But Seriously...

Again man, I'm not rushing to excuse the cop. An abuse of authority would be nothing new here. I just don't like the rush of judgement towards the cops. In the larger sense, we lead the first world in violent cops. We also lead the first world in violent crime. Some instances of over-reactionary responses are expected in those circumstances, aren't they? Where do you draw the line between what is police training and what is just a reflection of society when these stories are inevitable? I guess we can't right now, so I'm going to hold out for the facts per case.

 

As the resident expert on deaf people (fluent in ASL, worked as an interpreter, lived with a deaf girl for 2 years), deaf people who have any sort of speech ability will sign "I'm deaf" while saying it out loud. Those who cannot speak will sign it, point to their ears and shake their heads no, and usually have a pen and paper handy.

Most deaf people tend to live around other deaf people and everywhere I've been like that, most police departments and businesses are pretty skilled at dealing with the communication barrier.

 

Also fluent in ASL (though if you don't use it you lose it, so I have some lag time getting in the swing of it again... like riding a bike, or a deaf girl). Worked with deaf people off and on for years. I co-sign everything you said with added emphasis on the fact that most all deaf people, with a few exceptions, can roughly "speak" 'I'M DEAF!' in a clear enough manner that any cop or reasonable person is going to know exactly what the fuck they mean.

As some other posters have said, I'm not gonna rush to judgment on either side of this one, and instead just wait to see what happens when the facts play out. There's been such intense focus on police shootings in the media that the obvious question is, are they making this worse? Are people now so pre-disposed to thinking they cops are the bad guys that they're reacting in extreme ways and turning an otherwise routine stop into a violent encounter? Are cops so paranoid about the media now that they're focusing on that instead of their training when it comes to that split second when deciding whether to use deadly force?

There's a lot going on here, none of it good. The media is making everything a lot worse. They're dictating the narrative instead of simply reporting on what is happening.

If I ever get stopped -- and I have an LTC and a handgun visible in the truck if not on me -- I'm acting in a calm manner, with my hands up, and doing exactly as the cop says. If I get detained, fine. It's for their safety and, ultimately, for mine. If I want to argue that time is later with an attorney present, not in the moment.

 

What did I dream up?

"Harris was driving on Interstate 485 when Saunders tried to pull him over for speeding, the highway patrol said. He fled and led the trooper on a seven-mile chase"

"Harris may have been gesturing in sign language when he “jumped” out of the car"

The only "Dreamed up" part of what I posted was the "Not obeying verbal commands" which I think is a reasonable assumption given that the guy was deaf.

Also:

"...the agency has been reluctant to release details, including whether or not Harris was armed"

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article97339682.html

I'm not saying that there aren't bad cops or bad shootings, because there are. It just gets annoying that every single time there is a police involved shooting everyone instantly jumps on the cop.

Here's what can happen if a cop does not act on a perceived threat. The guy was not an actual threat right up until the moment he killed the officer.

Spoiler

[/SPOILER}

 

That's where the media should be held accountable. If it's a bad shooting, as in the cop is in the wrong, it should be treated as a bad cop issue. Instead, if it's a bad cop shooting, and the cop is white and the victim is black, it's treated as a poster episode for black lives matter, and nobody bothers to point out that it was bad cop issue, rather than a race issue. Because, in this particular case, the officer is black and the deaf guy is white. So, if it's a bad shooting, the story should be addressing police training or whatever. Sometimes bad guys get shot, and it has nothing to do with race. And, sometimes victims are wrongly shot, and it has nothing to do with race. I don't think black cops shooting deaf white guys is a common problem, but I may be wrong.

 

I can't watch that video again. I saw it once in training and that's all it took. It's horrific.

So glad Brannan was eventually executed for doing this. Oh, and that malarkey about having PTSD? Considering he told someone on death row he was "glad" he took out "some arrogant little deputy"...you forfeit your right to live.

Best part? Dinkheller was given a warning to "tone it down" during traffic stops.

 

So is Iran trying to goad us into a war? Because it sure seems like they are trying to.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/50973935...destroyer-in-strait-of-hormuz/?#sp=show-clips

I just feel like they keep doing things to purposely defy any agreements we have made with them. And they know nothing will be done about it.

 

I didn't know till I read the article that he's married to Huma Abedin. That's the part I find interesting.

 

I can't tell if you're asking if I'm joking because that's something everyone knew or if you were just as shocked as I was.

I remember watching a press conference he was doing in the middle of his last scandal and the girl, now porn star Sydney Leathers, walked into the middle of it and started shouting and calling him out. And he got super flustered.

 

The Post doesn't reveal the woman's name or how they got all the pictures / texts. I am assuming the Russians sent it to them after reviewing Hillary Clinton's servers. People roll their eyes when TV drama shows have all these "connections" that are too hard to believe. If you wrote a script that showed Clinton's top campaign aide being married to Weiner, and him being involved in another sexting deal, it would be rejected for being too far-fetched.

 

And from what I read, the MILF is a Trump supporter.

Which would make sense if the leak came from her. Trying to embarrass Clinton indirectly, maybe.

 

That was a joke. I just meant that the whole thing seemed to fall into the "you can't make this stuff up" category. With Clinton facing the whole private server / email issues, and Weiner being married to her campaign aide, at this point it wouldn't really surprise anyone if there was a connection. Something like: Weiner is married to Abedin, Abedin works for Clinton and uses a campaign-issued phone, MILF emails Abedin to say "look what your husband's doing" by copying / pasting the contents of those texts, the Russians hack the Clinton campaign again . . . that used to sound like a ridiculous reach of connecting dots that don't exist that could only be made up for a prime time drama, but at this point, would anyone be surprised by that?

 

I respect that. Way to get in front of the scandal and do what Hillary never did.