MSN
www.msn.com

… “The police did not make their presence known,” Watkins said. “They hid on the side of his house. They hid across the street at a neighbor’s house. They did not make their presence known whatsoever. And how was he supposed to know that they were there if they didn’t make their presence known?”

“They could just have simply knocked on the door and let him know, ‘just letting you know, we got a call. They’re trying to tow your truck for whatever reason. Just letting you know that we’re here and we got called to assist.’ If that would have been done, then we wouldn’t even be on the phone right now.” …

  • Drusas@kbin.social
    53·
    1 year ago

    Police said Perkins threatened a tow truck driver attempting to repossess his vehicle. The tow truck driver left the house but returned later with officers. In a press release, police said Perkins turned a gun toward the officer, “causing the officer to fire.”

    In a statement posted on Instagram Wednesday night, the family’s lawyer said the police and the tow company got it wrong.

    Merritt said on Instagram that Perkins went outside to investigate why the dog was barking. He said Perkins didn’t know the police were outside with the tow truck driver.

    “In a matter of seconds the men hidden in the dark surrounding his property revealed themselves and simultaneously opened fire,” the statement added. “He never had a chance to surrender. Officers didn’t announce their presence until the very last moment. Steve was committing no crime. Officers surrounding Steven in his front yard fired over a dozen rounds striking him seven times— killing him. They later discovered the attempted repossession was a mistake.”

    We need to start prosecuting the police for second amendment violations. It is not a crime to have a weapon on your own property. This is murder and a violation of the victim’s second amendment rights.

    • southsamurai@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      164·
      1 year ago

      Damn right, and it’s why I refuse to relent on the second. Anyone wants to repeal or and revoke the individual mandate, they damn well better be advocating for cops to be disarmed first.

      • Drusas@kbin.social
        151·
        1 year ago

        I agree. If the US populace were ever to be disarmed, the police should be disarmed first. I am more likely to be shot by (or have my dogs shot by) a cop than I am by a gang member or my spouse or some other random person.

      • Clent@lemmy.worldEnglish
        153·
        1 year ago

        The prevalence of guns is why they can shoot first, make shit up later.

        • southsamurai@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          7·
          1 year ago

          Well, that would be nice.

          But we can’t even seem to get our various governmental agencies to do anything useful on a regular basis, and (being honest), cops as they are serve as a better tool of oppression. Let’s face it, that’s the real goal of most governments, keeping the majority in line so we don’t rise up and take back what has been stolen. The only difference between various countries is what tools are currently the preferred tools.

          • Darukhnarn@feddit.deEnglish
            4·
            1 year ago

            In Germany out oppression is bureaucratic in nature. The police however are trained well to handle public disturbances and the like in a peaceful manner.