If I shot you, accidentally or on purpose...

...I'd have some 'splainin' to do, and probably some hell to pay. And I'm glad of that, because that's the way it should be. But then I'm not a cop. Cops don't live in the world you and I do.

This has been all over the internet, it's nothing new. I wasn't going to post about it because SWATs killing innocents is hardly an unusual story and Radley Balko does it better anyway. But still - this is such a classic case, and it pisses me off so damn bad.

On Jan. 5, police were searching for Stamps’ stepson, Joseph Bushfan, when they served a warrant on Stamps’ home. Bushfan was arrested outside the home, allegedly carrying crack cocaine and money.

So they already had their guy. There was no reason for a paramilitary raid on the house or its occupants.

Officers then hit the home, throwing a stun grenade and ordering everyone inside to put their hands up and lie on the floor, the report states

But they were already dressed for a party, so why not? Who's gonna stop them?

Stamps, a grandfather of 12, had obeyed and was lying in the hallway when Duncan attempted to cuff and frisk him.

The victim was non-aggressive, already "subdued," and wasn't a suspect in the first place.

“As he stepped to his left, (Duncan) lost his balance and began to fall over backwards,” the report states. “Officer Duncan realized that his right foot was off the floor and the tactical equipment that he was wearing was making his movements very awkward.

The highly-trained "only one" couldn't walk and wear body armor at the same time. Yeah, this is the guy I want kicking in doors.

Officer Duncan removed his left hand from his rifle, which was pointing down towards the ground and put his left arm out to try and catch himself. As he did so, he heard a shot.

Heard a shot? HEARD A SHOT?

"Well, Officer, M* and I were down in the wash practicing. I was standing over his prostrate body with my muzzle pointed at him and my finger on the trigger when I tripped over my own feet and heard a shot." Hello, prison. Then when I got out I could face his family's blood feud, and I'd have that coming too. Heard a &^%$! shot?

But, as previously mentioned, this is a cop so:

Duncan will not face charges.

Or, undoubtedly, any other penalty whatever. Poor, poor victim. The cop, that is. Imagine the mental stress he already suffers.

There is no justification for this. And by "this," I mean the very existence of soldier-wannabe cops. Sometimes I want to go back in time and kick Daryl Gates right in the nads.


*No Ms were harmed in the making of this post. Though he will be the first to charge admit that my muzzle discipline is dreadful, at least I keep the booger hook off the bang switch.