Man seeks millions after being shot by police in game-related swatting incident

https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/072926_melendez_swatting/man-seeks-millions-after-being-shot-by-pima-deputies-swatting-incident/

29•anigbrowl•58m ago

Comments

getstowly•42m ago

I don't understand why more police agencies aren't being super careful with this stuff, especially if they're being sent to a house / location where no other crimes have been reported. It would be one thing if you have a call to a house that's had domestic violence calls, other shootings, etc. Instead, they're just getting a call and thinking, "Oh no! Danger!" and running in, guns blazing. I love the protection from the police but sometimes I'm afraid they don't think intelligently and instead just react.

hamper653•32m ago

Some protection!

cyanregiment•28m ago

In San Francisco the cop cars don't say "To serve and protect" they say "Safety with respect" lmfao

cuts to 6 cops beating a guy with clubs

helterskelter•24m ago

IIRC "To serve and protect" was originally from a movie. Cops don't have a duty to protect you, and there in fact many cases of a cop not intervening during a violent crime due to concerns for their own safety, even when the asailant only had a knife.

infinite_spin•15m ago

> "To Serve and Protect," is a phrase made famous by the Los Angeles Police Department and adopted, in various forms, by law enforcement agencies across the United States.

https://www.policemag.com/articles/to-serve-and-protect-v2

> In February 1955, the Los Angeles Police Department, through the pages of the internally produced BEAT magazine, conducted a contest for a motto for the police academy. The conditions of the contest stated that: “The motto should be one that in a few words would express some or all the ideals to which the Los Angeles police service is dedicated. It is possible that the winning motto might someday be adopted as the official motto of the Department.”

> The winning entry was the motto, “To Protect and to Serve” submitted by Officer Joseph S. Dorobek.

> On November 4, 1963, the Los Angeles City Council passed the necessary ordinance and the credo has now been placed alongside the City Seal on the Department’s patrol cars.

https://www.lapdonline.org/lapd-motto/

I don't know what film you're referring to, but it's been a motto since the 50's, and made official since the 60's.

helterskelter•7m ago

Huh, yeah you're right. I swear I remember hearing about this on an NPR radio piece about how police really don't need to do anything to protect you.

atmavatar•

stavros•25m ago

They aren't being super careful because there's no cost to being careless.

jrflowers•17m ago

A lot of police departments in the US pay to send their officers to seminars where speakers tell them that they’re Literally Warriors. Cops with Punisher tattoos aren’t being ironic, they think about finishing a shift of playing Temple Run on their phones like catching the last helicopter out of Saigon.

WarmWash•7m ago

There is something like 50 million police-public encounters annually. Stuff like this is exceedingly rare.

So while Pima PD should be held responsible, and those cops should face criminal charges, it's logically non-nonsensical for this to make you terrified of police (or the other 5-10 similar stories annually). I mean cars are genocidal military dictators by comparison.

phendrenad2•36m ago

Time to start a new company, Swatly.ai, which listens in on 911 calls and warns police if they may be responding to a SWATting attempt. Working on integrating into their firearms so they won't fire unless the AI thinks it's load-bearing.

argee•17m ago

More sensibly, their insurance could just toss a clause in and charge higher premiums to cover for this, while adding some conditions to help prevent it.

efnx•17m ago

And then on the side they sell "metadata" to insurance companies and anyone else willing to pay...

efnx•32m ago

They need to get sued _hard_ and lose millions, as well as have cops put in jail before real change happens. I feel sorry for this kid but he's doing the right thing.

elevation•25m ago

> cops put in jail

Right. The real justice comes from treating this incident like you would if there were no municipal coffers at play, and simply punish criminals for criminal action.

helterskelter•22m ago

Taxpayers will just foot the bill. These cops need their personal funds taken, and before they blow it all on legal bills defending themselves from criminal charges.

Come to think of it, this is America dammit. Cops should be licensed, bonded and insured, and if their training or records aren't up to standards they don't get covered. We have higher standards for plumbers and pest control than we do police.

reactordev•11m ago

This. If truck drivers have to maintain safety records, if firefighters require certification and training, cops do too. To hell with this implied immunity bullshit, either they are correct in enforcing the law or they aren’t.

HiPhish•8m ago

> kid

The man is 24 years old.

kulahan•

keeganpoppen•21m ago

whoa. feel bad for the people of tuscon, because they didn't do anything wrong, but holy shit this case looks absolutely awful for the city and i hope they lose. big.

tokai•16m ago

It really seems like something that could be fixed with proper training and protocol, when police forces the world over don't have this issue.

kaikai•5m ago

There needs to be insurance for police, just like there is for doctors. Once an individual cop has repeated judgements against them they won’t be insurable, instead of the current result of them moving to a different city.

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