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MSgt Dale Johnson
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I live just outside of Columbus Ohio so may have heard more than many others on the forum. I do not think the shooting was justified on a personal level.
The man my Niece was married to previously is a Black Officer with the CPD, I have not spoken to him about this incident however, he has stated that even Black Officers do not like to go into this area of Columbus even with backup. He told me that when he was on the SWAT team. Columbus has seen a significant rise in the number of murders and shootings and the news reports there is a shooting in that area at least once a week.
This does not constitute a reason to shoot an unarmed man who is complying with the officers instructions as this gentleman appeared to be doing. But I do get that the Police are apprehensive in their attitude going into this area.
Police were dispatched on a Non Emergency type call, so I do not understand why they had guns drawn upon arrival.
Another officer who had just arrived on scene stated just before the shooting, the fired officer yelled "He has a gun," but no gun was found.
If past is any sort of indicator this officer has several complaints of excessive force but I do not know the circumstances of those complaints.
IMHO they are going to charge him with something but the matter is still under investigation by multiple agencies including the FBI.
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
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Works for me
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SGT Edward Wilcox
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The sad thing is, he was fired for not turning on his body camera, not for the shooting of an unarmed man.
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SGT Edward Wilcox
SGT Edward Wilcox
4 y
MAJ Ron Peery - I am fully aware of all that. It still seems odd that it is easier to fire an officer for failing to flip a switch than it is for failing to stop to take full measure of the situation before deciding to kill a man. The fact that it was not considered when deciding to fire the officer is a sad commentary on our society.

Apparently, it does not bother you that police in this country seem to have a license to kill. All they have to do is claim they feared for their life. Doesn't have to be true, just say it and continue. If they stood to lose their job for indiscriminate killing, maybe they will take a second before pulling the trigger.
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MAJ Ron Peery
MAJ Ron Peery
4 y
You have no idea what bothers me, SGT (R) Wilcox. But you seem to be inclined to judge people and events based on your feelings rather than facts. Prove me wrong.
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SGT Edward Wilcox
SGT Edward Wilcox
4 y
MAJ Ron Peery - Wow! It really sucks when people make assumptions about you based on nothing more than what they see on this site, don't it? Maybe you should think about that before you decide to tell me what I already know.

You're right. I have no idea what bothers you. And you have no idea what I know and don't know. Bit I can, logically, infer certain things based on what you say. If I was wrong, then so be it. I was not judging anything. I merely made a statement based on the facts that were before me. Prove you wrong? I don't need to. Not my job to prove anything.
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PO3 John Priest
PO3 John Priest
4 y
Given the events here in Columbus here in the last few months to 1/2 year, Mr Coy should have had his camera on before he even left the vehicle. Oddly enough, Back around 2012 I was suspended from work (NCR Corporation) for carrying a deadly cellphone. I was having a bad day at work (right about Christmas time, been working 16 hours straight for 7 days and it was sleeting) at an outdoor ATM that had no cover protection. Some folks get the point that there's a non-descript silver van with a guy having the machine open, maybe they should go elsewhere... The lady that accused me of pointing a gun, err the deadly cell phone at her might have been a little concerned because I gave her a very ugly glare as I was pulling my AT&T Tilt II out of my pocket to look up a code.

The camera that the ATM and the Branch across the parking lot had were not very high res, so it might have looked like I'd pulled out a gun.

But that's not relevant nor the crux of the story here. The officer knew racial tensions had been at an all time high, and knew that he should have turned on the camera before or as he was getting out of the car. He failed in his duty. In the civilian world, had he not killed the man, would have resulted in a suspension or desk duty. In the military, he'd be spending time in the brig with stripes removed, possibly down to E-1 and maybe he'll be on a performance probation for 6 months, if he didn't get discharged. In any case, the action taken by his superiors was appropriate, and leaves room for Civil and possible criminal sanctions.
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