The more I hear about the Empire State shooting, the worse it sounds.

[Fudd]

When the details started comming in, this was one of the headlines:

Gunman kills one and wounds ten bystanders before he is killed by police.

The revised story sounds more like the cops shot at least 14 times into the crowd, injuring 9 and killing the suspect.  It sounds like they acted with all the care and concern for innocent civilian lives as you would expect of drive-by shooters, not officers commissioned with protecting the public.

No, I wasn't there and acting under the pressure of having a shooter point his gun my direction, but I can promise I wouldn't have pumped 14 rounds into a crowd with the hopes of hitting my target.  Even at risk of the shooter getting away, far better that happen, than the cops use deadly force wrecklessly.

[BigAl]

Can you say Law Suit,Excessive use of Force.

[Chrisj CMA]

At 8 feet away undoubtebly some of those rounds went straight through the shooter and then caused secondary injuries.  My problem is the number of rounds shot.  a couple each shoulda done it from that distance and circumstances

[Serk]

WARNING! Link has graphic footage!

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/24/multiple-people-reported-shot-near-empire-state-building/

Still only a small view of what happened, but there's video of the guy, appears he's trying to make a get away when the cops confront him, he draws on them, and they drop him, but I'm sure there's far more to it then the single angle 15 seconds we get to see here...

[Serk]

Wow... Seems the crazed gunman took out his intended murder victim, and ONLY his intended murder victim:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/nyregion/bystanders-shooting-wounds-caused-by-the-police.html?_r=1

All nine people wounded in the shooting outside the Empire State Building on Friday morning were hit by police gunfire, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said on Saturday.

[Patrick]

Only 14 shots ??  Well,, they're getting better.. Remember the young un-armed black kid caught in the doorway ??  40 shots ..

[Fudd]

The pieces are starting to add up.

58 yrs old.  Out of work.  Out of money.  Soon out of his apartment.  Out of hope.

Suicide by cop.  Of course, that is, after killing the one person in the world that he hated.

I wouldn't be suprised to see more of this kind of thing, as desprate people just give up on life ever getting any better with our economy.

Lets hope the cops do a better job next time and try to limit some of the colleratial damage.

[RP#62]

It looks in the video that they were about 4-5 feet away.  14 rounds.  Really?  Only two struck the perp from 4-5 feet away?   Why don't they just use hand grenades.

-RP

[Michael K (Az.)]

Then Kelley said the injuries were from ricochets off of, are you ready?, flower pots! Oy!

[Psychotic Bovine]

Judging by his past overreactions, I predict Mayor Bloomberg to ban all police owned firearms.  I am guessing PR-24's and mace should suffice, in Bloomberg's eyes.

I do find it interesting that a lot of this excessive use of force comes from NYC.  My theory, and this is only a theory, is that a lot of Ny'rs were never brought up around guns.  They panic and just let loose.   Hollywood being their primary teacher.   I have noticed that the cops of the midwest tend to be more, shall we say, selective in their fire.
We grew up around guns.  just my 2 cents.

[Fritz The Cat]

Can you say Law Suit,Excessive use of Force.

Not in Obama's America.

[PAVALKER]

  It sounds like they acted with all the care and concern for innocent civilian lives as you would expect of drive-by shooters, not officers commissioned with protecting the public.

AFAIK, police are not commissioned with protecting the public..... unless it is commissioned with protecting the public by enforcing the law (hence the term law enforcement officer).  Further, AFAIK, police do not carry guns for your or the public protection, but for their own protection. 

[Titan]

It looks in the video that they were about 4-5 feet away.  14 rounds.  Really?  Only two struck the perp from 4-5 feet away?   Why don't they just use hand grenades.

-RP

Where did you read that the perp was only hit twice?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/us/new-york-empire-state-shooting/index.html

[Jim_Orr]

Looks like Mayor Bloomberg needs to start talking to the NYPD about a kind of different gun control.

[RP#62]

It looks in the video that they were about 4-5 feet away.  14 rounds.  Really?  Only two struck the perp from 4-5 feet away?   Why don't they just use hand grenades.

-RP

Where did you read that the perp was only hit twice?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/us/new-york-empire-state-shooting/index.html

I had just heard it on the radio and was going by that version - should have known better.
-RP