyre going to empty their guns at thier first real situation ? If theyre that close to him, empty your guns into his legs or at his arms . BTW, all this cross fire shows me that some cops are willing to get into the action .
I agree to a certain point with Ralph.. had he struck the cop it would of done serious damage, but heres an obviously troubled guy walking around with a metal bar breaking windows, why would you as a TRAINED police officer get so close to him? cops or fully equipped and trained to bring down a man walking around with a metal bar without harming themselves or KILLING the guy. I personally believe they handled the situation all wrong & as a result of that, a kid died. It doesnt take away the fact that this kid put HIMSELF in that situation.. but still, it should of been handled A LOT differently.. what a sad story, my prayers go out to his family & friends..
The shooting is an example of murder, plain and simple. What we see here of those who say, “yes, absolutely justified” are examples of crisis that faces the imagination in racist bourgeois societies structured on hierarchy and exploitation such as our very own U.S., and LA in particular. Chicana/o Studies departments/books are illegal in Arizona and Brown and Black people are being shot down in the streets and/or caged in prisons. It’s all connected. (20 years since Rodney King was beat down by racist white cops, never forget Oscar Grant, Manuel Jamines, and corrupt cops like LA’s very own Anthony Razo) One gun shot was too many, in fact guns drawn was over stepping. Where have we come to believe that the only solution to situations such as this is to shoot a young man full of holes? The comment by Ralph associates the people who have had guns pointed at them by police as “criminal.” From this we see that violence runs deep into the minds of people who have been taught very well the lessons of a system that does not believe in people. We must look to movements like LA CAN, Community Rights Campaign, and Critical Resistance, to name a few, so we may see that there are alternatives to societies seeped in the blood of our young. The young man definitely needed professional assistance, but not gun slinging cowboys. Peace and Power to the People! ELA Presente!
Are you saying I’m brainwashed? I think you’re brainwashed. You seem to think all Chicanos are perfect and everyone is out to get us. I’m just basing my comment on the video. I don’t need to be taught that a gun will beat a pipe any day of the week. You’re doing a disservice to compare this to the Oscar Grant shooting. That was completely different. I haven’t seen video of the other people you mention so I won’t comment on those. it was a matter of seconds before that dude took a swing at some random bystander. Think about it, if this guy was brazen enough to swing at a cop, what do you think he would have done to somebody else?
Obviously these police offers lacked some training. Yes the man could have severely injured the police officer, however the way they approached the situation lacked experience to deal with this kind of situation (and since let’s be real these are the situations cops can be potentially confronted with every day)…these cops should not have been on the street.
They knew when they responded the man had some sort of object to break windows, they knew this man would be aggressive..they should have been prepared with bean bag bullets, and if for some reason they think they are justified in using deadly force, then they should have used it responsibly. Their response was excessive. And it saddens me, that the police are hoping the fear people have that someone “could have” been hurt will excuse the police officers behavior.
Looks like the police put the public at risk more than one guy with a pipe bender, the photo below shows a bullet hole on the window of Tommys which is diagonally across the street from where the killing occurred. A lady inside the placed was injured by the bullet. In no way was this justified especially how reckless both officers reacted, 1 fumbling with the taser (you can clearly see him struggling to use it) and 2 the officer holding his gun side ways trying to take aim while also trying to hold back the dog. I’m sure police aren’t trained to shoot and hold a gun sideways like they do on rap videos.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/395731_318983008143428_100000951950747_912892_463904723_n.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=318983008143428&set=a.102933769748354.1491.100000951950747&type=1&ref=nf
My concer here was, why didn’t the police officer unleashed the k9 dog on this individual, and why wasn’t this kid tuckled by the 5 cops around him. I do not justified what this person did, but also I can not agree to the 10 shots! Hman instinct kicked in trained or not trained they went with their instinct abd unloaded the gun on him…..thumbs down to the MP police no matter what.
Does anyone know WHY he did this yet…? Autopsy results released?