Ohio Cop Shoots Photog, mistaking Camera for Gun

Yep, read it this morning. Was a little confused how a camera/tripod could be misinterpreted as a gun. Cant think of an explanation...
 
finguanzo said:
Yep, read it this morning. Was a little confused how a camera/tripod could be misinterpreted as a gun. Cant think of an explanation...
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Some years ago (and I think I reported this here) I was walking downtown, having just parked, and carrying a monopod to where I intended to shoot.

I noticed a squad car approaching me the better part of a block away. I didn't really think of it when they were that far away, but I noticed they slowed down as they approached me and appeared to be stopping. The officer in the passenger side seat was clearly watching me. The car then sped up and went on its way.

It occurred to me that the monopod could have looked like a rifle, and they were probably checking me out and, of course on a closer look, realized that it was not a weapon.
 
It turns out that the policeman knew the photographer well, and knew that he was a photographer. (Very small town.) I'm going to be extra careful with my tripod from now on.
 
finguanzo said:
Yep, read it this morning. Was a little confused how a camera/tripod could be misinterpreted as a gun. Cant think of an explanation...
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There are some very expensive/fancy shot guns that look very much like a tripod these days. One barrel, two tubes that hold shells. They hold a large number of shells and each being 12 gauge pack a bit of a punch.

We ask so much of our LEOs these days and don't give them a lot to work with or ability to make mistakes.

B2 (;->
 
BillBingham2 said:
There are some very expensive/fancy shot guns that look very much like a tripod these days. One barrel, two tubes that hold shells. They hold a large number of shells and each being 12 gauge pack a bit of a punch.

We ask so much of our LEOs these days and don't give them a lot to work with or ability to make mistakes.

B2 (;->
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Oh, I don't know, it seems they have a huge capacity for making mistakes sometimes, just like we all do. The vast majority of us are held accountable for our mistakes- LEOs, not so much.
 
I just can't imagine going to work (as a cop) in such utter fear for my life that I have to shoot an innocent person just because they are holding an object.

And this isn't the first time it's happened. eg. Australian woman shot dead because she was holding a mobile phone...
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZENIT-12S-P...338211?hash=item211de305e3:g:NfcAAOSwnHZYRQrP

If this link is not allowed please remove.

I had this set up 20 years back and even then felt a bit self conscious even though I knew it was a camera. Based on a 3 leg tripod this would involve a total call out in today's society.

Nowadays I'm seriously concerned about the direction and lack of knowledge people have of what general items really are.

A Pentax spot meter, a concerned citizen and a "000", "911", "999" call and a photographer's day could be drastically changed.
 
finguanzo said:
Agreed. Unfortunately their mistakes can be life threatening.
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IMHO, that's the root cause to the problem For a variety of reasons outside of their control they are often place without sufficiently effective tools and little or no support for alternative decisions within their chain of command they make the hard decision to employ deadly force.

Please don't get me wrong, there are LEOs who have done the wrong thing for all the wrong reasons and often they are absolved of their wrong doing because "they were fearful for their lives". It's the magic get out of jail free phrase they all know.

The fault is ours (at least here in the US), we look to spend less and less money on training of LEOs. Many localities manage by law-suit avoidance rather than what is right.

On two separate occasions over the past six years our LEOs took the lives of two people that I wonder if better training and alternatives to a Tazer and a 40 Caliber Glock might have allowed them to try before taking a life.

Many jobs hold life and death in their hands. LEO is one of the few where the wrong decision can kill you.

B2 (;->
 
chiller said:
......Nowadays I'm seriously concerned about the direction and lack of knowledge people have of what general items really are.

A Pentax spot meter, a concerned citizen and a "000", "911", "999" call and a photographer's day could be drastically changed.
Click to expand...

Fear is a very highly motivating emotion. It's easy to create in people and hard to address (provide sufficient facts to disprove and remove).

B2 (;->
 
I'm concerned about the "No Warning" before he shot at the photographer...at the very least warn the guy before firing at him...and then there's the knowing each other part...
 
i find myself in the "don't give a cop the slightest reason to shoot you" camp. a potentially awesome picture is not worth losing your life. be smart.
 
Growing up in the USA during 60's we were warned in school these things happened in the USSR and Red China.
 
Law Enforcement officers are trained, but for really small towns the training, the pay and the job interviews are sorely lacking. My family are in law enforcement at the federal level and I interface with the local city police, sheriff and Highway Patrol. In my county they are top notch.

Unfortunately shooting a white male gets little media attention. many LEO officers are poorly trained. If a Black person gets shot it's national news for a month. White or other minorities are not news.

Police officers in this case are just either poorly trained or do not have the mental capacity for the job. Unfortunately if it isn't considered poor training then it must be racism.
 
Thank goodness we don't have to worry about this in the UK. The police couldn't shoot us even if they wanted to.
 
Bloody hell the cops are jumpy in the US at the moment. I also haven't heard anything recently about the Australian woman who got shot by an officer from a car recently ... in her pajamas and carrying a mobile phone!
 
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